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A template is a message you write in advance and Meta approves. An appointment reminder, an order update and a special offer are all templates.

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When you need a template

WhatsApp lets you reply freely for 24 hours after a customer’s last message. Outside that window you can only send an approved template. You also need one to: A workflow can send an approved template for you, with its Send a template step. Meta charges for each template it delivers. See What Meta charges.

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Who can do what

Owners and admins create, edit, duplicate and delete templates. Everyone on the team can see the list and send an approved template from a conversation.
To send one, open a conversation and choose Send a template. See Replying.

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Categories

You pick a category when you create a template. Meta reviews the template against it, and charges by it. Only marketing and utility templates can be sent as a broadcast. A contact who has opted out is not sent marketing templates.

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The Templates list

Go to Templates in the sidebar. Each row shows the template’s name, the start of its text, its category, its language and its status. Select a row to see the template as WhatsApp will show it. Owners and admins also get these buttons in the panel:
  • Edit in the builder, Edit and resubmit or Open in the builder, depending on the status
  • Duplicate
  • Send a test, for an approved template
  • Delete template
A template made in WhatsApp Manager appears in the list too, marked Made in WhatsApp Manager. It is read-only here. Duplicate it to make a version you can change. Companion checks your WhatsApp Business account for changes every night. To check now, choose Refresh from Meta.

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Statuses

An approved template can also show High quality, Medium quality or Low quality. This is Meta’s rating, based on how customers react to it.