India is leading the world on how people have embraced messaging, says Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg hailed India as a world leader in how people and businesses have embraced messaging. He gave a virtual address at the Conversations event in Mumbai where WhatsApp launched a number of key offerings.

WhatsApp has launched a number of key offerings for businesses that can give them a big boost in how they communicate. Mark Zuckerberg gave a virtual address during the launch event. (REUTERS)

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave a virtual address during WhatsApp's Conversations event, held in Mumbai, on September 20. The event was held to launch a line-up of key offerings by WhatsApp Business including multiple payment options, customer experience flows, Meta-verified businesses, and more. During his address, Zuckerberg hailed India as a world leader in how people and businesses have embraced messaging as a better way to get things done.

“India is a country that's at the forefront of a lot of what we're going to talk about today. You're leading the world in terms of how people and businesses have embraced messaging as the better way to get things done,” Zuckerberg said.

Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, also took to X to speak about these launches. He said, “For everyone that chats with businesses on @WhatsApp, we've got lots of great improvements coming, including a way for business to build richer in-chat experiences that will make it easier to do things like book an appointment or buy a ticket, all within the app”.

Mark Zuckerberg launches new WhatsApp features

The announcements included a new Meta verified badge for businesses and the expansion of payments service that will facilitate the completion of purchases directly in the chat. These features will both highlight verified businesses separately, protecting them from fraud from scammers who use same-name businesses as well as allow consumers to browse, select, and make purchases directly from their WhatsApp chat window.

Zuckerberg also spoke about WhatsApp Flows, which will give businesses the ability to create customized experiences within chat threads. This will be an automation feature that will direct consumers to the products they want, without needing a real person to interact with.

He also gave examples and said that 'WhatsApp Flows' can speed up cumbersome processes and help customers reach their destination quickly. He said banks can build flows for customers to book an appointment to open a new account, food delivery services can build flows to place orders from any partnering restaurants, and airlines could create flows to let a traveler check-in for a flight and pick up a seat. He highlighted that all of this could be done without them ever leaving the chat window.

“We've been hearing from a lot of businesses that they're very eager to build more credibility and get greater visibility. So I'm excited to start rolling out Meta Verified in the coming months," Zuckerberg added.