Meta Lets AI Agents Take Over WhatsApp Business Setup

Meta announced Tuesday that businesses can now hand the fiddly parts of WhatsApp Business messaging setup to an AI agent of their choice. The service connects companies with customers through WhatsApp conversations.

Previously, getting set up meant juggling the Developer Console, Meta's Business Manager, the API reference and an editor. Now, businesses can simply chat with an AI coding agent and describe what they need done.

The change comes thanks to the new WhatsApp Business Tools MCP, a Model Context Protocol server that links agents like Claude, Cursor, Codex or ChatGPT straight to the WhatsApp Business Platform. It joins Meta's existing MCP servers for ads and app configuration.

The agent can create the WhatsApp Business account, add and verify a phone number, register for Cloud API access, check terms of service and more. It can also draft or edit message templates, test messages and webhooks, and flag issues that might otherwise slip by, such as payment method or business verification problems. Meta's Social Technologies MCP server can assist with documentation and troubleshooting during setup.