WhatsApp expands business tools in India with payments, AI support and citizen services
The announcements also underscored how the platform is increasingly being used by Indian state governments to deliver citizen services at scale.
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WhatsApp hosted its second annual Business Summit in Mumbai on 16 September, unveiling a suite of new features designed to deepen business–customer engagement, simplify transactions, and boost discoverability. The announcements also underscored how the platform is increasingly being used by Indian state governments to deliver citizen services at scale.
Payments integrated into WhatsApp Business
Small businesses can now accept secure payments directly within the WhatsApp Business app. Merchants will be able to generate QR codes in a single tap, enabling customers to complete transactions via their preferred payment methods. Meta said the feature is intended to streamline the checkout process and shorten sales cycles.
In-app calling and AI-powered support
WhatsApp is rolling out in-app calling, allowing customers to place calls to larger businesses or receive them when requested. Future updates are expected to include voice messages and video calls, with potential use cases spanning industries such as telehealth. Businesses are also piloting Business AI, a tool that uses voice calling to deliver automated customer support at scale.
Centralised campaign management
Through Meta’s Ads Manager, businesses will now be able to manage campaigns across WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram in one place. The platform said the integration would allow companies to repurpose creatives, budgets and workflows while AI-driven optimisation tools such as Advantage+ improve campaign performance across channels.
Discoverability via Status and Channels
WhatsApp is expanding discoverability features within the Updates tab, which is used by 1.5 billion people globally. Businesses and creators will be able to run ads in Status, promote channels and offer subscriptions. Early adopters include Maruti Suzuki, Air India and Flipkart. WhatsApp stressed that these updates will remain separate from personal chats and inboxes and will roll out gradually.
Flexibility for small enterprises
To give small businesses more room to scale, WhatsApp now allows the Business App and Business Platform to be used simultaneously with the same phone number. This will enable firms to handle large message volumes through the API while continuing everyday conversations via the app.
Citizen services on WhatsApp
Meta highlighted that 91% of online adults in India already interact with businesses weekly on WhatsApp. The company is also extending partnerships with state governments. In Andhra Pradesh, for instance, the “Mana Mitra” chatbot delivers over 700 multilingual services and is already being used by more than 4 million citizens. Odisha, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are among other states offering essential services through the platform.
