WhatsApp Business to introduce token-based pricing for Meta Business Agent from August 1- Moneycontrol.com

WhatsApp Business to introduce token-based pricing for Meta Business Agent from August 1
Meta also plans to reinstate charges for certain types of business messages as it seeks to accelerate WhatsApp Business growth.
July 02, 2026 / 02:15 IST
India has become central to Meta’s business messaging ambitions

• Meta to bill businesses per AI token starting Aug 2026
• Per-message fees for non-template service messages resume Oct 2026
• India is WhatsApp’s top market, generating $1B+ revenue

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Meta is revamping the pricing structure of the WhatsApp Business Platform, introducing a new model for Meta Business Agent and reinstating charges for certain types of messages as it pushes to accelerate monetisation of the world’s largest messaging app

The company will begin charging businesses that use its enterprise AI agent, Meta Business Agent, to respond to customers on a per-token basis rather than per message from August 1, 2026

This marks a shift in the WhatsApp Business Platform’s pricing model as AI takes on a larger role in customer interactions and Meta seeks to monetise its AI offerings

The move comes on the heels of the firm announcing the global availability of the Meta Business Agent platform last month

The platform lets businesses set up an AI agent that can help them respond to customers on their behalf around the clock, capture leads, book appointments, recommend products, and drive sales

Why is WhatsApp changing its pricing model for AI agent responses?

Meta said the new pricing model reflects the token consumption required to process a user’s message, or prompt, and generate a response. Customers will be billed directly by Meta, with no separate charge for message delivery, unlike other message types on WhatsApp Business Platform

“Businesses that use a third-party AI solution typically incur separate charges for AI usage from the AI provider and message delivery from the messaging solution provider. Meta applies one charge for Meta Business Agent messages,” the company said

How much will Meta charge for the Meta Business Agent?

Meta will charge a flat rate of $2 per million tokens globally. The company said a single interaction typically consumes about 20,000 to 25,000 tokens, translating to roughly 4 to 5 cents per message

However, costs will vary depending on complexity. Simpler interactions will consume fewer tokens and cost less, while more complex exchanges will require more tokens and hence cost more

Which charges is WhatsApp reinstating?

Meta will also reinstate per-message charges for non-template service messages from October 1, 2026, nearly two years after waiving those fees. Any non-template message that is not powered by Meta Business Agent will be regarded as a service message, the company noted

The rates for these service messages will be similar to existing utility and authentication messages and will vary by market. In India, utility and authentication messages are charged at Rs 0.115 per message at present, with volume tiers (over 25 million messages per month) offering lower rates

In July 2025, WhatsApp began charging businesses on a per-message basis instead of per-conversation, as part of its efforts to simplify pricing and make it consistent with other channels that also charge per message

At the time, Meta had made utility messages sent in response to a user’s message within a 24-hour window free. The company will reinstate these charges from October 1, 2026

Why is India important for Meta’s business messaging ambitions?

With an estimated base of over 850 million users, India is the biggest market for WhatsApp, which has more than 3 billion users worldwide

The country also contributes more than half of WhatsApp’s global revenue, generating more than $1 billion annually, largely through business messaging, Moneycontrol reported last week

India, which is already among the world’s biggest markets for paid messaging, has become central to Meta’s efforts to monetise WhatsApp through its business offerings in recent years

The significance of that opportunity is understood to have been a key factor in Meta’s decision to recently appoint Cred founder Kunal Shah as the global leader of WhatsApp, Moneycontrol reported last week

first published: Jul 2, 2026 02:15 am

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Source: www.moneycontrol.com