There’s a strange thing that happens when you travel. You think you know how the world works, and then you step off a plane and realize things are completely different. I recently found myself in South America, and it only took a few days for a curious pattern to emerge.
In the U.S., my phone is a graveyard of single-purpose apps. I use one app to order a pizza, a completely different one to call a car, another to pay my credit card bill, and a dozen more for everything else. It’s like a digital Swiss Army knife where every single tool is its own separate pocket knife. But in South America, the tech landscape felt… Simpler. Lighter. Everything, and I mean everything, seemed to happen through WhatsApp. Need a ride? You’d message a driver or a service. Want to order a meal? You’d chat with a restaurant’s business account. Paying a bill? A conversation with the utility company. It was all so seamless, so integrated, and it made me stop and think. This wasn’t just a different way of doing things; it was a completely different philosophy about how technology should work, and it’s a lesson we in the U.S. might like to learn.
To really get what’s going on here, let’s talk about sports. Think about the difference between tennis and something like paddle or pickleball. Now, stick with me here, this isn’t as random as it sounds. Tennis is a grand, serious sport. It has a big court, specific rules, and a heavy, specialized racket. You have a forehand and a backhand, and each shot is a powerful, well-defined action. It’s a game of big swings and clear-cut boundaries. This is the American way of tech. Each app is a single, purpose-built tool. You have the “Uber” app for transportation, a powerful, specialized tool for a single task. You have a “DoorDash” app for food delivery, another specialized tool. They’re like the forehand and backhand of your digital life, each one doing its job perfectly but without much overlap. It’s efficient, sure, but it’s also rigid and requires a lot of real estate on your phone’s home screen. It’s a game of specialists. Now, consider paddle or pickleball. The court is smaller, the rules are a little more flexible, and you play with a solid paddle instead of a strung racket. The game is more fluid, more about finesse and conversation at the net. You use the same paddle for every shot, whether you’re hitting it hard or just dinking it softly over the net. It’s a single, versatile tool for a variety of actions. This is the WhatsApp way. The app itself is the paddle—one single, simple tool. But within that one tool, you can do a hundred different things. You can order a car, buy groceries, and talk to your doctor, all using the same chat interface. It’s more flexible, more social, and the actions blend together seamlessly. You don’t need a new paddle for every new shot. You just need to know how to use the one you have, and because it’s already the one everyone uses for everything else, it feels easy and natural.
So, how does all this work? How can a simple chat app become a one-stop shop for an entire country’s daily needs? The answer lies in something you might have heard of but probably don’t fully understand: AI agents. But forget the scary movie robots. An AI agent is simply a clever program that can have a conversation and get things done for you. Think of it like a very smart, very helpful customer service rep who lives inside your chat app. In this model, you don’t need a fancy app with a bunch of buttons and menus. You just open a chat with a business and tell it what you want. It’s not a human on the other end, but it feels like it is. You might start a conversation with your local pizza place by sending a message that says, “Hey, can I order a large pepperoni?” The AI agent replies instantly, “Sure! Is this for delivery or pickup?” You confirm your address, it gives you the total, you pay through a link it sends you, and boom, pizza on its way. The whole transaction happened in a simple, straightforward chat, just like you were talking to a friend.
The beauty of this system is how it removes all the clutter. There’s no need to download and register on a new app every time you want to try a new restaurant. No endless passwords and usernames to remember. It’s all built on a single, familiar platform that’s already on your phone. It’s light on data, easy to use, and it feels less like a transaction and more like a human-to-human interaction. For businesses, this is a game-changer. Instead of spending a fortune on building and maintaining a brand-new app, they can just create a simple, conversational AI agent that lives on WhatsApp. This makes it easier for small businesses to go digital and connect with customers. It’s a win-win, and it explains why this model has taken off in places where the American “app-for-everything” approach hasn’t.
Now, we have to ask the big question: why the difference? Why did we in the U.S. get stuck with a fragmented digital world while others embraced the integrated model? The answer is a mix of history, culture, and infrastructure. We built our digital lives on the idea of specialization. We had a super-fast internet boom, and we had the resources to build a separate “walled garden” for every single company. This led to a culture where companies believe they need their own app to own the customer relationship. It’s a bit like building a huge, complex stadium for a single type of game. It’s impressive, but it’s also a lot of work, and it means the consumer has to go to a different stadium for every new sport.
In contrast, many parts of the world had to be more creative. When mobile data was expensive and phone storage was limited, downloading a dozen apps was a non-starter. So, technology grew up differently. It had to be light and efficient. And culturally, there was a greater comfort with a more conversational, communal way of doing things. Messaging apps were already the primary way people communicated, so it was only natural to extend that conversation to businesses. Instead of building a new stadium from scratch, they just added a new court to the existing park. It’s a smart, resourceful way to grow, and it’s a testament to the power of building on what you have rather than always starting from scratch.
This isn’t about one way being better than the other. It’s about two different paths to the same destination: a more connected, digital life. But as AI gets smarter and more integrated, we might find ourselves at a crossroads. The American model of a thousand different apps feels clunky and outdated. Our phones are filled with apps we only use once a year, and we spend half our time trying to remember which app does what. The future, it seems, is conversational. It’s about an integrated experience where you can get things done by simply talking to your phone. Imagine a world where instead of 50 apps on your phone, you just have a handful of super-powered AI agents you can talk to. One for your finances, one for your health, one for your daily tasks. That’s a simpler, more human-like way of interacting with technology. It’s less about a series of buttons and more about a continuous, flowing conversation.
The game is changing. We’re moving from the big-court, specialized world of tennis to the more flexible, social game of paddle. The digital revolution is no longer just about creating new tools; it’s about making those tools work together in a way that feels natural and effortless. In some parts of the world, they’re already playing by the new rules, and they’re showing us a more elegant, integrated future. It’s a future where your phone isn’t a collection of separate silos, but a single, powerful tool for getting everything done. And the conversation is just beginning.
Now it’s your turn. Have you experienced this kind of “WhatsApp way” of doing things? Or are you stuck in the app-for-everything world? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Share your stories and tag @iamcezarmoreno on social media. And for more insights on how technology is changing our world, be sure to follow, subscribe, or join the newsletter at https://cezarmoreno.com.
