This Tuesday, Salesforce developers of customer relationship management (CRM) cloud services announced a significant partnership with Meta’s messaging platform Whatsapp to integrate its business tools into Salesforce’s product portfolio.
The alliance secures Salesforce customers with Whatsapp for Bussiness cloud APIs for communications, broadcasting, and automation.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and Founder of Meta Platforms, explained that customers frequently communicate with businesses over text, stating, “that’s why we launched our [Whatsapp] Cloud API earlier this year and are now partnering with Salesforce.”
The Menlo Park-based firm is launching a pilot programme for the partnership with the L’Oreal Group to connect with customers and offering additional services during online checkout procedures.
What Does the Salesforce-Meta Partnership Mean for XR?
The news comes as Meta and Salesforce develop respective immersive extended reality (XR) features. Salesforce offers its Customer 360 hub that integrates marketing, sales, commerce, service, XR, and NFTs under one CRM platform.
In a keynote speech on the business potential of XR, Eleanor Sandford, Innovation Executive at Design Salesforce Ignite, explained how XR solutions could create greater workplace efficiency.
During the discussion, Sandford provided a real-world use case where the firm’s subdivision Dreamforce organised its global Salesforce client event using AR visualisations, real-world digital item placements, and remote guidance.
In June, at the Salesforce World Tour conference in London, the firm debuted NFT Cloud Pilot for sustainable minting and distribution for brands and marketers.
Cloud Pilot users can mint NFTs through an integrated no-code service where they can set values such as rarity and monitor sustainability. The service also integrated Slack, Instagram, and Facebook to manage competitions, promotions, and real-time customer engagement figures.
Additionally, like OpenSea, Salesforce NFT Cloud Pilot supports traditional online payment options meaning the service does not require crypto wallets.
On the other hand, Meta is rebuilding the Whatsapp infrastructure to support augmented reality (AR) smart glasses. In May, leaks revealed that Meta planned to add voice-activated assistance to Whatsapp.
In July, Meta officially introduced hands-free, voice-assisted navigation for Ray-Ban Stories, the firm’s collaboration with the luxury brand which produced AR-lite consumer-grade smart glasses.
The Ray-Ban Stories, Whatsapp update allows wearers to conduct hands-free calls, text, or read messages. The update came following Meta’s February showcase, which debuted an AI-controlled voice assistant platform for smart glasses.
