New Delhi: WhatsApp has announced the launch of Business AI on WhatsApp in India, enabling small businesses to access AI-powered customer support directly through the WhatsApp Business app. Available in all native Indian languages, the feature is designed to help businesses respond to customer queries round the clock, capture leads, book appointments, and drive sales without requiring additional tools or platforms.
The new feature can be customised using a business’s own information, allowing it to automate responses to frequently asked questions and assist customers with queries related to products, pricing, discounts, shipping, and services. The company also revealed that Business AI will soon support payments directly within WhatsApp chats using UPI. Business owners can step into conversations whenever needed, especially for complex customer requests.
According to a 2025 Kantar study cited by the company, 91% of online adults in India interact with businesses weekly through messaging platforms, making conversational commerce increasingly central to customer engagement.
Speaking on the launch, Ravi Garg, Director Business Messaging, Meta India, said, “Small businesses are the backbone of India’s economy, and we deeply understand the value of every customer conversation for them. Over the years, we’ve consistently heard that managing high volumes of customer queries with limited resources remains one of the biggest challenges for small businesses. This is where we believe that AI can be a game-changer for them. With the introduction of Business AI on WhatsApp, we’re now putting that power directly into the hands of small businesses — ensuring they never miss a customer query outside business hours or struggle to keep up during peak demand.”
Several businesses already piloting the feature have reported improvements in customer engagement and sales performance. Soil Concept, a plant-based personal care brand, and The Purple Sunset, a personalised gifting business, were among the early adopters of the solution.
Tuba Siddiqui, Co-founder, Soil Concept, said, “We were losing leads that came in late at night, and now with 24/7 support, our conversion rate has skyrocketed to 80-90%. Setting up Business AI on WhatsApp was incredibly simple — no coding, no complex third-party software. I just uploaded our product catalog and documents, and the AI learned the details and tone of my business. It’s been a game-changer in helping us manage and grow our customer base to over 15,000 customers.”
Gunveen Kaur, Founder, The Purple Sunset, added, “To my surprise, it was an easy process — within a few hours, Business AI learned everything about my business and was able to reply to customers on my behalf, exactly how I would. It’s helped me close 6-7 orders daily directly through queries handled by the AI, and I’ve seen a 40% increase in sales with the potential to grow even further.”
The feature is currently available to eligible small and medium-sized businesses using the WhatsApp Business app. Businesses can access the setup process through the ‘Your Business AI’ section under the Tools tab, where guided steps help configure the feature based on business profiles and product catalogues.
With the rollout of Business AI, WhatsApp aims to further strengthen its role in India’s growing conversational commerce ecosystem by helping businesses improve responsiveness, customer engagement, and sales conversion.
