
Meta has unveiled its Business Agent, an artificial intelligence-powered tool designed to help businesses automate customer interactions, generate leads, and manage operations across its platforms. Announced at the Conversations 2026 event in London, the Meta... Meta has unveiled its Business Agent, an artificial intelligence-powered tool designed to help businesses automate customer interactions, generate leads, and manage operations across its platforms. Announced at the Conversations 2026 event in London, the Meta Business Agent is positioned as a virtual assistant that enables companies to provide round-the-clock customer support without requiring large teams. The company says more than one million businesses already use AI-powered agents on WhatsApp and Messenger, and it is now expanding access globally to businesses of all sizes. The company says the Business Agent can be set up in minutes and is designed to communicate with customers in their local language while matching a company’s preferred tone and style. According to Meta, the AI assistant can answer business-specific questions, recommend products from a catalogue, book appointments, qualify leads, close sales and hand conversations over to human agents when required. Also Read | How hackers used Meta’s own AI to break into Instagram accounts Meta is also extending the Business Agent to Instagram, allowing businesses to manage customer conversations across WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram from a single AI-powered system. The service will initially be free to use, although Meta plans to introduce paid subscription options in the coming months. Alongside customer support, Meta is adding new discovery features that will help people find businesses powered by a Business Agent directly on WhatsApp. Users will be able to search for businesses by name or share contact information with friends and family to connect with businesses more easily. Also Read | Binge-watching Reels? Meta tests new ‘Series’ feature for episodic Reels on Instagram and Facebook The company is also positioning the Business Agent as a productivity tool for business owners. It can provide daily summaries of customer interactions, highlight missed conversations, and offer insights into customer engagement. Meta says future updates will expand its capabilities to include market research, product insights, calendar management, and competitive intelligence. In addition to the customer-facing agent, Meta introduced the Business Agent Platform, a new infrastructure layer that allows businesses to build, customise, and deploy AI agents at scale. The platform supports integrations with popular business tools and services, including Shopify, Zendesk, and Shopee. For larger organisations, Meta says the platform includes enterprise-grade controls, guardrails, and measurement tools to help businesses manage AI interactions while maintaining oversight and compliance. Meta has unveiled its Business Agent, an artificial intelligence-powered tool designed to help businesses automate customer interactions, generate leads, and manage operations...