Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The adoption of business messaging channels has increased by 53% in just one year, driven by AI agents and LLM-powered automation, according to a new report from respond.io, an AI-powered platform that unifies messaging, calls, email, and CRM.

The report highlights a major shift: small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are increasingly engaging customers through platforms like WhatsApp, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger, and others, where AI agents have gone mainstream. These conversational assistants enable personalized interactions across multiple channels, empowering smaller teams to drive sales and compete with larger enterprises. Respond.io’s report also explores which channels they use the most, and how these trends differ by industry and region.

Key Findings:

WhatsApp remains the top business messaging channel, followed by Webchat and Instagram. TikTok nearly tripled its share in 2025, led by the launch of TikTok Business Messaging. Healthcare leads the adoption across industries in 2025, followed by Education, Travel, Software, and Beauty. EMEA accounts for 41% of global adoption, driven by the UAE and Saudi Arabia markets AI Agents for business messaging have gone mainstream — SMBs are deploying them as frontline engagement tools.

Top Channels, Industries, and Regional Leaders in 2025

The 10 most commonly used business messaging channels are WhatsApp Business, Webchat, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, WhatsApp Cloud, Email, Line, and SMS.

WhatsApp remains the dominant global platform, with Meta channels leading the overall market. Messaging apps steadily outperform traditional channels like email and SMS. Telegram is losing traction across most industries, yet it remains a leading channel in Software Services and Digital Agencies.

While instant messaging dominates, calls remain important for urgent or complex customer interactions. WhatsApp Business Calling API, launched in 2025, has seen rapid adoption in markets such as Malaysia, Mexico, the UAE, Singapore, and the U.S.

In 2025, Healthcare emerged as the leading industry in business messaging adoption, followed by Education, Travel, Software, and Beauty.

EMEA leads globally in the adoption of business messaging channels, driven by dynamic markets such as the United Arab Emirates (22% of regional share) and Saudi Arabia (10%). LATAM follows with strong growth in Mexico (26%), Colombia (15%), and Argentina (13%), while APAC’s growth is led by Malaysia (25%), Singapore (20%), and Thailand (9%). In North America, the U.S. dominates with 87% of the share.

Regional preferences reflect distinct digital habits: webchat leads in North America and the APAC region, while Meta platforms and TikTok Business Messaging dominate in LATAM and EMEA.

AI Reshapes Business Messaging

AI has transformed business messaging from simple chatbots into AI agents capable of understanding context, managing complex interactions, and qualifying leads. Respond.io’s AI agents act as conversational assistants that automate customer interactions across multiple messaging channels from a unified inbox. As adoption accelerates, these agents are reshaping how companies manage business messaging, handling increasing customer volumes efficiently. This enables them to compete with larger enterprises while maintaining high-quality, personalized service.

“2025 marks a turning point for business communication. With messaging adoption up more than 50% this year, businesses are moving away from legacy channels like emails and SMS toward faster, more personal interactions on instant messaging channels. At the same time, advances in generative AI have brought AI Agents into the mainstream — automating routine tasks and enabling customer engagement over chat at scale. We see the future of customer communication as unified and AI-driven, where chats, calls, and every interaction come together in a single powerful platform. Businesses can no longer rely on fragmented legacy systems; they need scalable, reliable, and modern solutions that combine AI and automation with the human touch their customers still expect.”- Gerardo Salandra, CEO & Co-Founder of respond.io.

About respond.io:

Respond.io is an AI-powered platform that unifies messaging, calls, email, and CRM to help businesses deliver faster responses, improve customer engagement, and drive revenue. Trusted by 10,000+ brands in 126 countries — including Toyota, McDonald’s, British Airways, Radisson, Hertz, and Decathlon — the platform powers millions of conversations daily with 99.999% uptime. Founded by former IBM, Google, and Kodak Alaris executives, respond.io combines proven reliability with advanced AI to transform how businesses connect with customers and scale.

For more information, please visit: https://respond.io/

Image: https://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/ti?nf=OTU0MTM5NiM3MTgzNjIyIzUwMDE1MzAyNA==

Image: https://ml.globenewswire.com/media/MDhjNmZiNGItYzliZi00MmJiLWJlNjgtNjYyMDgyZjQ5ZWVhLTUwMDE1MzAyNC0yMDI1LTEwLTA3LWVu/tiny/Respond-io.png Anna Bikmansurova

PR Manager

MA Family

anna (at) ma.fanily Image: Primary Logo

Source: Respond.io