Meta Business Agent is Meta's own AI for business chats on WhatsApp and Messenger. It answers questions, recommends from your catalogue and can hand a chat to your team. On the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta bills it per token. Behaf is AI sales for D2C brands: Aria, our AI salesperson, sells to your buyers inside WhatsApp, then takes the PayU payment or confirms COD, books the Shiprocket pickup and pays out prepaid orders 7 days after the order. This Meta Business Agent vs Behaf comparison uses only Meta's own pages for Meta.
Disclosure: Behaf is our product. Meta facts below come from Meta's pages, read on 22 Oct 2026. Where we did not find something, we say so; that does not mean Meta's agent cannot do it.
The short answer
- Use Meta Business Agent if you mainly need an AI to answer questions, recommend from your catalogue, book appointments and qualify leads, and you already have a developer, your own WhatsApp Business Platform account, and payment and shipping systems it can connect to.
- Use Behaf if you want the whole sale to happen inside WhatsApp without building it: a storefront, an AI salesperson in English, Hindi, Hinglish, Tamil and other Indian languages, PayU checkout, COD confirmation and Shiprocket pickup, with no monthly fee.
- Use both if you want Meta's agent on your own number for support, and a Behaf store for selling. They sit on different numbers (more below).
What Meta Business Agent is
Meta announced Meta Business Agent on 3 June 2026 (Meta newsroom). Meta says it can answer questions specific to your business, recommend products from your catalogue, book appointments, qualify leads and "close sales", reply in your customers' local languages, and let you decide when a team member steps in. It runs on WhatsApp and Messenger, and Meta says it is expanding it to Instagram.
In the WhatsApp Business app, the agent learns from your Facebook Page, past chats and website, and you can flag topics so it hands those chats back to you (WhatsApp Business). Meta launched Business AI in the WhatsApp Business app in India in May 2026 and says it is available in all native languages in India (Meta India newsroom).
On the WhatsApp Business Platform (API), a developer sets the agent up. Meta says it handles conversations 24/7 and takes actions through your own APIs and webhooks (Meta developer docs). Two rules matter: the business must be in a country authorised for Meta Business Agent (Meta does not publish the list), and the number must not already run another AI agent.
How Meta bills it
On the API, Meta charges "one global rate of $2.00 USD per 1 million (M) tokens", which Meta estimates at about 4 to 5 US cents per message (Meta pricing docs). Token billing started on 1 August 2026 (Meta non-template pricing). Meta keeps charging Business Agent messages even inside the free window that opens after a Click-to-WhatsApp ad.
In the Business app, Meta says the agent is "free to use each month up to an included allowance, with more responses available through Meta One plans" (WhatsApp Business). Meta does not say how big the allowance is.
Message charges on the API. From 1 October 2026, Meta charges service replies again: every business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month, and Meta charges from the 1,001st (Meta pricing docs). Meta's INR list rates, effective 1 October 2026, show ₹0.115 per service or utility message and ₹0.8631 per marketing message in India. Messages from customers are free. Work out your own month with our WhatsApp Business API cost calculator.
What happens after the chat
An answered question still has to become a paid, shipped order.
- Payment. Meta says its Business AI will soon take UPI payments inside the WhatsApp chat in India (Meta India newsroom). On the API, Meta's Payments API for India works through the business's own payment gateway account (Meta names BillDesk, Razorpay, PayU and Zaakpay), and your developer builds the order messages (Meta payments docs).
- Cash on delivery. We did not find COD confirmation on Meta's agent or India payments pages.
- Courier. We did not find courier booking, pickup or tracking on Meta's pages.
- Payouts. Settlement is with your own gateway.
A developer can build these parts. The work sits with your own systems.
What Behaf does
- It sells, not just replies. Aria recommends the right size, shade or product, handles "last price?" inside the discount rule you set (0 to 50%, offered only after a buyer objects on price, once per buyer, with a minimum order), and suggests what goes with it. When she is unsure, she hands the chat to your team. Read more on the AI sales agent page.
- Languages. English, Hindi, Hinglish, Tamil and other Indian languages.
- Payment. PayU inside the chat: UPI and cards.
- COD. The buyer confirms the COD order on WhatsApp before dispatch; unconfirmed COD orders are cancelled automatically before pickup. See COD confirmation on WhatsApp.
- Shipping. Shiprocket pickup is booked automatically and tracking goes to the buyer in the chat.
- Payouts. Prepaid orders are paid out 7 days after the order, minus Behaf's fee. COD cash comes to you through your own Shiprocket account.
- No API application. Your store runs on Behaf's verified number. You upload products, or import from Shopify or a bulk CSV. Brands that want their own WhatsApp number get a custom setup with our team.
- Pricing. ₹0 setup and no monthly fee. 5% + ₹5 per shipped order plus 18% GST on that fee, the Founding 100 rate, locked for life for the first 100 brands; 10% + ₹5 + GST after that. Meta's message charges, the AI and the payment gateway are inside the fee. See Behaf pricing.
Behaf opens to sellers in a few weeks.
Side by side
| Meta Business Agent | Behaf | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Meta's AI agent for business chats | AI sales for D2C brands: WhatsApp store + AI salesperson |
| Channels | WhatsApp, Messenger; Instagram being added | |
| Number | Your own number (on the API, must not run another AI agent) | Behaf's verified number; own number as a custom setup |
| Setup | Business app, or API set up by a developer | Upload products, or import from Shopify or CSV |
| Languages | Local languages; Meta does not list them | English, Hindi, Hinglish, Tamil and other Indian languages |
| Recommends products | Yes, from your catalogue | Yes, plus add-ons and "last price?" inside your rule |
| Human handoff | Yes | Yes, to your team |
| Payment in chat | UPI in chat "starting soon" (Meta); API checkout through your own gateway | PayU: UPI and cards |
| COD confirmation | Not found on Meta's pages (read 22 Oct 2026) | Buyer confirms on WhatsApp; unconfirmed orders auto-cancel before pickup |
| Courier pickup and tracking | Not found on Meta's pages (read 22 Oct 2026) | Shiprocket, booked automatically, tracking in chat |
| Payouts | With your own gateway | Prepaid: 7 days after the order. COD: through your own Shiprocket account |
| Cost | API: $2 per 1M tokens (about 4 to 5 US cents a message, Meta's estimate) plus Meta's message charges. App: free up to an allowance, then Meta One | ₹0 setup, no monthly fee; 5% + ₹5 + GST per shipped order (Founding 100 rate). Meta's message charges are inside the fee |
Can I use both?
Yes, on different numbers. Meta says a number using its Business Agent on the API must not already run another AI agent, and a Behaf store runs on Behaf's verified number, not yours. So a brand can keep Meta's agent on its own number for support, and send buyers to its Behaf store link to order. To understand how your own API number is billed, see WhatsApp Business API in India and the WhatsApp Business API cost calculator.
We’ll set up your store with you.
Frequently asked
Is Meta Business Agent free? Not on the API: since 1 August 2026 Meta bills it at $2.00 USD per million tokens, about 4 to 5 US cents per message by Meta's estimate. In the WhatsApp Business app, Meta says it is free up to a monthly allowance (size not stated), with more through paid Meta One plans.
Is Meta Business Agent available in India? Meta launched Business AI in the WhatsApp Business app in India in May 2026. For the API version, Meta says the business must be in an authorised country and does not publish the list, so check with your developer.
Does Meta Business Agent reply in Hindi or Tamil? Meta says Business AI in India is available in all native languages in India, but does not list them. Behaf's AI salesperson sells in English, Hindi, Hinglish, Tamil and other Indian languages.
Are WhatsApp service replies still free in India? Only the first 1,000 a month per business phone number. From 1 October 2026, Meta charges from the 1,001st service message; its INR list rate is ₹0.115 per service message in India. With Behaf, Meta's message charges are inside the per-order fee.
Can Meta's agent take payments in WhatsApp? Meta says its Business AI will soon take UPI payments inside the chat in India. On the API, Meta's Payments API for India works through your own gateway account. Behaf takes UPI and cards through PayU inside the chat, and also confirms COD, books the Shiprocket pickup and pays out prepaid orders 7 days after the order.
Sources
- Meta newsroom, Meta Business Agent launch (3 Jun 2026): https://about.fb.com/news/2026/06/meta-business-agent/
- Meta India newsroom, Business AI on WhatsApp in India (14 May 2026): https://about.fb.com/news/2026/05/introducing-business-ai-on-whatsapp-for-small-businesses-in-india/
- WhatsApp Business, Business app AI agent: https://whatsappbusiness.com/products/business-app-ai-agent/
- WhatsApp Business, Meta One for the Business app: https://whatsappbusiness.com/products/business-app-meta-one/
- Meta developer docs, Meta Business Agent overview: https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/meta-business-agent/overview
- Meta developer docs, WhatsApp pricing (with INR list rates, effective 1 Oct 2026): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing
- Meta developer docs, non-template message pricing: https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing/non-template-messages
- Meta developer docs, Payments API India: https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/payments/payments-in/pg