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Glossary · Paid social

Click to WhatsAppmeaning and examples

An ad that opens a chat: one tap from the feed to your WhatsApp.

Since 201565+ in-house team6 cities

Updated 9 Oct 2026

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Definition

Click to WhatsApp ads are ads on Meta's platforms that open a WhatsApp chat with your business when a person taps them. They send people into a conversation, not to a web page or a form.

Many Indian buyers like to ask a question before they buy. A click to WhatsApp ad meets them where they already chat. The ad starts the talk. Your team, or an automated reply, continues it.

What Meta says about these ads

On 9 October 2026 we read Meta for Developers and the WhatsApp Business website. Meta describes these ads as ones that send people who click directly into conversations with your business in WhatsApp. The ads can run on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. The WhatsApp Business site lists the News Feed, Stories and Marketplace placements on Facebook and Instagram.

To run them you need a Facebook Page for your business and a WhatsApp Business number connected to it.

The free reply window

Meta's WhatsApp pricing page, read on 9 October 2026, describes a free entry point. It applies when a person messages you by tapping a click to WhatsApp ad, using the Android or iOS app. The rules are as follows.

  • Their message opens a 24-hour customer service window.
  • If you reply inside those 24 hours, your reply is free. It also opens a free entry point window of 72 hours.
  • In that 72-hour window you can send any type of message at no Meta charge.
  • After the windows close, you can only start a chat with a template message, and most template messages are charged by category.

A template message is a pre-approved message that a business sends first. Meta changes its rules and rates from time to time. Our WhatsApp Business API guide has the rates we read and the date we read them.

A made-up example

Say a tailoring shop in Surat runs a click to WhatsApp ad before a wedding season. This is a made-up example with made-up numbers.

  • Ad spend: ₹20,000.
  • Chats started: 100. Cost for each chat: ₹20,000 ÷ 100 = ₹200.
  • Orders from those chats: 20. Cost for each order: ₹20,000 ÷ 20 = ₹1,000.

The cost for each chat looks small. The cost for each order is what counts. If the shop earns less than ₹1,000 from an order, the ad is losing money. Count chats and orders, not only taps.

How it works for an Indian business

  • Set a greeting that tells the person what they will get.
  • Reply fast. A chat that waits a day often goes cold.
  • Ask for a name and need in the first reply, then take the sale to a call or a visit.
  • Message only people who agreed to hear from you, and keep a record.

Common mistakes

  • Using a personal number, or one number shared by many people with no plan for who replies.
  • Leaving chats unanswered at night and on weekends.
  • Judging success by taps and not by orders.
  • Sending bulk promotions to people who never agreed.

To plan the ads, read Google Ads vs Meta Ads.

Related terms

  • WhatsApp Business API (application programming interface): the route for businesses that need many agents and automation.
  • CPL (cost per lead): what you pay for each enquiry.
  • Retargeting: showing ads again to people who already showed interest.
  • Lookalike audience: people who resemble your top customers.

To set up the ads and the chat flow, see our Meta ads work.

Sources

  • Meta for Developers, "Click to WhatsApp" ad creative guide (developers.facebook.com/docs/marketing-api/ad-creative/messaging-ads/click-to-whatsapp/), read 9 October 2026.
  • WhatsApp Business, "Ads that click to WhatsApp" (whatsappbusiness.com/products/ads-that-click-to-whatsapp/), read 9 October 2026.
  • Meta for Developers, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing (developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing): customer service window and free entry point windows, read 9 October 2026.

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Straight answers.

  • They are ads on Meta's platforms that open a WhatsApp chat with your business when a person taps them.

  • Yes. You need a Facebook Page for your business and a WhatsApp Business number connected to it. Meta says these ads can run on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. Plan who replies on that number, and do not use a personal number.

  • Meta's pricing page says that if you reply within 24 hours of the person's message, your reply is free and opens a 72-hour window for any message type. After the windows close, you can only start a chat with a template message, and most template messages are charged by category. Check the current rules, as Meta can change them.

  • Count chats and orders, not only taps. In a made-up example, ₹20,000 of ad spend starts 100 chats at ₹200 each, and 20 orders at ₹1,000 each. If the shop earns less than ₹1,000 from an order, the ad is losing money. Reply fast, because a chat that waits a day often goes cold.