Four months ago, Mark Zuckerberg appointed Cred founder Kunal Shah as WhatsApp CEO. Now, Shah has announced his new vision for the messaging platform – a simpler app where you can do different things easily with the help of AI.In a post on X, Kunal Shah stated that he spent the first four months at WhatsApp understanding what users wanted. “What I heard is simple: help people stay close to those who matter to them, and get more done on WhatsApp,’ he wrote. “So that's what we'll build.”Shah claimed that WhatsApp had become a language for billions of people. “I think of WhatsApp like a shared language, spoken by 3 billion plus people,” he explained. “Like any language, the people who use it shape it.”Kunal Shah’s gameplan for WhatsAppThe Cred founder gave a detailed outlook on his future plans for WhatsApp, starting by improving the basics. “First, we want to make connections richer,” Kunal Shah explained. “Sometimes hearing someone's voice, sending a joke, agreeing on a plan or knowing they're safe is the whole point.” Shah stated that WhatsApp was going to work on making voice notes, groups, stickers and videos simpler and more expressive, because “how people feel close keeps changing.” WhatsApp users send more than 10 billion voice messages and over four billion stickers every day, according to the WhatsApp chief.The second priority is to make everything on WhatsApp as simple as sending a message.
Shah said things such as paying a bill or borrowing money usually begin in a chat but require users to complete several steps elsewhere. Now WhatsApp wants to make it easier to keep everything under the same window. “Each handoff to another task costs time.
We're working with financial services and telecom partners so that finishing something feels as easy as starting it,” he wrote. Shah did not name the partners involved or announce launch dates for these services.I am nearly 4+ Months In WhatsApp 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 "that was a fun dinner” at the end of the night. Language is at the heart of everything we as people do.
We write letters, tell stories, get things done 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 want from us and what I heard is simple: help people stay close to those who matter to them, and get more done on WhatsApp. So that's what we'll build.
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. Second, we want anything you do on WhatsApp to be as simple as sending a message.
Too many things start in a chat and end with many more steps somewhere else: paying a bill, borrowing money, staying connected when you travel. Each handoff to another task costs time.
We're working with financial services and telecom partners so that finishing something feels as easy as starting it. Third, we want to make this all more efficient with AI.
It should quietly 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.
None of this works without trust. WhatsApp handles over 100 billion messages and 2 billion calls every day.
Trust takes years to earn and a moment to lose, and I don't take that lightly. Whatever we build, WhatsApp must remain simple, reliable and private.
These principles we’ve had for years aren’t changing. Your personal messages and calls stay end-to-end encrypted.
This and our quality bar stays the same. What happens inside WhatsApp only matters for what it makes possible outside it: more time together, stronger communities, and fewer barriers between people and the lives they want to live.
Onwards.— Kunal Shah (@kunalb11) November 10, 2026The third priority was the use of AI. Kunal Shah insisted that WhatsApp will try to use AI to make the platform more efficient as a tool that works in the background. “(AI) should quietly find what you need, get things done and make sure you never miss a booking or an appointment,” Shah said. “The best technology saves you time, so you can get back to the connections that matter.” The Meta AI chatbot is already available for WhatsApp users.Shah also stressed that the changes would not come at the expense of privacy and security.
WhatsApp handles more than 100 billion messages and two billion calls every day. “Trust takes years to earn and a moment to lose, and I don't take that lightly,” he wrote. “Whatever we build, WhatsApp must remain simple, reliable and private. These principles we’ve had for years aren’t changing.
Your personal messages and calls stay end-to-end encrypted. This and our quality bar stays the same,” he added.Back in June, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had said Kunal Shah was brought in to add “more entrepreneurial energy” to WhatsApp and help the platform explore opportunities in commerce.
Zuckerberg described Shah as one of India's top entrepreneurs and said India was the biggest country for Meta. Shah founded CRED in 2018 after previously building digital payments company FreeCharge.
He succeeded Will Cathcart, who led WhatsApp for nearly seven years.While WhatsApp has over 3 billion users globally, India is the platform’s largest market. As per reports, India brings in over half of WhatsApp’s revenue at about $1 billion annually, largely via business users.
The Meta-owned platform has been bringing more features for monetisation. In May, the company launched WhatsApp Plus, giving subscribers access to features such as premium themes and stickers.
WhatsApp Plus is priced at Rs 79 per month in India.- Ends