WhatsApp AI Chats Shortcut Rolling Out to Some Beta Testers Alongside Status Filters

WhatsApp has begun rolling out a visual change designed to improve the experience of using the upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) chats feature on the messaging platform. Earlier this year, the Meta-owned firm revealed that it was working on support for AI chatbots on the widely used messaging platform. These AI-powered assistants are currently available to some users in the US. Meanwhile, WhatsApp has also begun testing a new section for status updates that allows you to view and filter a list of status updates.

After updating to WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.24.26 (via feature tracker WABetaInfo) some beta testers are seeing a new shortcut to initiate these chats, right from the main chat list, via a floating action button (FAB), on the latest beta version. A white button, with a multi-coloured ring is shown above the new chat button.

A screenshot of the new AI button shared by the feature tracker
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

Meta announced in September that it was adding AI assistants to its messaging apps on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger. These chatbots are powered by Meta's large language model, Llama 2 and will be able to respond to user queries and search the web using Bing. The assistants will also be able to generate images using text prompts. They will also support AI avatars with a range of personalities, according to the company.

While it might be a while before Meta rolls out AI chats to users in other regions, the addition of the new button should make it easier for users to discover the feature on their own — compared to the additional steps required to create a new AI conversation via the new chat button.

On the other hand, WABetaInfo has also spotted a new filtered vertical list on WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.25.3, that allows users to view all available statuses — the Instagram stories-like feature that is also available on WhatsApp — via a vertical list. The list of status updates also includes channels, according to the feature tracker.

In order to help users manage the list of statuses, the latest WhatsApp beta adds four new filters — All, Recent, Viewed, and Muted — at the top of the screen. The ability to organise and filter statuses is expected to make its way to users on the stable update channel on both iOS and Android in the future.