WhatsApp beta to let you add up to 5 AI agents to chats

WhatsApp is building a feature that lets users plug a third-party AI agent directly into a private chat, according to WABetaInfo, which spotted the option in a limited Android beta rollout.

Rather than opening a separate app or website, users would configure the agent once and talk to it inside WhatsApp like any other contact.

How WhatsApp new feature will work?

The feature reportedly lives in app settings, where users name the agent, pick a profile photo, and generate an API key to paste into whatever platform hosts the bot.

According to ABetaInfo, WhatsApp does impose restrictions and allows only a few agents to be added to one account. This means that in theory, one may add the scheduling bot and customer support bot without switching between multiple apps.

The feature is available only to a selected number of testers in certain countries, and there is no information when it will be available to others.

All bots that users add via this method will be isolated from other parts of their account. It means that agents will be able to see only a conversation they have with users and nothing else.

Another important note is that chats with bots do not include end-to-end encryption, since it will be done by a Meta-operated service connecting an agent to its developer.

In June, the European Commission ordered Meta to restore free WhatsApp Business API access for rival general-purpose AI assistants, after Meta had first banned them outright in October 2025 and then reintroduced them under a fee the Commission said amounted to the same thing.

Meta is appealing, but the order stands until the EU's broader antitrust probe wraps or June 2029, whichever comes first.