WhatsApp broadcasts

A broadcast sends one approved WhatsApp template to everyone in a segment who has agreed to WhatsApp marketing. Use it for announcements, offers and reminders that go to many customers at once. Sending runs in the background, and you can pause, resume or cancel it.

Before you start

Broadcasts are available when your plan includes WhatsApp broadcasts and WhatsApp channel. Your plan also sets WhatsApp broadcasts a month, the number of messages you can send in a calendar month.
Only owners and administrators can create and run broadcasts.
You need a WhatsApp Business channel with synced, approved templates. See Saved replies and templates and WhatsApp.
You need a segment of the customers to reach. See Contacts.
Meta charges for each message, and its daily sending limits for your number apply.

Who receives a broadcast

A customer in the segment receives it only if all of these are true:

They have a phone number.
Their WhatsApp consent is recorded.
They have not opted out of marketing, and no other contact with the same number has.
Their record is not archived or erased.

Each phone number receives a broadcast once, even if it appears on two contacts.

Consent is never assumed. To record it, open the contact, go to Data and privacy and select Record WhatsApp consent. The card then says This customer agreed to WhatsApp marketing. Select Remove WhatsApp consent to take it back. Owners, administrators and members can do this. Consent cannot be recorded for a customer who has opted out.

Consent is removed automatically when a customer writes a stop word such as stop in any conversation. A store checkout field can also record it, when an owner or administrator names that field under Home, Alerts and automations, Order field that holds WhatsApp consent.

Create a broadcast

Open Conversations, then select WhatsApp broadcasts.
Enter a Name, up to 120 characters.
Choose the Template. The number in brackets is how many blanks it has.
Choose the Segment.
Fill in Value 1, Value 2 and so on, one for each blank of the template. Each value is one line of up to 200 characters. Write {name} in a value to put each customer's name there. The form shows enough boxes for the template with the most blanks: leave the extra boxes empty, because they are ignored when empty and refused when filled.
Select Save draft.

The broadcast is sent from the WhatsApp number the template belongs to.

Send it

In the list, select Start on the draft.
The system counts who would receive it now. If nobody qualifies, you see Nobody in this segment has a number and WhatsApp consent.
If the count does not fit in this month's allowance, after the messages other running broadcasts still have to send, the broadcast does not start.

While it runs, the list shows Sending and a count such as "40 sent, 2 failed, of 120". Use Pause, Resume and Cancel as needed. When everyone has been reached, it shows Finished.

How sending works

Messages go out in batches of up to 100 a minute. One broadcast sends at a time; others wait their turn in the order they were started.
The segment is read as it sends, so someone who opts out or loses consent after you select Start is skipped.
A broadcast pauses on its own, with the reason shown:

Reason	What to do
Not in the package	The plan no longer includes broadcasts or the WhatsApp channel.
Monthly limit reached	The month's allowance is used up. Resume when the next month starts.
Channel, template or segment is no longer available	The channel was turned off, the template is no longer approved, or the segment was removed.
Several sends failed in a row	Three messages in a row failed, which usually means a problem at Meta. The customer who was next is kept in line. Resume when the channel works.

A message that fails for one customer is counted as failed and the broadcast moves on.

Send it to yourself first

Beside a broadcast that has not started, type your own WhatsApp number with its country code and click Send me a test. You receive the message once, with your name in its blanks, and nothing is recorded against any customer. Up to 10 tests an hour.

Good to know

Broadcast messages do not open conversations in the inbox. When a customer answers, the answer arrives in the inbox as a normal conversation.
Cancelling stops what has not been sent. Messages already sent cannot be recalled.
Only templates you can fill from a form are offered: see the rules in Saved replies and templates.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to do
No approved templates yet. Sync them from the channels page.	Sync templates on the WhatsApp channel first.
Fill in every value, on one line, up to 200 characters.	Fill in exactly one value for each blank of the chosen template, and leave the boxes after them empty.
The broadcast will not start	Check the segment has customers with consent, and your monthly allowance under Your plan.