India leading the world on how people, businesses have embraced messaging: Mark Zuckerberg

Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said India is leading the world on how people and businesses have embraced messaging as a better way to get things done, as the social media giant unveiled a slew of new tools aimed at supercharging businesses using WhatsApp. Announcing the line-up of key offerings for WhatsApp, Zuckerberg said the company has continued to innovate with its messaging formats, group chats and broadcast channels.

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

The announcements included Meta verified badge for businesses, and expansion of payments service that will facilitate completion of purchases directly in the chat.

Zuckerberg also spoke about WhatsApp Flows, which will give businesses the ability to create customised experiences within chat threads.

Citing examples, he said that with ‘WhatsApp Flows’ a bank can build a way for customers to book an appointment to open a new account, a food delivery service can build a way to place any order from any of their partner restaurants or an airline can build a way to check in for a flight and pick up a seat, all without having to leave the chat thread.

“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,” he said.