New Delhi: In a strategic move to bolster its presence in the Indian market, WhatsApp has announced that it will be making service messaging free for businesses. This decision aims to encourage the use of AI chatbots for customer interactions and challenge the dominance of traditional SMS in the country.
Previously, businesses in India were charged Rs. 0.25 per service message on WhatsApp, such as those used for order status updates or flight rescheduling. This move makes WhatsApp the most cost-effective communication channel for businesses, undercutting SMS (Rs. 0.12-0.15) and Google’s RCS (Rs. 0.20-0.25).
Despite being a popular messaging platform, WhatsApp currently holds only a 30% share of the enterprise communication market in India, with SMS still dominating at 90%. Experts believe that this change could incentivize businesses to adopt WhatsApp for two-way communication, driving user engagement and increasing spending on click-to-WhatsApp ads on other Meta platforms.
ALSO READ: Delhi High Court Halts Desi Bites’ Use of ‘Good Day’ Trademark
The company also revealed plans to make utility templates free for businesses within a customer service window starting April 1, 2025. This means that businesses can respond to customer queries with text messages or utility templates without incurring any charges.
This strategic move by WhatsApp is poised to disrupt the Indian enterprise messaging landscape, potentially leading to a significant shift away from traditional SMS towards AI-powered chatbot interactions.
