San Francisco, Jul 19 (IANS): Meta-owned photo-sharing platform Instagram has announced that it will allow shoppers in the US to be able to pay for products directly in messages.

The company said it wants to help people start conversations with businesses they care about and help them find and buy products they love in an easy, seamless experience, right from the chat thread.

"We are introducing a new way to make a purchase on Instagram -- right where you chat," the company said in a blogpost.

"Finally, you will be able to use Meta Pay to complete purchases, making checkout even easier in just a few taps," it added.

Using this new feature, small business owners will be able to chat with customers in real-time to answer questions and confirm purchase details.

They can create a payment request with item description and price and request and collect payment.

And when businesses are ready to set up their digital storefront, they can use Shops on Instagram and Facebook, the company said.