New Delhi, May 20 (IANS): In a bid to further boost Meta-WhatApp business integration, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced to open the mobile messaging platform to businesses of all sizes globally with WhatsApp Cloud API (application programming interface) hosted by the parent company.

With this move, any business or developer can easily access the service, build directly on top of WhatsApp to customise their experience and speed up their response time to customers by using the secure WhatsApp Cloud API.

The company will offer businesses on WhatsApp free, secure cloud hosting services provided by Meta.

"This is an important step to help more businesses connect with people and help more people message the businesses that they want to support -- big and small," Zuckerberg said during the company's inaugural business messaging conference late on Thursday.

"For our partners, this new service will eliminate costly server expenses and give them instant access to new features," said the Meta CEO.

The company said that the people will be in control of the businesses they chat with and businesses cannot message people unless they have requested to be contacted.

"We also want to support small businesses with additional tools. We expect some SMBs will want to use the Cloud-based API though many will continue to use the WhatsApp Business app," said Zuckerberg.

Meta is working on advanced features for these businesses to help them run their operations beyond just a few people and further amplify their brand online, like the ability to manage chats across up to 10 devices so they can better handle an influx of chats.

"We'll also provide new customizable WhatsApp click-to-chat links to help businesses attract customers across their online presence," said the company.