WhatsApp's New Quick Actions Feature Is Gradually Rolling Out to Mobile Users

Meta has been pushing new features to WhatsApp lately, and this time it is making everyday conversations more useful with a feature that turns ordinary text into quick actions.

WhatsApp can now turn message text into quick actions

WABetaInfo reports that WhatsApp is rolling out smart message text actions to some users on Android and iOS. The feature automatically recognizes specific details in messages and places a dotted underline beneath them. Users can tap the highlighted text to see available shortcuts without leaving the conversation. The feature works with both incoming and outgoing messages. It also displays the detected text in a popup, helping users check whether WhatsApp has identified the correct information. If the shortcuts are not needed, users can simply ignore them and continue chatting.

From calling contacts to saving dates

Phone numbers come with options to copy, save to contacts, or call through the phone’s carrier. Recognized business numbers may also offer access to business information. Meanwhile, detected dates and times can be copied, added to a calendar, or used to create WhatsApp events. Addresses can be copied or opened in a map, while email addresses can launch the phone’s mail app. Interestingly, some of these actions already existed in WhatsApp. The update appears to make them easier to discover directly inside conversations.

Privacy and availability

WhatsApp also lets users submit feedback when a text action is incorrect or unnecessary. Per the news outlet, text detection happens locally on the device using pattern matching. Message content and suggested actions are not sent to WhatsApp’s servers, so the feature does not affect end-to-end encryption. The rollout is currently limited to some users running the latest WhatsApp versions on Android and iOS. The rollout is expected over the coming weeks, with no exact release date reported.