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WhatsApp Templates

What Are WhatsApp Templates?

WhatsApp templates are pre-approved message formats that let you start or reopen conversations with contacts. Unlike regular messages, every template must be reviewed and approved by Meta (Facebook’s parent company, which owns WhatsApp) before you can use it.

Why does WhatsApp require approval? To protect users from spam. WhatsApp is a personal messaging platform, and Meta reviews every business-initiated message to make sure it is relevant and not abusive. This approval process keeps WhatsApp trustworthy for both businesses and their customers.

Templates are necessary because WhatsApp enforces a 24-hour messaging window. After a contact’s last message, you have 24 hours to reply freely. Once that window closes, the only way to reach the contact again is by sending an approved template.

Where Templates Live

Templates now have their own top-level page — click Templates under AI STUDIO in the left sidebar (it used to be tucked inside Settings). Everything below still works the same way; only the navigation path changed.

Why Do You Need Templates?

  • Start outbound conversations — When you launch an outgoing Broadcast, the first message sent to each contact must be a template.
  • Reopen closed conversations — If 24 hours have passed since a contact’s last message, you need a template to resume the chat.
  • Follow-up sequences — Automated follow-up messages use templates to re-engage contacts who have not responded.
  • Stay compliant — Meta requires all business-initiated WhatsApp messages to use approved templates. Messages sent without approved templates will fail to deliver.

Real-world example: Imagine you run a dental clinic and a patient messaged you yesterday about teeth whitening. Today (more than 24 hours later), you want to send them pricing details. You cannot just type a message — you need to send an approved template first to reopen the conversation.

Creating a Template

  1. In the left sidebar, under AI STUDIO, click Templates.
  2. Click the New template button.
  1. A pop-up titled New WhatsApp template opens. It has two parts to fill in, with a live preview on the side:
    • Under Identity: the Template name (your internal name — not shown to contacts), the Language, and the Template type — General (a standard outbound template) or Smart follow-up (a template used to re-engage contacts who did not reply — see Smart Follow-up Templates).
    • Under Body: type the actual message your contacts will see. Maximum 1,024 characters.
  1. Add any variables if needed — {{token}} placeholders that are filled with each contact’s own details when the message is sent, explained in Template Variables. The preview pane has two tabs — Variables (the default view — highlights each {{token}} in place, right in your raw text) and Preview filled (substitutes a sample contact’s real values so you see exactly what a contact receives).
  1. Click Create template. Templates are saved as a draft first — nothing goes to Meta until you submit it.
  2. From the template list, click Submit for approval to send it to Meta for review.

Smart Follow-up Templates

A Smart follow-up template lets the AI fill in a placeholder with the actual topic of the conversation, instead of you writing a fixed re-engagement line. These must contain a {{personal_context|...}} placeholder with an instruction after the pipe — for example {{personal_context|ask about their order}} — which tells the AI what to write there. A bare {{personal_context}} tag with no instruction is left empty at send time. The app warns you and blocks approval if the placeholder is missing entirely, since Meta will reject the submission without it.

Template Body Guidelines

  • Keep your message clear, professional, and relevant to your business.
  • The maximum body length is 1,024 characters.
  • Avoid aggressive promotional language that could lead to rejection (for example, “FREE!!!”, excessive capital letters, or clickbait phrasing).
  • Do not include links to suspicious or unverified websites.

Tip: Keep your template messages short and personal for better approval rates. A concise, friendly message is more likely to be approved — and more likely to get a response from your contacts.

Template Variables

Variables let you personalize templates with dynamic content. They use the field’s name inside double curly braces, for example {{first_name}}, {{last_name}}, {{company}}, {{email}}, and {{phone_number}}. You can also use any custom contact field by its name.

A few important rules:

  • The names are case-sensitive and must match the field exactly — use {{company}}, not {{Company}}.
  • Do not type numbered placeholders like {{1}} or {{2}}. The platform matches variables by name, so {{1}} won’t be filled in and will appear literally in the message your contact receives.
  • The exception is the Send WhatsApp template step in Automations: there you fill each variable yourself from the automation’s data (an order number, a booking time), and that value wins over the contact’s own field. This also covers templates with numbered variables that came in from your WhatsApp Business account. For templates carrying the Meta label, the step also lists the template’s header variable and the end of any dynamic website button link, so you can fill those too.

Example:

Hi {{first_name}}, thank you for your interest in our services. We would love to help you get started. Reply to this message and we will be in touch shortly.

When the template is sent, {{first_name}} is automatically replaced with each contact’s actual first name. So if the contact’s name is Sarah, the message reads: “Hi Sarah, thank you for your interest…”

The Preview tab shows the message filled with a sample contact (John Doe, Acme Corp) — real messages use the actual recipient’s data. When previewing from an existing contact’s record, it shows their real details instead — exactly what they’d receive; a field they have no value for sends empty.

Tip: For reopening closed conversations, you can create simple templates without variables. These are often approved faster because they are straightforward.

Submitting for Approval

After you create your template, click Submit for approval — the platform sends it to Meta for review automatically. How it gets there depends on the WhatsApp connection the number runs on: on a managed WhatsApp connection it is submitted through your messaging provider, and if the number runs on your own WhatsApp Business Account the template is created straight in that account (see Using Templates With Your Own Meta WhatsApp Account below). Either way, Meta is the one who reviews it.

The template editor has no category picker — Meta decides the category. A template you create here is submitted without a declared category, which means it starts as Utility and Meta reclassifies it (usually to Marketing) if the content reads promotional. Cost estimates in the app use the Marketing rate when a template’s category isn’t known yet, so the estimate errs on the safe side. If you need to declare a specific category yourself, create the template over the Templates API.

What happens during review:

  1. Your template status changes to Pending.
  2. Meta reviews the content to make sure it follows their messaging policies.
  3. The template is either Approved or Rejected.

How long does approval take?

Approval can take anywhere from a few minutes to several days — most templates are reviewed within an hour. Here is what affects the timing:

  • Verified business accounts tend to get faster approvals.
  • Simple, straightforward templates are approved more quickly.
  • Templates with heavy promotional content or external links may take longer or get rejected.

Tip: Submit your templates a few days before you plan to launch a broadcast, so you are not waiting on approvals at the last minute.

Using Templates With Your Own Meta WhatsApp Account

If your WhatsApp number runs on your own WhatsApp Business Account — whether you set it up with Connect Through Our Meta App or Connect Your Own Meta App — the Templates page works exactly as described above, with a few differences worth knowing. A short note at the top of the page tells you when that is the case, and templates that live in your WhatsApp Business Account carry a small Meta label in the list.

  • Templates are created in your own WhatsApp Business Account. When you submit one, it is created on that account and reviewed by Meta directly — the same template appears in your WhatsApp Manager.
  • Approvals come from Meta. The Approved, Pending and Rejected statuses you see here are Meta’s own decisions, and they update on this page as soon as Meta makes them (including the reason for a rejection).
  • Meta’s naming rules are applied for you. Meta only accepts lowercase letters, numbers and underscores in a template name. Type whatever reads best — the app converts it when it creates the template, so agendar-01 becomes agendar_01.
  • Templates you already have show up automatically. Anything that already exists in your WhatsApp Manager appears in the list when you open the Templates page, so there is nothing to recreate. The list syncs with Meta every time you open the Templates page and once a day on its own. If you add or change a template in WhatsApp Manager while you’re working, click Sync from Meta to pull it in straight away.
  • Edits made in Meta come across in full. A sync picks up a template’s new message text and variables, not only its status and category. One exception: if you created the template here with readable variable names like {{first_name}} and Meta only holds the numbered version of the same text ({{1}}), your readable names are kept. When a template’s variables change, open every automation Send WhatsApp template step and broadcast that uses it and map the variables again.
  • Also have a managed WhatsApp number? Each template is sent from the kind of number it was created for. Templates made before you connected your own WhatsApp Business Account go out from your managed number, and templates carrying the Meta label go out from your Meta number. New templates are created in your WhatsApp Business Account.
  • Deleting removes it from Meta too. Deleting a template here also deletes it from your WhatsApp Business Account, and the confirmation pop-up says so. Point anything still using it at another template first. Keep in mind:
    • Meta does not restore deleted templates.
    • You can’t create a new template with the same name and language for about 30 days. A different language (for example en_US instead of en) counts as a separate template.
    • There is no way to remove a template from this list only, because the next sync would bring it straight back from your WhatsApp Business Account.
  • Category: templates you create in the app are submitted without a declared category — they start as Utility and Meta reclassifies promotional content (usually to Marketing) on review. A specific category can be declared when creating a template over the Templates API.
  • Sending is unchanged. Approved templates are used exactly as before — in broadcasts, follow-ups, and to reopen a conversation outside the 24-hour window. Only approved templates can be sent.
  • Sent templates show in full in the chat. A template sent from your WhatsApp Business Account appears in the chat with its header, its footer and its buttons around the message, so you can check from the inbox what the contact received. Click a link button to open its address, with the part that was filled in for that contact included. A header that is an image, video or document shows as a small label.

If the page asks you to finish your connection, your WhatsApp Business Account isn’t fully linked yet — go back to Settings → Channels, complete the connection, and templates become available right away.

Template Status Tracking

The Templates page shows every template with its current status, plus stat tiles for Total, Approved, In review, and Rejected. Search and filter by status to find a specific one.

Status What It Means
Draft Created but not yet submitted to Meta.
Pending Submitted and waiting for Meta to review it.
Approved Passed review and ready to use in broadcasts and conversations.
Rejected Did not pass review. Read Meta’s feedback, revise your message, and resubmit.

If a template is rejected, do not worry — you can edit the content and resubmit it as many times as needed.

Editing an Approved Template

An approved template can’t be edited directly — Meta locks the approved version. To change one, Duplicate it, edit the copy, and submit the copy for approval; your sends keep using the old approved template until the new one is approved. Drafts and rejected templates can be edited freely.

Sending a Template Directly to a Contact

From the Templates page, click the send action on any Approved template to send it straight to one of your recent contacts — useful for a one-off reopen without building a full broadcast. This delivers a real WhatsApp message, opens a chat session, and uses credits, so the app asks you to confirm before it sends.

Resubmitting a Rejected Broadcast Opening Message

The first message of an outgoing Broadcast is a template, so it goes through Meta approval too. If it comes back Rejected, you can fix and resubmit it without leaving the broadcast wizard:

  1. Open the broadcast.
  2. Click its Message step.
  3. The opening message shows the rejection reason from Meta.
  4. Edit the wording Meta flagged.
  5. Resubmit from that step. The opening message goes back to Pending while Meta re-reviews it.

Important: Simply retyping the opening message and saving does not resubmit it for approval — use the step’s resubmit action so the new version is actually sent to Meta. Until a new version is approved, the broadcast cannot send to contacts outside the 24-hour window. You can also manage and resubmit the same template from the Templates page.

AI-Powered Template Generation

The platform can automatically generate templates for you using AI. This saves time and helps you write messages that are more likely to be approved. AI-generated templates are especially useful for:

  • Opening messages — When you create a Broadcast and provide your website or sales pages, the platform generates an appropriate opening template based on your business.
  • Follow-up sequences — The AI creates a series of follow-up templates designed to re-engage contacts at different intervals (for example, day 1, day 3, and day 7).
  • Optimization — When you optimize an existing Broadcast or Agent, templates can be regenerated to match your updated messaging strategy.

Reopening Closed Conversations

When the 24-hour WhatsApp messaging window closes, the chat interface in Chats shows a notification that the conversation is closed. To reopen it:

  1. In the chat, you will see a message saying the conversation window has closed, and typing a normal reply is blocked.
  2. Click Send template in the message input area to open the template picker. There is no separate “Reopen” button: sending an approved template is how you reopen the chat.
  3. Choose an approved template from the list.
  4. The template is sent to the contact, reopening the conversation. The chat shows the message with its variables filled in, exactly as the contact received it.
  5. Once the contact replies, the 24-hour window resets and you can message freely again.

The full steps, including choosing who handles the replies, are in Reopening Closed Chats with Templates.

Follow-Up Templates

Follow-up templates automatically re-engage contacts who have not responded to an outgoing send. The platform supports up to 9 follow-up templates, sent at intervals you configure (for example, 1 day, 3 days, and 7 days after the initial message).

  • Follow-up templates are set up on the Follow-ups tab of the AI Agent that handles the channel. Each follow-up slot there, cold-lead slots included, has a picker listing your WhatsApp template library, so a template you created on the Templates page is given to an agent on that tab, slot by slot. Don’t want to write them? Turn follow-ups on and click Generate AI templates and the platform writes the set from the agent’s own instructions and submits them to WhatsApp for approval. See Automated Follow-Ups.
  • Outside follow-ups, templates aren’t attached to an agent at all. There is no general “templates for this agent” list. Your approved templates are used in broadcasts, when you send one by hand from a chat, and in the Send WhatsApp template step in Automations.
  • Each follow-up is a separate approved template.
  • The AI tailors each follow-up to create a natural progression of messages — so your contacts do not receive the same message repeatedly.

Tip: Spacing out your follow-ups over several days tends to be more effective than sending them back-to-back. Give contacts time to respond before the next follow-up goes out.

Best Practices for Getting Templates Approved

  1. Be straightforward — Write messages that are clear and professional. Avoid aggressive sales language like “Buy now!” or “Limited time offer!!!”
  2. Keep it relevant — Templates should relate directly to an expected interaction with the contact. If someone signed up for your newsletter, a follow-up about your services makes sense. A random promotional message does not.
  3. Use proper grammar — Well-written messages are more likely to pass review.
  4. Avoid excessive formatting — Do not use all capital letters, excessive exclamation marks, or rows of emojis.
  5. Limit external links — If you include links, make sure they lead to legitimate, verified pages.
  6. Start simple — If you are new to templates, begin with a simple greeting or follow-up before attempting complex promotional content.
  7. Match your business — Make sure the template content aligns with your verified Meta Business account category.

WhatsApp Web Has No Templates

Templates belong to the WhatsApp Business API. WhatsApp Web has no 24-hour window and no template messages, so there is nothing to submit to Meta and nothing to wait for. A broadcast on WhatsApp Web sends your message as an ordinary message from your own WhatsApp account, and in a chat you can always reply freely.

If your account only has WhatsApp Web connected and you save a message on the Templates page, it is marked approved straight away, because no review applies. It still goes out as an ordinary message, not as a WhatsApp template.

Need Help?

If your templates are consistently being rejected or you need guidance on template creation, reach out via our email support.