Here’s Why Meta Wants You to Believe Conversational AI Advertising Can Run Only on WhatsApp

Meta is selling you its Conversational AI Advertising solution by calling it Click-to-WhatsApp ads. This is Meta’s way of brainwashing you into believing that this advertising solution can run only via WhatsApp.

As someone who did extensive work in building a Conversational AI Advertising system way back in 2022, I can tell you that the original plan did not entail WhatsApp.

In conversational advertising, when a user clicks on a paid ad, he isn’t directed to a landing page. Instead, he’s directed to a chatbot designed to enable him to make the purchase. This chatbot is designed by experts known as conversation designers, and it uses tech in the form of machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) to deliver a smooth buying experience.

Here’s what Meta doesn’t want you to know: this chatbot can be on your brand’s website or app.

By calling it Click-to-WhatsApp ads, Meta wants the Marketing fraternity to believe that WhatsApp is the only place where such ads can be executed.

Given that Meta exists to further its business interests, I’d say that this is a smart move by them.

Given that brand managers exist to further their brand’s interests and not Meta’s interests, I’d be happy if they are aware that the possibility of using the chatbot on their website/app does exist.

The advantage of using one’s own chatbot is that it reduces the brand’s dependence on Meta and gives it full control over the customer’s data. Reckon a lot of brands would love this sort of advantage. Perhaps Meta doesn’t want brands to think about this advantage.