WhatsApp Business completes one year, now has 5 million active businesses

WhatsApp Business, WhatsApp's standalone application for business users, has completed one year of its launch. In last 12 months, the application has grown to over 5 million active businesses around the world. To mark the first anniversary, WhatsApp has launched three new features for the web version of WhatsApp Business.

WhatsApp recently added new features to its business application such as business API and ad interlinking. WhatsApp Business also received a basic level of Facebook integration. The company allowed businesses to run Facebook Ads that link to WhatsApp numbers. Dedicated APIs enabled businesses to send messages to users who will initiate chat or makes a request for information.

"In January of last year we launched the WhatsApp Business app, and now there are more than five million businesses using it to support customers, grow their businesses and serve their communities all over the world. We're excited that we've helped millions of businesses grow. For example, in India, Bengaluru-based eyewear brand Glassic has told us that 30 percent of its new sales are generated through WhatsApp Business," said WhatsApp in a release.

WhatsApp Business: New features

Quick replies

WhatsApp Business' quick reply feature is now available on the web. Users can access this feature by typing the / symbol, and all quick replies saved will show up. This feature can be used for answers to frequently asked questions by customers.

Labels

Chat list filtering

Similar to labels, WhatsApp Business users will now be able to use filters for better search results. The filter button will appear on the search button. Here, users can filter out chats by unread messages, groups and broadcast lists.

More monetisation

Another major change coming to WhatsApp Business this year is monetisation. Announced at F8 2018, Facebook said it would start monetising WhatsApp Business through ads. This would be interlinked with the main WhatsApp app where businesses will be able to show ads. Through these ads, users will be able to directly communicate with businesses. WhatsApp hasn't announced a launch date for ads on the platform as yet.