The company revealed that over one million businesses already use early versions of the agent which was built inside Meta’s messaging platforms, where over a billion conversations happen daily between people and businesses.

The Business Agent, which works in local languages, responds to customer questions without delay and also makes product suggestions from a company’s catalogue. It can book appointments, qualify incoming leads and complete sales.

Businesses can set the tone, and the agent adjusts its language to match.

At the event in London, demonstrations showed how quickly the agent replies to customer messages, with one test illustrating a full product enquiry handled from start to checkout without human input.

Meta also built in a morning briefing feature that sends business owners a summary of missed messages and highlights from customer chats. It is aimed at teams that cannot stay online all day.

The company is also expanding access with new businesses being able to set up the agent in minutes. The entry option is free, but Meta plans to introduce paid tiers later for different business sizes.

Discovery is also changing, letting customers search for businesses directly on WhatsApp soon. They can also share contact cards in chats as well as trigger direct conversations with companies and Meta says this will make response times faster once customers reach out.

Behind the tool is a larger system called the Meta Business Agent Platform. It allows companies to build and customise their own agents and also connects with external services such as Shopify, Zendesk and Shopee. This gives the agent the ability to act on behalf of a business across different systems.

Larger companies get added features including guardrails, measurement tools and options to set policies around customer interactions. Meta says this is aimed at ensuring consistency and oversight at scale.

The company is expanding support across WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram. It says businesses will eventually be able to use the system for more than customer service. Future plans include market research, product insights, calendar management and competitive tracking.

Meta is also investing heavily in artificial intelligence infrastructure, with spending expected to reach $145 billion. The Business Agent aims to turn messaging platforms into full business tools.

OpenAI, Anthropic and Google are all building similar AI systems for enterprise use. Meta’s focus is strongly on integrating these tools directly into its social and messaging apps, where businesses already operate.

The app, a free, permission-based solution, according to a statement by the developers, is also capable of deployment to text messages as well as audio and video calls.

George Kalu, CEO of Concept Technologies LLC, the company behind the innovative App, explained that the app is an all-in-one solution which combines the capabilities of tracker and location-sharing solutions with high quality audio and video calls.

He said the voice and video call clarity of the app bests others like WhatsApp, Messenger and others offering the same features in the market while users are also enabled to exchange text messages all free of charge.

Kalu explained that the with the increasing security challenges, especially those faced by working parents and young people, there was the need to create a solution that will support measures to be taken for personal safety and the safety of dependents and loved ones.

“The society we live in has become a lot more complicated. While our universe has expanded and has continued to expand, our knowledge of the people we relate with in this increasingly expanding universe has become limited. For example, with the use of our phones, young people can commence relationships with people they know very little about and this comes with huge risks.

But with the SeeMeGlobal app, a young lady who is going to see a person she met online can move with stronger assurance if she shared her location with a close friend who would take early action when her personal safety becomes doubtful. Another instance where the App can be very useful is in the cases of working parents who are frequently concerned and distracted from their regular office and business duties about the welfare of their children and wards under the care of nannies at home or in daycare.

With SeeMeGlobal, such parents can easily know the whereabouts of their children, their conditions and thus have the peace of mind needed for optimal concentration.

We have seen cases where those that care for children either maltreat them in the absence of their parents or even kidnap them. With this app, such situations are reduced to the minimum and parents can rest with reasonable assurance that their loved ones are safe,” he stated.

Kalu said SeeMeGlobal was built in such a way that as to make it possible for events at a shared location to be visible to someone at another end of the communication, making it possible to track and arrest situations that could have caused breach of personal safety.

“Seemeglobal is the only app in the entire world that has the proprietary ‘Seeme’ feature for location sharing. The app has many unique features, one of which is that you can actually share your location with someone who does not have the app and still extract the same value. From the shared location link that is built into the app, a voice call can be made between the users that are involved. The particular location shared can be seen through Google maps or satellite map as the user chooses. This is important in cases such as abductions where people’s security is compromised. The satellite map is usually better in cases, and will support rescue and intervention efforts for law enforcement agencies or military deployment. Again, the location shared is dynamic as it tags along with the movement of the person who shared his/her location. This means that if the user is on the move, the changes in location are still tracked to ensure effective interdiction by the enforcement people,” Kalu explained.

Also speaking on the new App, Mr. Charles Will-Obong, the chief marketing officer of the company, said in addition to its use for personal security and unrivalled audio/video call quality, SeeMeGlobal was also built to also support businesses that demand real-time management and supervision of employees on remote locations.

“Today’s workplace is increasingly changing. We have many businesses with employees operating from remote locations. While the conventional workplace uses tools such as registers and clock-ins to monitor the presence of staff in the office, the challenge for managers and supervisors of a workforce, especially a sales team in different locations can be arduous.

But with SeeMeGlobal app, Business owners can always deploy the tracking and location-sharing features to know the real-time locations of their field workers. This means that employees, vendors and sales teams can hardly pretend to be working even when they are not. The app enables supervisors and managers to monitor in real time what those outside the office location are doing, know exactly where they are at every point in time and this will lead to more productivity and better appraisal by remotely located managers and supervisors,” he stated.

He revealed that the company has other revolutionary products and apps in the technology space and is working to introduce them to the African market in the near future.

In one simple and intuitive app, Aleph Express provides a platform for MSMEs to create and maintain a free e-commerce website, create a product catalog, set local delivery options, manage, record and process orders while gaining meaningful insights to drive growth.

Most innovatively, Aleph Express provides one unified inbox that integrates Whatsapp, Messenger, and Instagram, to enable businesses to efficiently engage and sell – all in one place.

In addition, Aleph Express provides local payment solutions and support, creating a holistic offer for Nigeria’s thriving MSME sector.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria is home to more than 41 million MSMEs and contributed 49% of the country’s GDP in the last five years. 42% of MSMEs in the country – equivalent to more than 17 million businesses – operate within the wholesale and retail trade industry.

However, 97% of Nigeria’s retail industry is made up of traditional – largely offline – channels. Aleph Express’ solution, which takes all the heavy lifting out of starting and managing an online shop, will offer an opportunity for retailers to evolve traditional retail channels and capture online growth.

The launch of Aleph Express forms a key part of Aleph’s strategy to provide localised and actionable technology for advertisers and MSMEs alike.

From its teams on the ground, Aleph offers unrivalled, local support to enable its partners to overcome in-market challenges and create valuable opportunities. Aleph, through its legacy brand Ad Dynamo, has been supporting Nigerian advertisers since 2009.

https://youtu.be/JMtSAgZ6gbg

Matthieu Laporte, Vice President of SMB at Aleph, commented:

“Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of the Nigerian economy. With Aleph Express, we enable them to create digital storefronts to attract more customers not only in their neighbourhood but across the country and the region. Our dedicated local teams support businesses and entrepreneurs new to this form of commerce and aim to onboard 10,000 monthly active merchants by the end of 2023.”

Approximately 90% of MSMEs in Nigeria use social platforms in one way or another to connect to customers, Aleph Express is a one-stop shop to accelerate businesses’ outreach to clients and potential new clients across the country.

Stephen Newton, Managing Director – Sub Saharan Africa at Aleph, added:

“The launch of Aleph Express is a premiere – we are proud that Nigeria has been selected by Aleph as the first market to launch. This also marks a milestone in our offering, as Aleph Express is specially tailored for small and medium businesses, enabling these entrepreneurs to leverage the power of social platforms for their growth. With our local team standing by and supporting SMBs, I am confident that we are spearheading a revolution in this field.”

Aleph Express is available on Google Play and in the App Store.

In an era where your digital life’s worth is almost equivalent to your social media following, there’s an older man in the corner that nobody’s paying much attention to – email.

It’s the guy who’s been at the party since it started but now seems a little out of place next to the cool kids on the block, WhatsApp and Telegram.

The Cool Kids: Messaging Apps

You’re at a family dinner, and your phone pings. It’s a WhatsApp message from your gym announcing a discount. Convenient, right?

Messaging apps have become the convenience stores of communication – quick, accessible, and right around the corner.

They’re nimble; they’re quick; they get the job done. You can almost hear email coughing in the background, saying, “I used to be the star player here.”

But What About Email?

However, dismissing email is like ignoring the wisdom of your grandparents while tuning in to the latest reality show. Yes, the latter is entertaining, but the former has depth, resilience, and character. According to Statista, email usage still trumps WhatsApp by nearly double.

It said that in 2022, the number of global email users amounted to 4.26 billion and will grow to 4.73 billion in 2026. Email is the vintage wine; it just gets better with age.

Case Study: Fashion Retail

Let’s take a look at the fashion retail industry. Brands often use WhatsApp or SMS for flash sales or quick announcements. However, email is king when it comes to detailed seasonal catalogues or loyalty programs.

Why?

Because an email allows for more content and it’s not intrusive. Moreover, businesses often find it easier to navigate the regulatory and compliance aspects of email marketing.

Leadership Meeting on WhatsApp?

Picture this: Your boss shifts your department’s bi-weekly leadership meeting discussions to WhatsApp. The finance guy sends Excel sheets, and the digital marketing lead responds with emojis.

The brand management lead uses this as an opportunity to share his collection of cat GIFs. Nightmare, right? There are spaces where messaging apps fall flat, and that’s where the robustness of email shines.

The True Value of Email

Let’s get sentimental for a moment. Remember the anticipation you felt when waiting for that college acceptance email? How about the joy of seeing a job offer appear in your inbox?

Emails carry an emotional weight that a messaging app can’t emulate. It’s the ‘sealed with a kiss’ of digital communication.

Not going away soon

In a nutshell, email marketing isn’t going away just because messaging apps are multiplying like rabbits. If anything, they’re like the odd couple who bicker but can’t do without each other.

Messaging apps are the espresso shots—quick, potent, and effective. On the other hand, emails are like a family dinner—thoughtful, abundant, and deep.

In the end, a balanced diet needs both the quick energy of sugar and the sustained release of complex carbs. Similarly, a well-rounded communication strategy needs both email and messaging apps.

One is not better than the other; they’re just different. And like any odd couple, they’re most effective when combined.

[Featured Image Credit]