New Delhi, May 7 : Meta-backed WhatsApp on Thursday announced the launch of â??Business AIâ?? in India, bringing AI-powered customer support directly to the WhatsApp Business app to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) manage customer engagement round the clock.

The feature is designed to enable eligible businesses to respond to customer queries 24/7, capture leads, book appointments and drive sales without requiring additional tools or platforms.

It can also be customised using a businessâ??s own information, allowing automated responses to frequently asked questions and queries related to products, services, pricing, discounts and shipping.

According to WhatsApp, the AI tool will also be able to handle conversations in all native languages in India.

Starting soon, it will additionally support payments within chats using UPI.

However, businesses will retain full control and can take over conversations from the AI whenever needed, the messaging platform said.

Over the coming weeks, Business AI will be rolled out to all eligible businesses on the WhatsApp Business app, it added.

Highlighting a study, WhatsApp showed 91 per cent of online adults in India chat with a business every week.

Speaking on the launch, Ravi Garg, Director Business Messaging, Meta India, said SMEs often struggle to manage high volumes of customer queries with limited resources, and AI can help address this gap.

"Small businesses are the backbone of India's economy, and we deeply understand the value of every customer conversation for them. Managing high volumes of customer queries with limited resources remains one of the biggest challenges for small businesses. With the introduction of Business AI on WhatsApp, we are putting that power directly into the hands of small businesses," Garg said.

Eligible businesses can activate the feature through the WhatsApp Business app by navigating to the Tools tab and selecting 'Your Business AI', where they can follow guided steps for setup.

Additionally, the AI can be trained using existing business profiles, product catalogues and documents, and businesses can modify or turn off the feature at any time.

/IANS