WhatsApp Message Templates: Categories, Examples and Approval Tips

On the WhatsApp Business API, you can only start a conversation, or message someone more than 24 hours after their last message, with a template that Meta has approved. Good templates get approved quickly and get read. Here is how they work.

The three template categories

• Marketing: offers, launches, festive greetings, re-engagement. Example: "Hi {{1}}, our Diwali sale is live: 20% off all packages until Sunday."
• Utility: updates about something the customer already did, such as orders, bookings, payments and account changes. Example: "Your booking {{1}} for {{2}} is confirmed."
• Authentication: one-time passwords for logins and verification.

Meta charges by category and may change a template's category if the content does not match. A utility template that includes a promotion will be treated as marketing.

What a template can contain

• A header: text, image, video, document or location.
• A body with variables such as {{1}} and {{2}}, filled in with each customer's name, order number or date.
• A footer, for example your brand name or "Reply STOP to unsubscribe".
• Buttons: quick replies, a link to your website, a call button or a copy-code button for offers.

Tips to get approved faster

• Pick the right category. Most rejections and recategorisations come from promotional wording in utility templates.
• Give real sample values for every variable, so the reviewer understands the message.
• Do not start or end the body with a variable, and do not put two variables next to each other.
• Write clearly and specifically. Vague or very short templates are often rejected.
• Follow the WhatsApp Commerce Policy: no prohibited products, no misleading claims.
• Do not ask for sensitive data such as card numbers or passwords.

Meta usually reviews templates within minutes, and at most within 24 hours. If a template is rejected, fix the reason shown and submit it again, or edit the wording and create a new one.

Templates in auton8n

auton8n lets you create templates with headers, variables and buttons, submit them to Meta and see their status, and start from a library of ready-made templates for common businesses. Use them in broadcast campaigns, chatbot flows and automatic order and booking updates.

Ready to try it? Create your auton8n account or talk to us.