WhatsApp Business hits a major milestone with 200 million users and introduces personalized messaging

The WhatsApp feature enables businesses to create custom templates.

WhatsApp Business, the business-oriented version of the messaging app, has reached over 200 million monthly active users (MAUs), according to its parent company, Facebook. This marks a significant growth in the platform's user base, which was launched in 2018 and had only 5 million business profiles by the end of that year. To further enhance its appeal to businesses, WhatsApp Business has introduced a new feature that allows them to personalize their messages to customers. The WhatsApp feature enables businesses to create custom templates. With this feature, businesses can quickly respond to frequently asked questions or provide automated responses to specific customer inquiries. The updated WhatsApp Business is of particular interest to small businesses that want to streamline customer engagement through the platform. Such businesses can set up a dedicated business profile on the platform that includes business hours, a business description, an email address, a website, and a physical address. Those that use the Business API can also resolve customer issues and sell directly to consumers.

WhatsApp Business's exponential growth and the introduction of the personalized messages feature suggest that Facebook is heavily investing in the platform. One could expect the platform to continue to evolve with more features, especially those geared towards small businesses, which make up a significant chunk of its user base.