Meta lets businesses create ad-embedded chatbots

At the Meta Connect 2024 developer conference in Menlo Park on Wednesday, Meta announced that it’s expanding its AI-powered business chatbots to brands on WhatsApp and Messenger using click-to-message ads.

Now businesses can set up ad-embedded chatbots that talk to customers, offer support, and facilitate orders, Meta says. "From answering common customer questions to discussing products and finalizing a purchase, these business AIs can help businesses engage with more customers and increase sales," the company wrote in a blog post provided to TechCrunch.

Meta continues to inject more of its ad products and tools with AI. In May, the company began letting advertisers create full new ad images with AI and insert AI-generated alternate versions of ad headlines. And in June, Meta began testing AI-powered customer support for businesses using WhatsApp, which automatically answers customer queries related to frequently asked questions.

Meta claims that more than a million advertisers are using its AI ad tools and that 15 million ads were created with the tools last month.

AI ads boost click-through rates, Meta says. But there's evidence to suggest customers may not like ads with chatbots. One survey commissioned earlier this year by customer experience platform Callvu found that the majority of people would rather wait at least a minute to speak with a live customer agent than chat instantly with an AI.