SAO PAULO, June 6 (Reuters) - Meta launched its

first AI-driven ad targeting program for businesses on WhatsApp,

according to a press release Thursday, as it tries to wring

revenue out of the popular chat service, the company announced

at a conference in Brazil.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new tools in a video which

was exhibited during the event.

The announcement marks a shift for WhatsApp, an encrypted

messaging service that heavily touts its privacy credentials and

has long eschewed the types of targeted advertising tools that

underpin Meta's other apps, like Facebook and Instagram.

The social media giant has been introducing commerce and

payment features on the app for several years, including

"business messaging" tools companies can use to conduct customer

service chats and send marketing materials to people who have

shared their phone numbers with them.

Previously, those tools were blunt instruments, used to send

blasts to all users who had opted in to receiving the company's

outreach. The new AI tools will use behavior on Facebook and

Instagram to target the messages to those customers most likely

to be receptive to them, provided the customers use the same

phone number across accounts.