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Template message
A pre-approved message format required to contact a customer outside the 24-hour customer service window. Meta categorises templates as Marketing, Utility or Authentication, and charges a different rate for each.
One term from the WhatsApp Business Platform glossary. Last updated 2026-07-25.
A business cannot message a customer on WhatsApp whenever it likes. Outside the 24-hour customer service window, the only permitted outbound message is a template — a fixed body with named variables, submitted to Meta in advance and reviewed before it can be sent.
Templates are where WhatsApp cost is decided. Meta prices each template by category, so the same 40 words cost materially more as Marketing than as Utility, and mislabelling a genuine order update as Marketing is one of the most common ways an Indian business overspends on WhatsApp. Categorisation is also the most frequent cause of rejection at review.
Related terms
- Message category (Marketing, Utility, Authentication, Service)
- The four buckets Meta sorts WhatsApp conversations into. Marketing, Utility and Authentication are template messages and each carries its own rate; Service messages are free-form replies inside the 24-hour window.
- Customer service window
- The 24-hour window that opens when a customer messages your business. Replies you send inside it are free-form and are not charged as template messages.
- Opt-in
- The recorded permission a customer gives before a business sends them WhatsApp template messages. Meta requires that you collect it, make clear which business is messaging, and honour opt-outs.
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