In a recent upgrade, WhatsApp users will be able to search for businesses by category or name right inside the WhatsApp UI, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Meta, previously known as Facebook, bought WhatsApp in 2014.
Zuckerberg stated that the ultimate goal was to allow consumers to search, message, and purchase from a business all in the same WhatsApp chat on Thursday at the WhatsApp Business Summit in Brazil.
The new Business Search feature will be available in Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and the UK.
These new features are introduced to offer users a convenient way to quickly get assistance from the millions of small businesses and tens of thousands of brands already on WhatsApp.
One of the features is "Find a Business," which allows users to use WhatsApp's Application Programming Interface (API) to find a larger brand and locate a small- to medium-sized business (SMB).
However, this is available only in Brazil.
Another feature is 'Buy' where one can pay a local merchant directly on WhatsApp.
This feature is currently being tested in Brazil and is expected to be expanded to other markets as well.
The official announcement blogpost also said once people find a business they want to chat with, they can ask product questions, browse their catalogue of goods and services and add items to a cart so the business knows what they want to buy.
With inputs from Agencies.
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