Meta Introduces Token-Based Pricing for WhatsApp Business AI Agent, Revises Platform Charges

WhatsApp Business announced a new token-based billing model for the AI-powered Meta Business Agent on Wednesday. The Meta-owned messaging platform also reinstated charges for certain business messages as part of a major overhaul of the WhatsApp Business Platform’s pricing structure. Instead of individual messages, businesses using the Meta Business Agent will now be charged based on token consumption. The company will also resume charging for service and select utility messages on WhatsApp Business later this year.

New Pricing Structure for WhatsApp Business

Meta updated the WhatsApp Business’ support page to reflect the revised pricing structure. Beginning August 1, businesses using the Meta Business Agent on WhatsApp Business Platform will be charged on a per-token basis instead of per message. The company claims the pricing will reflect the number of tokens consumed to process a customer’s prompt and generate an AI response.

WhatsApp Business has set a global rate of $2 (roughly Rs. 190) per one million tokens. As per Meta, a typical conversation consumes around 20,000 to 25,000 tokens, which translates to approximately $0.04 to $0.05 (roughly Rs. 3.81 to Rs. 4.76) per interaction. Following this move, simpler conversations will consume fewer tokens and cost less, while more complex interactions that require longer AI responses will incur higher charges.

Further, the company will reinstate per-message charges for service messages from October 1. After this, any non-template message that is not generated by Meta Business Agent will be classified as a service message and billed accordingly.

Meanwhile, utility messages sent within an open 24-hour customer service window will be charged as well. This move is expected to end a pricing waiver that has been in place since July 2025. These charges will follow the existing pricing structure for utility and authentication messages, and rates will vary by market. In India, utility and authentication messages are currently priced at Rs. 0.115 per message.

Lastly, Meta said WhatsApp Business is now integrated with enterprise services like Shopify and Zendesk. This will allow businesses to connect the AI agent with their existing workflows and customer support infrastructure.