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Service conversation
A WhatsApp conversation the customer starts, handled inside the 24-hour customer service window. Service replies are not charged per template message.
One term from the WhatsApp Business Platform glossary. Last updated 2026-07-25.
When a customer messages your business first, a 24-hour window opens in which your team can reply with ordinary free-form messages — no template required and no per-template charge. This is what makes WhatsApp economical as a support channel rather than only a broadcast one.
The window is measured from the customer's most recent message, so an active back-and-forth keeps extending it. Once it closes, reaching that customer again requires an approved template, which is charged.
Related terms
- Customer service window
- The 24-hour window that opens when a customer messages your business. Replies you send inside it are free-form rather than templates — free until 1 October 2026, and charged per message after that.
- Marketing template
- A WhatsApp template category covering promotional content — offers, product launches, re-engagement. It carries the highest per-message rate and the strictest opt-in expectations.
- Session message
- A free-form WhatsApp message sent inside the 24-hour customer service window. It needs no template approval because the customer messaged first.
See Service conversation in a real workspace
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