WhatsApp Business now has an AI agent built in. Meta’s agent can answer customers, suggest products and book appointments without you typing a word. Here is what it really does, what it costs, how to set it up, and where a business still needs more.
What is Meta Business Agent?
Meta Business Agent is an AI that replies to customers on your behalf. It learns about your business from what you already have online, then answers chats in your tone and passes them to you when a person is needed. It works in the WhatsApp Business app, and Meta says it also works on Messenger, Instagram professional accounts and Meta Business Suite.
You may also see it called Business AI or Your Business AI, the names it launched with in India.
How it got here
- 2024 to 2026: Meta tested AI replies for businesses for nearly two years, with India among the first countries.
- 14 May 2026: launched for eligible small businesses in India as Business AI on WhatsApp.
- 3 June 2026: launched globally as Meta Business Agent, alongside a version for larger businesses on the API.
- July 2026: announced for India under its new name at WhatsApp’s Business Summit in Mumbai, together with the Meta Business Agent Platform for enterprises.
What it can do
According to Meta, the agent can:
- answer questions about your business, prices, discounts, payment and delivery;
- recommend products from your catalogue;
- book appointments and qualify leads by collecting their details;
- reply in the customer’s own language, in your tone;
- hand a chat to you or your team at the moment you decide.
Meta has also started adding UPI payment requests inside the chat for select businesses in India, and is testing a morning summary of the chats you missed overnight with a small number of businesses.
How to switch it on in the WhatsApp Business app
- 1Update the WhatsApp Business app, then open Tools. Look for Meta Business Agent, or Your Business AI in India. If it isn’t there, it hasn’t reached your account yet.
- 2Let it learn about your business: connect your Facebook Page and website, add your catalogue and price list, and upload any documents, such as a menu or FAQ.
- 3Choose its personality and tone, and who it replies to: everyone, only new customers, or only people who came from your ads.
- 4List the topics it must always pass to you, such as refunds, complaints or custom orders.
- 5Test it with a few questions of your own, fix any wrong answers, then switch it on.
What it costs
In the WhatsApp Business app
The agent is free up to a monthly allowance of replies. Meta hasn’t published how big that allowance is. For more, Meta sells Meta One, a subscription introduced in September 2026 that bundles extra agent replies with features such as the verified badge and extra linked devices. Business plans in India were reported at launch from about ₹639 a month.
On the WhatsApp Business API
Businesses using the Meta Business Agent Platform pay by usage: $2 for every million tokens (the units of text the AI reads and writes), charged since 1 August 2026. Meta estimates that a typical reply uses 20,000 to 25,000 tokens, about 4 to 5 US cents. That is several times the price of a normal service reply, and it applies even inside the free window after a click-to-WhatsApp ad. See our WhatsApp API pricing guide for the other message rates.
The API version: Meta Business Agent Platform
Larger businesses can run the agent on the WhatsApp Business API instead of the app. This version can do more: it can call your own systems to look up an order or create a booking, it has ready-made connectors for tools such as Shopify and Zendesk, and it hands chats to your own software when a person is needed. It needs a number on the API, business verification and usually a Meta partner to set up.
Meta’s documentation also lists industries that cannot use the Platform, including finance, government, health, alcohol, gambling, over-the-counter medicines and matrimony.
Limits to know before you switch it on
- The app version stays inside WhatsApp. It can’t update your CRM, check a live calendar or create an invoice in your own software.
- It answers from what you give it. If your website or price list is out of date, its answers will be too.
- Costs are hard to predict. The free allowance isn’t published, and API usage is billed by tokens.
- Some features are still rolling out, including UPI payments in chat, and it reaches eligible businesses first.
- It doesn’t cover every channel you sell on. Enquiries from your website forms or email stay with you.
Meta’s agent or your own AI assistant?
| Meta Business Agent (app) | Meta Business Agent Platform (API) | Custom AI assistant (API) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Small shops answering common questions | Large businesses with developers | Growing teams with their own CRM and process |
| Setup | In the app, no code | Through a Meta partner | Through a partner such as 99ai |
| Uses your own systems | No | Yes, through APIs | Yes: CRM, calendar, payments |
| Pricing | Free allowance, then Meta One | $2 per 1M tokens | Your provider’s fee plus messages |
Based on Meta’s announcements and developer documentation, checked 4 October 2026.
If you are a small business with a catalogue and the same ten questions every day, Meta’s agent in the free app is a good place to start. If enquiries need to become leads in your CRM, bookings in your real calendar and payments matched to invoices, you need an assistant connected to your own systems.
Frequently asked questions
Is Meta’s WhatsApp AI agent free?
In the WhatsApp Business app, it is free up to a monthly allowance that Meta hasn’t published. More replies come with a paid Meta One plan. On the API, Meta charges $2 per million tokens, roughly 4 to 5 US cents per reply.
Does it reply in Hindi and other Indian languages?
Meta says the agent replies in your customers’ own languages and, for India, that it is available in all native Indian languages.
Can I stop the AI and reply myself?
Yes. You can take over any chat, choose topics it should always pass to you, limit it to certain customers, or switch it off completely.
Does it work with my CRM or booking system?
Not the version in the WhatsApp Business app. The Meta Business Agent Platform, which runs on the WhatsApp Business API, can call your own systems, and Meta lists connectors for tools such as Shopify and Zendesk.
What was “Business AI” on WhatsApp?
The earlier name of the same feature. Meta launched it for small businesses in India as Business AI in May 2026 and renamed it Meta Business Agent at its global launch in June 2026.