WhatsApp Business is a decent solution for companies who want to get in touch directly with their customers during multiple stages of the pre-sales, sales, and post-sales processes. Although Meta keeps adding new features to the app, it has taken an even bigger step today by announcing a cloud-powered API that businesses can use directly.
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The cloud-based API is available for a business of any size to use. The idea behind it is to enable firms to build upon WhatsApp and customize functionalities according to their liking and needs. Meta has noted that this is a free and secure cloud-hosted service that reduces start-up time from "months to minutes". Those interested can either sign up and directly start building on the API or work with a business solution provider, if they don"t have the required technical expertise.
That doesn"t mean that WhatsApp Business is being sidelined. In fact, Meta has noted that most businesses will likely continue using the app rather than building on the API.
Meta has also outlined some of the new features coming to the WhatsApp Business app. These include the ability to govern chats across ten devices and click-to-chat links. However, these will be paid features which constitute a new premium service that has not been announced yet. Meta plans to share more information on this front in the near future.