Last month, Meta introduced its AI-powered Business Agent for WhatsApp Business, allowing businesses to automate customer interactions through artificial intelligence. Companies can deploy the AI assistant to handle tasks such as answering customer queries, scheduling appointments and recommending products. Now, Meta is changing how businesses will be charged for using the feature.
The company has announced that, starting August 1, businesses using the Meta Business Agent on WhatsApp will be billed based on token usage instead of the current per-message pricing model. According to Meta, the revised pricing reflects the computing resources required to process AI interactions as the platform expands its role in customer support and sales.
In addition to the new AI pricing model, Meta will also reintroduce charges for certain business messages from October 1, ending a waiver that has been in place for nearly two years.
The announcement comes shortly after Cred founder Kunal Shah was appointed WhatsApp CEO. Meta is also preparing to roll out WhatsApp usernames globally.
What is the Meta Business Agent?
The Meta Business Agent enables businesses on WhatsApp to create an AI-powered assistant capable of managing customer interactions without human intervention.
According to Meta, the AI agent can answer customer queries, capture and qualify leads, recommend products, schedule appointments, provide round-the-clock support, assist with sales and transfer conversations to human representatives whenever required.
The company also plans to include the feature within select tiers of its WhatsApp Business Premium subscription, while larger businesses will be billed based on token consumption.
Before its global launch, Meta tested the Business Agent for nearly two years in markets including India and Mexico. The AI assistant is also being introduced on Instagram.
How much will businesses pay?
Under the revised pricing model, Meta will charge businesses a standard global rate of $2 (approximately Rs 189) per one million tokens.
The company estimates that a typical conversation consumes between 20,000 and 25,000 tokens, translating to roughly 4–5 cents per interaction, although the final cost will depend on the complexity of the exchange.
For instance, a simple question such as "What time do you open?" involving four messages would consume around 80,000 tokens and cost approximately 16–20 cents.
A more detailed conversation, such as helping a customer complete an assembly process over 10 messages, could consume about 250,000 tokens and cost around 40–50 cents.
Meta noted that businesses using the Meta Business Agent will pay a single fee covering both AI processing and message delivery. In contrast, businesses relying on third-party AI providers may incur separate charges for AI usage and messaging services.
The shift to token-based billing mirrors the pricing models already adopted by AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic for enterprise customers.
Charges for service messages to return
Beginning October 1, 2026, Meta will also reinstate fees for non-template service messages, nearly two years after suspending those charges.
Any non-template message sent outside the Meta Business Agent will be classified as a service message and billed at rates similar to utility and authentication messages, with pricing varying across markets.
In India, utility and authentication messages are currently priced at Rs 0.115 per message, with discounted rates available for businesses sending high volumes of messages.
Meta said pricing may be revised on a quarterly basis and that updated rates, including those applicable to service messages from October 1, will be published by September 1.
The company explained that the move follows WhatsApp's transition to a per-message billing model in July 2025, which replaced the earlier conversation-based pricing system. While utility messages sent within a 24-hour customer service window were exempt from charges under the revised model, those exemptions will end in October.
India remains one of WhatsApp Business's most important markets. Industry estimates suggest the platform has around 850 million users in the country, making it WhatsApp's largest user base. The market is also estimated to generate more than $1 billion annually in business messaging revenue.
With the Meta Business Agent now available globally and the revised pricing structure set to take effect from August, the changes are expected to strengthen Meta's efforts to monetise WhatsApp Business.
