// TECHCRUNCH — MOBILE & WEB
New WhatsApp head wants to make the app easier to use, give its AI more chops
WhatsApp has grown into one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, used by over 3 billion people. But with that growth, the app has also become complex, packing in features like communities, channels, stories and business features, and a lot of people find it hard to navigate.
Kunal Shah, who took over leadership of the app’s development from Will Cathcart earlier this year, now wants to make the app and actions within it simpler to use. In a new note shared on Tuesday, Shah said the company wants to make voice notes, groups, stickers, and video “simpler and more expressive.”
WhatsApp has long also tried to develop an ecosystem that lets users explore products and make purchases, and Shah’s note indicates more of that is coming, hinting at partnerships with payment companies and telecom providers to enable bill payment, loans, and eSIM purchases.
Shah also said the company wants to use AI to surface important information to users.
“It should quickly find what you need, get things done, and make sure you never miss a booking or an appointment. The best technology saves you time, so you can get back to the connections that matter,” he wrote.
WhatsApp currently offers an AI assistant that can summarize messages and create drafts. It’s not clear if the company will use its Muse agent to collate information and send reminders to people.
I think of WhatsApp like a shared language, spoken by 3bn+ people. Sometimes we use words, and sometimes it’s a voice note to a parent, a sticker that ends an argument, or a “home safely” at 2am. Language is at the heart of everything we as people do. We write letters, tell stories, send hard messages and make plans for the future. A WhatsApp chat is often where we start.
Like any language, the people who use it shape it. They don’t wait for permission. They find new things to say, and new ways to say them. Often, our users show us what should come next based on how they’re using the app and communicating in the world.
I’ve spent the last few months listening and understanding what our users need and want from us and, and what I heard is simple: Help people stay close to those who matter to them, and get more done on WhatsApp.
First, we want to make connections richer. Sometimes hearing someone’s voice, sending a joke, agreeing on a plan or knowing they’re safe is the whole point. People send over 10 billion voice messages and over 4 billion stickers on WhatsApp every day. As the way people communicate evolves, we will evolve these experiences with them. We’ll make voice notes, groups, stickers and video simpler and more expressive, because how people feel close keeps changing.