The 24-hour window
When a customer writes to you, you can reply freely for 24 hours. Each new message from the customer starts the 24 hours again. After that, WhatsApp only carries a template until the customer writes again. In Companion the message box is replaced by a line saying so, with a Send a template button. Sending a template and getting a reply reopens the chat. In the phone app, the message box warns you during the last hour that the window is closing. Website chat is not WhatsApp, so the 24-hour window does not apply to it.Templates and why they exist
A template is a message you write in advance and Meta approves, such as an appointment reminder or an order update. WhatsApp asks businesses to use one when they write to a customer first, or when more than 24 hours have passed since the customer last wrote. This protects people from messages they did not ask for. Anyone can send an approved template from a conversation with Send a template. Owners and admins write new ones under Templates. Meta usually reviews a template within a few minutes. See Templates overview and Create a template.What Meta charges for
Meta owns WhatsApp. It charges for some messages and bills your card directly. Companion adds nothing on top.
Prices depend on the country your customer is in, and Meta changes them. See What Meta charges.
Typed replies switched off
A workspace can switch off typed replies on WhatsApp to keep Meta’s charges down. Your team then replies from the WhatsApp Business app on the phone, which is free, and uses Companion for everything else. With typed replies off:- Nobody can type a text message into a WhatsApp chat, on the web or in the phone app. The message box says so.
- Templates, payment links, products, locations, documents and voice notes still send.
- Workflows still send their own messages.
- Website chat is not affected.
Owners and admins only. Go to Settings, choose General under Workspace, and use Typed replies on WhatsApp under Messaging.
Replies from the WhatsApp Business app
If your number is connected alongside the WhatsApp Business app, you can reply from either place. Replies sent from the phone’s WhatsApp Business app appear in the conversation in Companion, so the record is complete whichever you use. See Connect your WhatsApp number.Why can I not type a reply?
There are two usual reasons, and the message box says which:- More than 24 hours have passed since the customer last wrote. Send a template.
- Typed replies are switched off for your workspace. Reply from the WhatsApp Business app, or send a template or another action from Companion.