Last updated: October 2026
TL;DR
- Meta Business Agent is Meta's AI agent for businesses. It answers customer messages for you on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger.
- How you set it up depends on your WhatsApp number. On the WhatsApp Business app, you switch it on from Tools on your phone. On the WhatsApp API, you set it up per phone number, in WhatsApp Manager or through your provider.
- To turn it off in the app: Tools > Meta Business Agent > Response settings, then Disconnect AI on Android or Delete your AI agent on iPhone. On the API: switch off "Allow AI agent to respond" for the number in WhatsApp Manager.
- Already using it? Invent gives your team one inbox, where Meta's agent conversations show up too, plus native integrations and your own assistant on every other channel.
- You set it up, and turn it off, separately on each WhatsApp number and on Instagram and Messenger.
Meta Business Agent can answer your customers in minutes, and switching it off should be just as easy. The steps change depending on how your WhatsApp number runs, and most guides only cover one path. This guide covers both: the app and the API.
Before you start: app or API?
First, check how your WhatsApp number runs. It decides every step that follows.
If you answer customers from the WhatsApp app on your phone, you are on the app. If your number is connected to a platform like Invent, a CRM, or a team inbox, you are on the API. Some businesses use both on one number with WhatsApp Coexistence.
Where you turn Meta Business Agent on and off depends on how your WhatsApp number runs.
Meta is still rolling the agent out. In the WhatsApp Business app, it's available to eligible businesses in select countries, and the rest can join Meta's waitlist.
How to set up Meta Business Agent in the WhatsApp Business app
The app setup takes a few minutes and runs on your phone.
- Open Tools. Make sure your number is registered in the WhatsApp Business app. Go to Tools and select Meta Business Agent.
- Confirm it's you. Verify yourself, link your Meta account if the app asks, and tap Confirm.
- Let it learn. The agent learns from your past chats. Add your website or catalog if you want it to recommend products.
- Finish and adjust. Complete the setup. You can change its replies and add more information anytime from Tools.
When a customer writes, the agent answers first. When you reply to a chat yourself, the agent pauses in that chat.
How to set up Meta Business Agent on the WhatsApp API
On the API, Meta runs the setup per phone number. You can do it in WhatsApp Manager, or through your provider.
In WhatsApp Manager, open Meta Business Agent. Each number has its own checklist: business info, FAQs, skills (how the agent answers), files and websites, connectors to your own systems, a test sandbox, a payment method, and a final switch that lets the agent respond. Connectors are the technical part: each one is your own API or server, with every action defined by hand.
Before you start, accept the Meta Business AI terms for your WhatsApp Business account. The Meta Business Agent tab only shows for eligible numbers. Two more rules apply:
- Test first. You can limit the agent to up to 20 test phone numbers. It needs no payment method while it's in test mode.
- Payment before everyone. To open it to all your customers, add a payment method in Meta's Billing Hub. Meta bills each reply per token, about 4 to 5 cents per interaction.
How to turn off Meta Business Agent
You turn the agent off where you set it up. Each number and each app is separate.
Four switches and what each one stops: new chats in the app, one chat, one API number, or Instagram and Messenger.
In the WhatsApp Business app
These steps work in the mobile app only. You can't pause or delete the agent from WhatsApp Web. One button has a different name on each phone: Disconnect AI on Android, Delete your AI agent on iPhone. Steps from WhatsApp's Help Center.
- Pause it: go to Tools > Meta Business Agent > Response settings > Disconnect AI (on iPhone, Delete your AI agent), then tap Pause AI replies. The agent stops answering new chats.
- Delete it: go to Tools > Meta Business Agent > Response settings > Disconnect AI (on iPhone, Delete your AI agent) > Disconnect and delete my AI, then fill in Meta's short survey and tap Submit. To use it again later, you run the setup from the start.
- Remove it from one chat: open the chat, tap the contact or group name, then tap Include your AI > Remove AI. The agent stops answering that chat and stops learning from your replies in it.
- Answer yourself: when you reply to a chat by hand, the agent pauses in that chat until you turn it back on.
On the WhatsApp API
In WhatsApp Manager, open Meta Business Agent, find the number, and switch off Allow AI agent to respond. The agent stops answering on that number. Repeat for each number where it's on.
On Instagram and Messenger
Turn the agent off in each app too. Turning it off on WhatsApp doesn't turn it off anywhere else.
What we're building at Invent
Meta built a capable agent. At Invent, we give you everything around it.
Bring your Meta Business Agent to Invent, and everything else your business runs on is already there.
- One inbox for your team. Meta's agent conversations show up in your Invent inbox, next to every other channel, so your team has the full picture when a chat needs a person. Your Invent assistant steps back on its own while Meta's agent has the conversation, so the two never answer at the same time.
- Native integrations, ready to use. Connect Shopify, HubSpot, Google Calendar, and more, with no technical skills required.
- Your own assistant everywhere else. Build your own AI assistant on Invent, no-code, and run it on your website, email, SMS, TikTok, and Telegram, with your choice of model: Meta's Muse Spark, Gemini, Grok, Claude, or GPT.
- Start free. Invent's inbox and integrations come with the Pay As You Go plan, at $0 a month.
- 1,000 WhatsApp replies a month with no Meta fee. Each WhatsApp number gets its first 1,000 replies a month with no WhatsApp fee from Meta, so you only pay for the AI, from $0.003 per message on Invent, with 100 messages free every month. Emoji reactions are always free and don't count toward the 1,000.
Selling Meta's agent to clients? White label, sub-organizations for each client, custom roles, and SSO come with the Business plan, $29 a month.
Need help connecting Meta's agent with Invent? Contact us, and we'll set it up with you.
Your agent, your switch
Setting up an AI agent should take minutes, and so should turning it off. Pick the path that fits your number, test it with a few customers, and keep your team in one inbox while the agent answers.
Switch it on, switch it off, and keep your team in the loop.
FAQs
How do I set up Meta Business Agent?
In the WhatsApp Business app, go to Tools > Meta Business Agent, confirm it's you, and follow the steps. On the WhatsApp API, accept Meta's terms in WhatsApp Manager, then set it up per number under Meta Business Agent in WhatsApp Manager.
How do I turn off Meta Business Agent on WhatsApp?
In the WhatsApp Business app, go to Tools > Meta Business Agent > Response settings > Disconnect AI (Delete your AI agent on iPhone), then tap Pause AI replies or Disconnect and delete my AI. On the API, switch off Allow AI agent to respond for the number in WhatsApp Manager.
How do I remove Meta Business Agent from one chat?
Open the chat, tap the contact or group name, then tap Include your AI > Remove AI. The agent stops answering that chat, and stops learning from your replies in it.
Can I turn off Meta Business Agent from WhatsApp Web?
No. You pause or delete it from the WhatsApp Business mobile app.
Does turning it off on WhatsApp turn it off on Instagram?
No. Each app and each WhatsApp number is separate, so turn it off in each one.
Do I need to pay to test Meta Business Agent?
No. On the API, you can test with up to 20 phone numbers without a payment method. To open it to all your customers, add a payment method in Meta's Billing Hub.
Can I use Meta Business Agent with Invent?
Yes. Meta's agent conversations show up in your Invent inbox, next to every other channel, and your Invent assistant steps back while Meta's agent has the conversation. You can also add native integrations and your own assistant on the channels Meta doesn't cover. Contact us and we'll help you connect both.
Can agencies resell Meta Business Agent with Invent?
Yes. Invent's Business plan, $29 a month, adds white label, sub-organizations for each client, custom roles, and SSO, so you can run every client's inbox from one place.
