Meta Platforms unveiled a new artificial intelligence product aimed at helping firms manage everyday tasks at a WhatsApp-focused Conversations conference in London on June 3. The offering, branded as a Business Agent, builds on the company’s existing business messaging tools by adding agentic capabilities that allow the assistant to take actions on behalf of companies rather than only responding with scripted replies.
Meta said more than 1 million businesses were already using earlier chatbot versions of such agents on WhatsApp and Messenger. The updated agent will be added to Instagram as well and will be rolled out globally to businesses of all sizes.
Enterprise ambitions
The announcement underscores Meta’s intent to enter the enterprise AI space and to compete for business customers that want automation embedded inside messaging channels. "This is definitely an enterprise play," Naomi Gleit, Meta’s head of product, said in an interview on the sidelines of the conference.
The Business Agent can be tailored to a company’s voice and is designed to handle a range of tasks across Meta’s messaging apps. Use cases described by Meta include answering frequently asked questions, qualifying leads and escalating complex inquiries to human staff when needed.
Businesses will be able to access the tool initially at no cost, while paid subscription tiers are planned for rollout in the coming months.
Action-taking automation
Meta emphasized that the new agent goes beyond traditional rule-based bots. "We actually want to take actions now. We actually want it to be able to complete the payment, to process the booking, to place the order," Gleit said, describing a shift from simple automation to an assistant that can complete transactions and other operational steps on behalf of a business.
Platform and integrations
In addition to embedding Business Agent features inside Meta’s own apps, the company is launching a broader Business Agent Platform intended to give companies the infrastructure to build custom agents for use beyond Meta properties. Meta said the platform connects to hundreds of non-Meta systems, naming examples such as Shopify, Zendesk and Shopee, where agents can be deployed.
For larger customers, the platform will offer enterprise-grade controls, guardrails and measurement capabilities to support governance and oversight of agent behavior.
Enterprise Solutions and deployment model
Gleit is leading Meta’s push to expand its business offerings around AI agents through a newly created Enterprise Solutions team, formed as part of a recent companywide restructuring around AI. That team will send squads of forward-deployed engineers to work alongside enterprise customers, a deployment model intended to help navigate internal decision-making around AI adoption and to write tailored code so models deliver practical results. The company said this approach mirrors a model used by some AI startups.
While the initial scope of the Enterprise Solutions team is focused on business agents, Meta said the group is also developing agentic AI products for additional internal business functions.
Consolidation of agent tools
Meta is working to consolidate the various agent technologies it has developed across different use cases. Gleit said the effort includes bringing together internal workflow-oriented tools, a user-facing Meta AI support bot and a separate ads-focused business assistant that Meta launched globally last month.
Reflecting small-business feedback, Gleit said consolidation aims to provide a single modular environment where multiple functions can be performed. "The number one thing I hear, especially from small businesses, is 'I just want to go to one place that can do all the things,'" she said. "You want to make things modular, and you also need to be willing to evolve, because the technology is moving so quickly."
Commercial path and timing
Meta has indicated an initial free access period for businesses with paid subscription options expected in the coming months. The company also highlighted the platform’s enterprise controls as a way to address governance and measurement needs for larger deployments.
Note: The article references Meta Platforms' efforts and product plans as described by company representatives and the company’s public statements at the conference.