Meta has introduced changes to its WhatsApp platform, which would allow it to scale to and be usable for businesses of any size. The company introduced a cloud-based API service to WhatsApp in an attempt to improve it.
Meta Launches WhatsApp Cloud API
According to the story by ZDnet, the goal of Meta is to improve WhatsApp to a point where businesses can utilize it in order to communicate with their customers. This will be done through the company's introduction of cloud-based API services, which should allow quick adoption for WhatsApp.
As per Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, the best type of business experience should allow companies to reach their customers where they already are. Zuckerberg also detailed that they have over a billion users that "connect to business account" every week across the platform's messaging services.
Cloud API to Help Businesses of All Sizes
The statement was given during the Conversations conference of the company. Zuckerberg noted that they are trying to look for help in order for them to be able to find "products and services to buy" ranging from everyday goods to other more expensive and rare items.
Zuckerberg then announced that they are finally opening WhatsApp to businesses no matter their size. The announcement was centered around the WhatsApp Cloud API and as explained by Meta's chief executive, the cloud-based platform will help businesses build a custom dashboard on the platform.
Customized Dashboard to Help Businesses Improve Consumer Experience
The Meta CEO said that through a customized dashboard, businesses will be able to customize their consumer experience and even increase the speed of their responses. The dashboards will reportedly provide a "glimpse" of different WhatsApp features.
These features include the WhatsApp accounts of the business, current account limits, and recent product news. Other features that will be more accessible are the insights, templates, messages, phone numbers, and product catalogue account tools.
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WhatsApp Cloud API Gives 1,000 Free Messages Per Month
WhatsApp Cloud API, however, is a premium service and only offers a free 1,000 messages per month. This is for either business or user-initiated messages which will be charged once they go past the free allocation per month.
The businesses will then be given the option to scale their account once their limit has been reached. They can apply for the paid tiers which will charge them depending on how many conversations they have in a day with their consumers.
The costs can go from $0.01 to $0.20 and as described by ZDNet, this depends on which market they are in and whether the conversations are user-initiated or business initiated. The dedicated chat app for businesses has been piloted back in 2017 and on top of the Cloud API's launch, the WhatsApp Business for Android is expected to follow in six months.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian B.
