Meta Reshapes WhatsApp Business Pricing with Per-Message Charges and Enhanced AI-Powered Tools

WhatsApp, owned by Meta, will introduce a new worldwide pricing structure for business messaging on July 1, a move that might affect how much cost businesses spend on client communication through the platform.The most significant change is the transition from a per-conversation structure to a per-message pricing system. Previously, businesses paid a fixed rate for unlimited messages during a 24-hour chat window. Companies will now be charged for each message sent, potentially increasing the cost of communications.

A marketing message that used to cost ₹0.78 per conversation now costs ₹0.78 each time it is sent to a user.This is expected to raise the total monthly spend for many organizations, particularly those who provide promotional information on a large scale.

Nikila Srinivasan, Meta's Vice President for business messaging, stated that the upgraded model aims to improve the clarity and predictability of business spending. However, others feel that this shift would cause businesses to reconsider adopting WhatsApp and instead look into alternatives such as traditional SMS or Google's RCS messaging service.

WhatsApp has also redefined how it categorizes business messages into four types:

• Marketing: Promotional content, priced highest.
• Utility: Transactional messages like payment update (₹0.11 per message).
• Authentication: Messages for verification like OTPs.
• Service: Replies to customer-initiated messages within 24 hours—still free, as are utility messages within this window.

The new pricing is tier-based. Businesses sending under 25 million messages will pay ₹0.115 per message, while those exceeding 300 million monthly messages will pay as low as ₹0.080.

Parallel to these changes,WhatsApp is strengthening its business tools with AI capabilities.Larger companies can now utilize WhatsApp's API to make voice calls, which was previously only available to small enterprises. The platform is also experimenting with AI product recommendations and voice agents, which may soon provide personalised shopping experiences within WhatsApp.

Though these AI tools are now free, Meta has stated that it may monetise them once they are widely utilized. With a greater focus on automation and client customisation, WhatsApp hopes to establish its place as the go-to platform for business communication — even if it comes at a higher cost.

This article is based on information from The Tech Portal