WhatsApp is preparing to move beyond messaging, making conversations more expressive, bringing everyday transactions into the app and using artificial intelligence (AI) to handle practical tasks. CEO Kunal Shah set out these priorities in a post on X, more than four months after succeeding Will Cathcart as WhatsApp’s global head.
Shah said the app would evolve voice notes, groups, stickers and video as communication habits change. WhatsApp has more than three billion users worldwide and over 500 million in India, its largest market. According to Shah, users send more than 10 billion voice messages and four billion stickers daily, while the platform handles over 100 billion messages and two billion calls every day.
“We want anything you do on WhatsApp to be as simple as sending a message,” Shah wrote.
The second priority is making everyday tasks easier to complete within a chat. Shah said WhatsApp was working with financial services and telecom partners to reduce the steps involved in bill payments, borrowing and staying connected while travelling.
The expansion is already taking shape in India. WhatsApp introduced prepaid mobile recharges for Jio, Airtel and Vi in April and announced a gradual roll-out of bill payments in September through Bharat Connect, the network connecting billers with payment providers. Meta said the service would provide access to 22,722 billers across 30 categories, including electricity, water, insurance and loan repayments.
UPI processed approximately 2,547 crore transactions in October, showing the scale of the digital payments market.
AI is the third strand. Shah said it should find information, manage routine tasks and help users avoid missing bookings or appointments, although he did not provide details or a launch timetable for new consumer-facing features. Meta launched Business AI for eligible Indian small businesses in May, enabling automated replies, product recommendations and appointment handling in native Indian languages.
The company also said UPI payments within AI-assisted chats would be introduced, describing the capability as forthcoming.
The wider industry is moving in similar directions. Google and Apple began a beta roll-out of end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging between supported Android and iPhone devices in May. Meanwhile, Reuters reported in September that NPCI was developing a registry to verify AI agents making UPI payments, highlighting questions around user authorisation and liability when software acts on a customer's behalf.
Trust remains a significant consideration. Shah reiterated that personal messages and calls would remain end-to-end encrypted. “Trust takes years to earn and a moment to lose, and I don’t take that lightly,” he wrote.
As WhatsApp adds financial and AI services, it will need to explain how payment information and automated functions are handled alongside private conversations.
“The best technology saves you time, so you can get back to the connections that matter,” Shah said.