Meta Platforms Inc is set to display advertisements within its WhatsApp messaging service, marking a new revenue opportunity as the company focuses on AI and other long-term projects.

The ads will be featured in WhatsApp's 'Updates' tab, a separate section from user inboxes and private chats.

This tab attracts 1.5 billion visitors daily, according to Meta.

Advertisers will have the option to promote their WhatsApp Channel and gain prominent visibility in the Updates tab.

Channels enable brands and celebrities to share messages with a group of followers, similar to a mass email.

As part of this advertising initiative, WhatsApp will allow Channel operators to offer paid subscriptions for exclusive content to a group of subscribers.

Meta does not plan to take a percentage of subscription sales initially, but intends to charge 10% of revenues in the future, as stated by WhatsApp's vice-president of product, Ms. Alice Newton Rex.

The company has been investing heavily in AI, including a recent $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, an AI data labelling startup.

Meta's advertising business is under pressure to support the growing AI efforts, as the company continues to expand its services beyond messaging.

WhatsApp, acquired for $19 billion in 2014, has been gradually developing a business model to complement its private messaging service.

Despite the challenges of integrating advertising into a private messaging platform, Meta has been focusing on features for small businesses, such as digital payments and shopping tools.

While Meta generates billions from click-to-message ads on Instagram and Facebook, WhatsApp has remained ad-free to preserve user privacy.

WhatsApp ads will utilize general targeting based on factors like location, language preferences, and followed Channels, without accessing personal information from Facebook or Instagram unless users have linked their accounts.

The introduction of ads will not interfere with personal messages on WhatsApp, ensuring a seamless user experience.

WhatsApp will gradually roll out ads globally, starting on June 16, with users gradually seeing them over time.

Source: The Straits Times