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Centralized Campaigns, AI Support and More for Businesses on WhatsApp

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Today, at our global Conversations conference in Miami, we’re introducing updates to help make WhatsApp the go-to place for doing business.  

Streamlining Marketing Across WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram

We’re streamlining how businesses can create and manage their marketing strategy across WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram – all in Ads Manager. Now, businesses of all sizes can use the same creative, setup flows and budgets in one central place. Once onboarded, businesses can upload their subscriber list and either manually select marketing messages as an additional placement or use Advantage+, and our AI systems will then optimize budgets across placements to maximize performance. Once available, businesses interested in creating ads in Status will be able to do that from Ads Manager too.

Expanding AI Support

Image that reads "Business AI" and shows a collage of AI functions on WhatsApp

As businesses attract more customers, they need additional support responding to an influx of chats. This is where AI can help. We’re exploring a Business AI that can make personalized product recommendations and facilitate sales on any business’ website – and then follow up with customers to answer questions or provide updates right in a WhatsApp chat. And starting soon, we’ll expand Business AIs to more businesses in Mexico. 

Adding Calling and Voice Options

Image that reads "Adding calling and video options for larger businesses" and has to images WA calling UI

There also might be times it’s helpful to provide additional support to customers beyond just a text. In the coming weeks, larger businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform will be able to receive a call from a customer when they want to talk to someone live, or call a customer directly once they’ve asked to hear from you. And starting soon, we’ll also make it possible to send and receive voice messages for additional support, or make a video call which can be helpful for things like a telehealth appointment. Bringing calling and voice updates to the WhatsApp Business Platform will help people communicate in a way that works best for them and paves the way for AI-enabled voice support in the future. Businesses interested in getting started with calling on the WhatsApp Business Platform can work with one of our partners.

We look forward to hearing how these updates help businesses strengthen relationships with their customers and increase efficiency.





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Business

No imminent change to tax-free allowance

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There will be no immediate changes to cash Individual Savings Accounts (Isas), the BBC understands.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves was widely expected to announce plans to reduce the £20,000 tax-free allowance.

The move was aimed at encouraging more investment in stocks and shares, which the goverment says it will still focus on.

“Our ambition is to ensure people’s hard-earned savings are delivering the best returns and driving more investment into the UK economy,” a Treasury spokesperson said.

The Treasury is expected to continue to talk to banks, building societies and investment firms about options for reform.

An Isa is a savings or investment product that is treated differently for tax purposes.

Any returns you make from an Isa are tax-free, but there is a limit to how much money you can put in each year.

The current £20,000 annual allowance can be used in one account or spread across multiple Isa products as you wish.



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UK economy shrank unexpectedly in May

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The economy shrank by 0.1%, the second month in a row it has contracted.



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Trump threatens 35% tariffs on Canadian goods

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US President Donald Trump has said he will slap a 35% tariff on Canadian goods starting 1 August, even as the two countries are days away from a self-imposed deadline to reach a new deal on trade.

The missive came as Trump also threatened blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on most trade partners, and said he would soon notify the European Union of a new tariff rate on its goods.

Trump announced the latest levies on Canada on Thursday in a letter posted to social media and addressed to Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The US has already imposed a blanket 25% tariff on some Canadian goods, and the country is feeling the pain of the Trump administration’s global steel, aluminium and auto tariffs.

The letter is among more than 20 that Trump had posted this week to US trade partners, including Japan, South Korea and Sri Lanka.

Like Canada’s letter, Trump has vowed to implement those tariffs on trade partners by 1 August.

The US has imposed a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports, though there is a current exemption in place for goods that comply with a North American free trade agreement.

It is unclear if the latest tariffs threat would apply to goods covered by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Trump has also imposed a global 50% tariff on aluminium and steel imports, and a 25% tariff on all cars and trucks not build in the US.

He also recently announced a 50% tariff on copper imports, scheduled to take effect next month.

Canada sells about three-quarters of its goods to the US, and is an auto manufacturing hub and a major supplier of metals, making the US tariffs especially damaging to those sectors.

Trump’s letter said the 35% tariffs are separate to those sector-specific levies.

“As you are aware, there will be no tariff if Canada, or companies within your country, decide to build or manufacture products within the United States,” Trump stated.

He also tied the tariffs to what he called “Canada’s failure” to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US, as well as Canada’s existing levies on US dairy farmers and the trade deficit between the two countries.

“If Canada works with me to stop the flow of Fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter. These Tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with Your Country,” Trump said.

President Trump has accused Canada – alongside Mexico – of allowing “vast numbers of people to come in and fentanyl to come in” to the US.

According to data from the US Customs and Border Patrol, only about 0.2% of all seizures of fentanyl entering the US are made at the Canadian border, almost all the rest is confiscated at the US border with Mexico.

In response to Trump’s complaints, Canada announced more funding towards border security and had appointed a fentanyl czar earlier this year.

Canada has been engaged in intense talk with the US in recent months to reach a new trade and security deal.

At the G7 Summit in June, Prime Minister Carney and Trump said they were committed to reaching a new deal on within 30 days, setting a deadline of 21 July.

Trump threatened in the letter to increase levies on Canada if it retaliated. Canada has already imposed counter-tariffs on the US, and has vowed more if they failed to reach a deal by the deadline.

In late June, Carney removed a tax on big US technology firms after Trump labelled it a “blatant attack” and threatened to call off trade talks.

Carney said the tax was dropped as “part of a bigger negotiation” on trade between the two countries.

The Prime Minister’s office told the BBC they did not have immediate comment on Trump’s letter.



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