Sending a template to an end user

Sending an approved template opens a conversation outside the reply window, by hand or by rule.

Sending an approved template opens a conversation outside the reply window, by hand or by rule.

By hand, from a ticket

1. Open the ticket for the WhatsApp conversation.
2. Choose to send a template.
3. Pick the template and fill in the placeholder values.
4. Check the preview, then send.

This is what an agent does when a conversation has gone quiet past the window and they need to reach the customer again.

Automatically

Templates can also be sent by rule or through the API, which is how order updates and appointment reminders work at volume. That is an integration rather than something configured in a trigger, and it needs building.

Check the values before sending

The wording is fixed but the values are not, and a template with an empty placeholder sends anyway. "Your order has been dispatched" is the WhatsApp version of the same problem as everywhere else.

It restarts the window

Once the customer replies to your template, you can converse freely again for the usual period. That is the point: a template is a way back into a conversation, not the conversation itself.

Each one is charged

Sending a template costs money, per message, on a basis set by WhatsApp. Worth knowing before building an automated flow that sends thousands.

See also

• Reaching out to customers proactively on WhatsApp
• Creating message templates
• Differences per social channel: what works and what does not