AI GTM Through WhatsApp

Leveraging Discord as a primary GTM has been a winning strategy for a number of AI companies in the West. Asian and European AI Apps are applying that playbook to WhatsApp.

WhatsApp and AI GTM

Leveraging Discord as a primary GTM has been a winning strategy for a number of AI companies. Midjourney for instance scaled to 15M+ users with no web or mobile app of its own and Discord as its primary GTM channel. This approach allowed Midjourney to foster a communal space for collective imagination and provided first-time users with tangible examples of creative and fun prompts to discover and engage with.

Midjourney User Growth. Source: X (@Retropunk AI)

Adriel Yong and I have been observing a number of AI companies in WhatsApp-dominant regions like Asia and Europe take inspiration from the success that AI solutions had through Discord to replicate that playbook on WhatsApp.

In this piece:

1. We examine the power of WhatsApp as a GTM channel for AI Companies

2. Dive into several case studies to show examples from Asia and Europe of AI Companies Building on WhatsApp

---

WhatsApp as a GTM channel for AI Companies

So why is WhatsApp emerging as such a powerful GTM for AI applications?

1. 🌎 Global Reach: With a strong presence in over 180 countries, WhatsApp enables AI startups to access a diverse, global user base, facilitating international expansion from Day 1. 

   1. Moreover, the presence of communities (neighborhood, interest groups, businesses) enables fast distribution. 

2. 📱Eliminate friction: Go where your users already are. WhatsApp has 2B+ MAUs, so for startups building in geographies where WhatsApp is already the dominant messaging platform, it offers a low-friction way to attract new users seamlessly. 

   1. WhatsApp is the messaging app of choice for several countries, such as Singapore (80% penetration), India (50%), Indonesia (40%) and Brazil (55%).

3. 🤖 WhatsApp Business Tooling + Payment:

   1. WhatsApp is enabling developers and businesses to take advantage of AI services through the WhatsApp API. It plans to provide options to use Meta’s AI enabled services or integrate with another AI provider of your choice. 

   2. Moreover, Payments via WhatsApp already available in several markets like Singapore, Brazil and India.

      

      WhatsApp Enables In-App Payments

4. 🛍️ End-to-End Encryption: WhatsApp's commitment to privacy through end-to-end encryption builds user trust, a key factor when deploying AI technologies that may handle sensitive information.

---

AI Start-ups Building on WhatsApp

There are several AI apps building on WhatsApp.

For instance, Welling from Singapore offers calorie-tracking paired with personal AI nutrition coaching available only through WhatsApp.

Welling offers AI nutrition coaching available only through WhatsApp.

Viqal from the Netherlands on the other hand offers a conversational hotel concierge service only through WhatsApp. It integrates with Hotel’s existing tech stack and PMS system to process booking changes, check-ins and room service.

Viqal offers Conversational Hotel Concierge on WhatsApp including booking changes, check-ins and room service.

Moreover, companies like LimeChat and Haptik are in the business of enabling AI-powered WhatsApp support and WhatsApp commerce for brands and companies.

They offer a variety of offerings such as turn-key Conversational Marketing, Conversational Commerce, Payments and Customer Care.

Conversational Marketing, Commerce and Customer Support through WhatsApp

---

What other AI applications have you seen that are building on WhatsApp as their primary GTM?

Tell us about it in the comments.

---

Thanks for reading! 😊

To make sure you don’t miss any future articles, subscribe to us - it’s free

🙋‍♂️ Each month, Adriel Yong and Manas Punhani speak with Founders who are building global offerings from outside the traditional software hubs to hear about the hacks, playbooks and tactics that they’ve used in their journey from 0 - 100.