Meta AI WhatsApp features have been available for everyday users for a while now. First announced at Meta Connect in 2023, Meta AI for WhatsApp allows users to generate images, chat with a bot in group conversations, search for information, and more.
In April 2024, Meta updated WhatsApp's AI functionality with new Meta Llama 3 capabilities, promising users faster, more advanced experiences and access to even more information. Now, Meta is delivering more powerful AI capabilities to companies leveraging WhatsApp Business.
At a conference in Brazil, Mark Zuckerberg outlined a significant shift in the WhatsApp Business strategy, introducing new AI-driven ad targeting capabilities and customer service solutions.
If you’re already using WhatsApp Business for collaboration, communication, and even customer service, here’s how to use the latest AI tools.
What is Meta AI for WhatsApp?
Meta AI for WhatsApp is the suite of artificial intelligence tools built into the WhatsApp messaging application by the parent brand Meta. As you may already know, WhatsApp is one of the many collaboration and social media tools currently owned by Meta.
This means it benefits from Meta’s ongoing experiments with artificial intelligence, unified communications, and collaboration. The current iteration of the Meta AI WhatsApp chatbot (and system) runs on one of Meta’s most powerful models to date, Llama 3.
It allows users to interact with advanced generative AI technology, similar to solutions like Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini, within their chat ecosystem. Basically, you get an intelligent, informative companion that can “sit in” on your conversations.
Like most generative AI assistants, Meta AI improves your conversational experience in various ways. You can ask the bot questions such as “Where’s the best place to book a lunch near me?” and even @mention it in group conversations and one-to-one chats.
Meta AI WhatsApp for Business: The Features
The Meta AI WhatsApp features for business users build on the capabilities currently available to WhatsApp consumers with a few additional functionalities.
Meta has been adding more in-depth solutions for customer service and collaboration to the WhatsApp business addition for a while now. Part of the reason for this is that Meta wants to reach a wider audience and increase revenue.
The social media giant has been introducing commerce and payment features on the app for a while, as well as specific business messaging tools for customer chats and marketing campaigns.
In the past, most of these tools were relatively straightforward, but the addition of advanced AI could take business communications on WhatsApp to the next level.
Now, companies will have new ways to engage customers. In addition to using conversational AI tools to ask bots questions and access informative responses, streamline search functions, and generate images, the AI tools promise to use behavioral data (from tools like Facebook and Instagram) to help target marketing messages to customers most likely to respond to them.
Plus, companies can use their Meta AI WhatsApp features to automate customer service, answering common customer queries and addressing problems.
How to Use the Meta AI WhatsApp Business Features
Currently, Meta is still rolling out its updated AI-powered features to Business users alongside other tools (like the new Event organization feature). Here’s a quick guide to how companies can use the top AI features in their workflows.
Use Meta AI to Boost Collaborative Productivity
Technically, the conversational AI experience included in WhatsApp is intended more for consumers than business users. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not beneficial to today’s teams. Just like you can interact with Google Gemini or Copilot in your workplace apps, and ask questions, you can take the same approach with Meta in WhatsApp.
For instance, if you want to ask a question about current marketing trends within your marketing group chat, you can! Simply open the chat you want to use your Meta AI WhatsApp features in, type @ into the messaging field, and choose Meta AI.
Enter a prompt, and the bot will respond directly in your chat. You can even use WhatsApp AI as a search assistant to help you scan through messaging threads and check the web. Just ask a question, and the bot will assess the relevant data and deliver a response instantly.
Create Content with Meta AI WhatsApp Image Generation
Again, this feature is available to both consumers and business users on WhatsApp. As a consumer, you might use the image generation feature to create unique content to share with friends. As a business user, you can use it to get ideas and inspiration. Or why not create content for marketing and sales campaigns? To start, open the chat you want to create an image in.
Next, tap on the message box, type @, and click on the /Imagine option. Enter a prompt describing the image you want to create. I recommend being as detailed as possible here. The more information you give your AI bot, the more likely it is to deliver the right results. Here are some prompting tips.
Meta AI will assess your prompt and use its deep learning capabilities to create an image and post it in your chat. You can then update or edit the image you created by “replying” to the message using the drop-down menu. This is a great way to create marketing resources.
