Mark Zuckerberg, the Founder and CEO of Meta, addressed a live audience at the company's second Annual Conversations conference, hosted in India, where he discussed the growing importance of messaging for businesses and introduced new features aimed at enhancing the messaging experience.

Zuckerberg highlighted India's leadership in embracing messaging as an essential means of communication for individuals and businesses. He said, "India, is a country that's at the forefront of a lot of what we're going to talk about today. India is leading the world in terms of how people and businesses have embraced messaging as the better way to get things done."

Meta operates some of the world's most popular messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and DMS, connecting billions of people and millions of businesses worldwide.

Zuckerberg emphasised Meta's commitment to innovation, stating that the company continuously seeks ways to empower businesses to connect with their customers more effectively. 

“WhatsApp Flows gives businesses the ability to create customised experiences right within chat threads. So, for example, a bank can build a way for customers to book an appointment to open a new account, a food delivery service can build a way to place any order from any of their partner restaurants or an airline can build a way to check in for a flight and pick up a seat, all without having to leave the chat thread”, he shared.

Additionally, Zuckerberg revealed plans to expand payment options within chat threads. After successfully launching payment solutions in Brazil and Singapore, Meta will introduce this service in India, supporting multiple payment methods, including all UPI apps. This move intends to facilitate seamless transactions for Indian consumers, enabling them to pay Indian businesses using their preferred payment methods within WhatsApp chats.

Addressing the issue of business credibility, Zuckerberg mentioned about 'Meta Verified.' He said, “We've been hearing from a lot of businesses that they're very eager to build more credibility and get greater visibility. So I'm excited to start rolling out Meta Verified in the coming months. And we're going to continue to evolve what's included in the toolkit to make sure that we're bringing the best value to businesses.”

The feature of' Meta Verified' will be available for businesses using WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, providing a verification badge, account support, impersonation protection, and additional features to enhance visibility and credibility. WhatsApp, in particular, will offer premium features like custom web pages and expanded multi-device support to verified businesses.