WhatsApp has joined the ranks of the world’s most-used apps, surpassing 3 billion monthly users, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced during the company’s Q1 2025 earnings call. The achievement solidifies WhatsApp’s role as a cornerstone of Meta’s consumer engagement, AI strategy, and growing business services portfolio.
Founded in 2009 and acquired by Meta (then Facebook) for $19 billion in 2014, WhatsApp has grown exponentially without running ads or charging subscription fees. Having reached 2 billion monthly active users in 2020, the app has now added another billion in just four years—reinforcing its position as the dominant global messaging platform.
This scale is proving critical as Meta sharpens its focus on artificial intelligence. Meta CFO Susan Li revealed that WhatsApp currently leads in Meta AI engagement across the company’s entire family of apps. Most users interact with Meta AI in one-on-one chats, suggesting that private messaging is a natural entry point for personal AI assistants.
“We see people engage with Meta AI from several different entry points. WhatsApp continues to see the strongest Meta AI usage across our family of apps,” Li said.
Zuckerberg acknowledged that while WhatsApp dominates in many regions, the U.S. remains a challenging market due to the prevalence of native SMS apps. To address this, Meta has launched a standalone Meta AI app aimed at American users, with the goal of establishing it as the leading personal AI tool.
WhatsApp is also a key driver of Meta’s commercial growth. Its enterprise platform, WhatsApp Business, contributed significantly to the $510 million in revenue from Meta’s family of apps in Q1. Businesses across sectors are using WhatsApp to communicate with customers, automate responses, and drive engagement.
To enhance this experience, Meta is integrating AI tools into WhatsApp Business. New features include a dashboard that allows companies to train Meta AI using content from their websites, WhatsApp profiles, or linked social pages. The company is also testing AI chatbots that can manage customer conversations directly within the app.
These advancements come amid strong quarterly results. Meta reported Q1 2025 revenue of $42.31 billion—a 16% increase year-over-year—along with 3.43 billion daily active users across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads. Ad impressions grew by 5%, and the average price per ad rose by 10%, signaling continued strength in Meta’s advertising model.
As Meta continues investing in AI and business tools, WhatsApp stands out not only as a messaging giant but also as a key enabler of customer engagement, intelligent automation, and scalable growth. With 3 billion users and rising, its influence is poised to grow even further in both consumer and enterprise markets.
