WhatsApp Flows Launched In India, Brings Personalised B2B Chat Experiences

In addition to WhatsApp Flows, Zuckerberg also announced payment solutions designed for B2B customers in India.

WhatsApp will also allow customers to make payments to companies without leaving the chat.

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During the second Annual Conversations conference held in Mumbai, Meta's founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a range of WhatsApp services tailored for B2B users in India. In a prerecorded address, Zuckerberg introduced WhatsApp Flows, a feature enabling businesses to craft personalised experiences within chat threads. Through Flows, businesses can set specific actions and automate various tasks for customers directly within the chat interface.

"A bank can build a way for customers to book an appointment to open a new account, a food delivery service can build a way to place an order from any of their partner restaurants or an airline can build a way to check in for a flight and pick up a seat, all without having to leave the chat thread," Zuckerberg explained regarding Flows.

VIDEO | Today, I am excited to announce some new features that would be game-changing for businesses and really useful for people. The first is something what we call WhatsApp Flows. This gives businesses ability to create customised experiences right within chat threads," says… pic.twitter.com/WDQCdKWpPY

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 20, 2023

In addition to WhatsApp Flows, Zuckerberg also announced payment solutions designed for B2B customers in India. Essentially, this Meta-owned messaging platform will now allow customers to make payments to companies without leaving the chat, using their preferred payment method. While the details of its integration with WhatsApp's UPI payment feature were not provided, this feature is currently operational in Brazil and Singapore.

Meta also disclosed the introduction of Meta Verified, its paid verification badge, to WhatsApp. This badge will confirm the authenticity of businesses to customers.

"Businesses that subscribe are going to get a verified badge, account support, impersonation protection and additional features that will help people find them more easily. So for WhatsApp, this includes premium features like a custom web page and increased multi-device support," Zuckerberg said. The service is set to be gradually rolled out in the coming months.

Zuckerberg emphasised India's pivotal role in Meta's discussions at the conference, recognising the nation's leadership in embracing messaging as a primary means for various tasks.

India is at the forefront of much of what we're discussing today, acknowledged Zuckerberg, adding that the country leads globally in how people and businesses have adopted messaging as the preferred method to accomplish tasks.

India stands as one of WhatsApp's largest markets globally, boasting over 500 million users within the country.