Sukesh Kumar, lead – integrated projects (Digital) and group business director, Avian We. says,  WhatsApp Ads is a bold yet calculated move by Meta. By placing ads in the lesser-used ‘Updates’ tab, they are integrating advertising into the daily lives of over 500 million Indian users without entering private chats. 

With WhatsApp used by nearly everyone in India, it has the potential to become the country’s most personal and powerful ad platform. But it is a tricky balance, as any misstep could damage the platform’s core promise of privacy and trust. The global ‘Not Even WhatsApp’ campaign launched in May 2025 is clearly a preemptive effort to reinforce that message.

For advertisers and communications professionals, this opens up a high-visibility, low-distraction space. But to make it work, we will need to customise our approach. Storytelling must now be reimagined through a more private lens, embracing hyper-local creativity and mastering the art of conversational design."

Anmol Jalta, digital and creative lead, Zeno India, agrees that Meta’s move to introduce ads in WhatsApp updates section signals a significant shift in how brands can directly engage with their audiences. This development has the potential to streamline the consumer journey, removing traditional touchpoints like customer service desks, websites, or third-party chatbots, and instead enabling discovery, conversation, and conversion all within a single, familiar interface."

Jalta warns, "However, the key to success here lies in balance. The integrity of WhatsApp’s user experience, built on minimal disruption, privacy, and end-to-end encryption, must remain untouched. Intrusiveness could quickly backfire. For brands, this means crafting utility-driven, value-led content that integrates naturally into the platform.

As this rollout scales, what will be critical is not just how brands leverage it, but how users perceive and adopt this evolution of the app. Tracking sentiment and actual behavioural shifts will determine whether this becomes a frictionless growth avenue or a flashpoint for pushback."  

Those of us who grew up watching ad crawls across the latest VHS movie cassettes will remember just how annoying ads can be in a personal space. Though Meta has promised that WhatsApp ads will not. intrude on your private chats. 

Mahathi Parashuram, founder & chief consultant at corporate affairs firm, CorpCred Consulting, believes, “Meta's recent move to allow ads on WhatsApp signals a major shift in how brands, PR and marketing teams engage with audiences on a platform traditionally known for its private, direct messaging.

For public relations, this opens up new opportunities to blend authenticity with reach, ultimately enabling more personalised storytelling and real-time stakeholder engagement. However, the key will be to respect the intimate nature of the platform while building deeper trust and value-driven conversations. 

At CorpCred Consulting, we have already begun leveraging WhatsApp for PR outreach with select clients who are seeing strong early results with open rates exceeding 75%, deeper two-way engagement, and more authentic, trust-led interactions that seamlessly blend paid, owned, and earned media strategies."

Meghna Nupur, CEO & founder – MEUR Feature shares her point of view, "WhatsApp has been a space for personal connections in real-time, so it powers PR a lot when people use it creatively and ethically.

We’ve already been updating clients, reaching out to media, and coordinating influencers via WhatsApp because of its immediacy and intimacy. It is something of a game-changer for micro-targeting the audience conversationally and also non-intrusively, but now the door is open for more in-app promotions.

Public relations will thrive through human contact more than scrolling sites. Brands are able to craft stories that belong within a WhatsApp chat that is authentic, useful, as well as engaging. The result will be an experience rather than something that feels like an ad. Maintaining trust will certainly be key. The personal nature for the platform must also surely not be overstepped.

This democratises direct, measurable outreach access for small businesses as well as startups. WhatsApp may evolve from just messaging into storytelling one notification at a time."

Yasin Hamidani shares, "Ads on WhatsApp will significantly alter India’s brand and PR landscape. For PR, it raises challenges: potential ad noise may reduce the platform’s effectiveness for earned outreach, while providing opportunities for branded storytelling within WhatsApp communities. Privacy concerns may influence user receptivity. 

However, integrated campaigns blending WhatsApp’s conversational marketing with traditional PR can create powerful call-to-action opportunities, especially for regional, SME, and D2C brands seeking deeper, real-time customer connections."