Meta launches Business Agent to compete in enterprise AI market
Meta unveiled an AI agent designed to handle day-to-day business operations, marking the company's formal entry into the enterprise software market. The product, announced at Meta's Conversations conference in London on June 3, expands the company's existing messaging services by enabling agents to take independent actions like booking appointments and closing sales.
More than 1 million businesses already use earlier chatbot versions on WhatsApp and Messenger. The new Business Agent will roll out to Instagram as well and be available to businesses of all sizes globally.
Meta is positioning itself against OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google in the race to build AI tools for company operations. The company plans to leverage its social media reach to convince businesses to consolidate their advertising and workflow tools on Meta's platforms.
How the tool works
The Business Agent customizes responses on Meta's apps while maintaining a company's tone. It answers frequently asked questions, qualifies leads, and escalates complex issues to human staff when needed.
Unlike rule-based automation systems, the new agent can complete transactions directly. "We actually want it to be able to complete the payment, to process the booking, to place the order," said Naomi Gleit, Meta's head of product.
Businesses can access the tool free initially, with paid subscription options coming in the following months.
Broader platform for custom agents
Meta is also launching a Business Agent Platform that lets companies build custom AI agents for operations outside Meta's apps. The platform connects to hundreds of external systems including Shopify, Zendesk, and Shopee.
The company created a new team called Enterprise Solutions to support larger customers. Engineers will embed directly with enterprise clients to write custom code and help models deliver results-a model used by competitors like Anthropic.
Gleit is consolidating Meta's scattered AI agents, including internal workflow tools, a support bot, and a business assistant launched last month. "The number one thing I hear, especially from small businesses, is 'I just want to go to one place that can do all the things,'" she said.
Security concerns surface
Meta acknowledged risks of giving AI agents permission to act independently on company systems. The company experienced a security lapse earlier in the week when hackers convinced its AI support chatbot to grant access to high-profile Instagram accounts.
Gleit said the incident revealed a flaw in an underlying technical check rather than a failure in the agent itself. "The agent actually exposed a technical check that wasn't working," she said. The company is still investigating.
The incident underscores the operational risks of deploying AI agents with real decision-making authority. As businesses consider these tools, understanding both their capabilities and limitations becomes critical.
Meta's stock rose more than 3% following the announcement.
Related reading: Learn more about AI Agents & Automation and how they reshape business workflows, or explore the AI Learning Path for Operations Managers to understand implementation and governance.
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