WhatsApp is rolling out a major update that blends creativity, productivity, and personalization. Alongside the ability to share Live Photos on iOS and Motion Photos on Android, the platform is debuting AI-generated chat themes, a built-in document scanner for Android, and a powerful new tool: AI-powered message summaries.
Together, these features represent Meta’s vision of turning WhatsApp into a smarter, all-in-one communication hub.
How WhatsApp Is Evolving
WhatsApp now lets users personalize their chats in a whole new way: In the Settings → Chats menu, the new “Create with AI” option allows you to type a prompt describing the style you want, and Meta AI instantly generates wallpapers and matching chat bubble colors. Users can refresh, refine, or edit these designs before applying them, giving every conversation a unique visual identity that goes beyond static themes.
Instead of flattening animated images, WhatsApp now preserves movement and sound when sharing iOS Live Photos or Android Motion Photos. Letting users relive captured moments more vividly, directly within chat threads, enhancing the way personal memories are shared add much needed emotional depth.
New WhatsApp Features Coming to Android!
Android users are finally gaining access to WhatsApp’s in-app document scanner, which was previously limited to iOS. With this tool, users can scan, crop, enhance, save, and send documents without relying on third-party apps. This functionality positions WhatsApp as more than just a communication platform, bringing it closer to replacing standalone productivity tools that people often switch to during work.
Another highlight of this update is the introduction of private AI-powered message summaries. This feature uses Meta AI to condense long unread conversations into simple highlights. When opening a chat with many missed messages, a “Summarize Privately” option appears, generating a concise overview of what was said.
Importantly, these summaries are processed securely, meaning Meta cannot read your chats, and no one else in the group can see that you’ve requested a summary. The feature is launching first in the United States in English, with plans to expand globally.
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead, WhatsApp is also experimenting with upcoming features that expand user experience even further. These include richer link previews that make pasted URLs more informative, poll images that let users add pictures as voting options, and streamlined community creation flows to simplify the process of setting up and managing large groups.
Together, these upgrades show how WhatsApp is evolving[1] into far more than a messaging app. AI themes elevate personalization, message summaries tackle notification overload, Live and Motion Photos boost expressiveness, and document scanning consolidates essential tools within one platform. Collectively, they reflect Meta’s aggressive strategy to weave AI into WhatsApp’s core while keeping privacy protections at the center.
References
- ^ WhatsApp is evolving (blog.whatsapp.com)