Send an approved template, a flow or a product

Getting here

Inbox → open a conversation → the rows just below the composer: Send an approved template…, Send a flow… and Send product. In the app: tap + beside the reply bar for Choose a template, Send a flow and the product sheet.

Before you start

• An owner, admin or agent can send. A viewer cannot.
• Templates are WhatsApp only, and only ones Meta has already approved on this number appear.
• A flow only appears in the list when it is published, switched on, and its Show in Send a flow setting is ticked in the workflow editor.
• Products need a Meta catalogue linked to this WhatsApp number, and synced.

Fields

Send an approved template…

The approved templates on this WhatsApp number, by name and language.

Limits: WhatsApp only. A template Meta has not approved never appears.

Value for {placeholder}

What goes into each gap in the template's text. The preview shows the result.

Limits: Up to 1,024 characters each. Send template stays off until the template is usable.

Send a flow…

A published workflow to start on this conversation.

Limits: Only workflows with Show in Send a flow ticked. That setting also decides the Run a workflow… list, and nothing else.

Send product

Items from the catalogue linked to this number. Search by name or SKU.

Limits: Hidden once the WhatsApp window has closed.

How it works

• WhatsApp only allows free text for a while after the customer writes in. Once that has passed, the template row is how you reach them, and the notice above it says so.
• The template list shows each template's name and language. Picking one shows its text with your values in it, so you read what the customer will read.
• A template with gaps shows one box per gap. Send template stays switched off until the template is usable.
• Before anything is sent, the template is checked against the approved ones on this number and against the values you filled in. A template that fails either check is stopped here with a reason.
• The cost line above the preview says what this template costs, naming its category: marketing, utility or authentication.
• The flow list is a curated one: only workflows somebody ticked Show in Send a flow on. That setting also decides the Run a workflow… list; automatic triggers keep running either way.
• When the chosen flow asks for details first, its form appears under the row and must be filled before Send flow works.
• A flow started here either runs at once — {name} ran — or is queued: {name} queued, with It runs in the next minute or so.
• Send product opens the synced catalogue. Search by name or SKU, and Bought before, per Inseller marks items this customer has bought.
• You can pick up to 30 products in one message. Your message text becomes the card body.
• Two to ten products can go as Swipe cards. Pick more and it goes as a List instead, which the picker says on the count line.
• The product row disappears once the WhatsApp window has closed, so a product card cannot be sent where WhatsApp would refuse it.

When it fails

• No approved templates available means this number has no approved template synced. Approving one is done in channel settings, not here.
• That template isn’t approved on this WhatsApp number means the one you picked is no longer approved. Open Settings → Templates and press Sync from Meta on that number, then try again.
• Pick the template again — the list changed. appears when the list was refreshed under you.
• Template not sent and Check template status are what you see when the send is refused or its delivery is not confirmed.
• No flows available to send means no published workflow has Show in Send a flow ticked.
• Could not queue that flow. and Flow not sent mean the flow was not started. Nothing ran.
• No products match. means your search found nothing in the synced catalogue.
• Some of those products are not in the synced catalog means the catalogue is behind. Syncing it fixes the send.
• No catalog is linked to this WhatsApp number yet means the number has no catalogue at all. The message points at Settings › Catalog.
• Product not sent is what you see when the product message is refused.

Limits

• None of these three creates a template. A template has to be submitted and approved by Meta before it appears here.
• A template send is usually charged. The cost line above the preview says what that message costs, or that it is free — as it is inside the free entry window.
• The composer does not check marketing consent before sending a template. Broadcasts check it, and so does a workflow's marketing template step — including a flow you start from Send a flow.
• You cannot add a free-text sentence to an approved template. Only its gaps are yours to fill.
• Sending a flow here does not edit it. Changing what the flow does is the workflow builder, which is on the web only.
• A template or flow sent here is not undone by anything. There is no recall.
• Products and templates are WhatsApp features. They do not appear on Messenger, Instagram or the other channels.

Best practices

• Keep one approved template whose only job is to invite a reply. It reopens the conversation for free text at the lowest cost.
• Fill every gap from what you can see in the conversation, and read the preview before sending. The customer reads exactly that.
• Tick Show in Send a flow on the two or three flows agents really start by hand, and leave the rest out of the picker.
• Send products from the catalogue rather than pasting links: the card carries the price and the picture, and the customer can reply to it.
• When the window has closed, decide between a template now and a cheaper wait. The cost line gives you the number to decide with.

Use cases

• Sarah Chen asked about stock two days ago; the window has closed, so you send the approved back-in-stock template.
• Michael Torres wants the three items he looked at: search the catalogue, pick three, send them as swipe cards.
• A returning buyer asks for the same set again: search Bought before, per Inseller and send it in one message.
• Someone asks for the booking steps: start the flow that asks the questions instead of typing them.
• A customer who has never written to you needs an order update: the only way to reach them first is an approved template.

FAQ and troubleshooting

Why must I use a template at all?

WhatsApp only allows free text for a while after the customer's last message or call. Outside that, only a template Meta has approved may be sent.

Is a template free?

Only inside the free entry window, or where the cost line says so. Otherwise Meta charges for it at its category's rate, and the line above the preview says which.

I know we have a workflow, but Send a flow does not list it.

The picker lists only published, switched-on workflows with Show in Send a flow ticked. Tick it in the workflow editor and it appears.

Can I edit the wording of a template here?

No. You can only fill its gaps. The wording is what Meta approved.

How many products can I send at once?

Up to 30. Between two and ten go as swipeable cards; more than that goes as a list, and the picker tells you which it will be.

Does sending a template check whether the customer agreed to marketing?

No. A template you send by hand goes as you chose it. Broadcasts do check it, and so does a workflow's marketing template step, so a flow started from Send a flow skips a marketing template for a contact who has not agreed.

Related

• Reply to a customer — The box at the bottom sends a reply, an internal note, a file or a voice note, and says what it costs.
• Run a workflow on this conversation — Start a published workflow on this customer, see which flows are running, stop one, or answer a question a flow awaits.
• Take over from the AI, and hand it back — The badge at the top says who is answering right now, and one button moves the conversation between the AI and a person.
• Find the conversation you need — Views, search, the channel filter and the Unreplied switch narrow the inbox down to the chats you still have to answer.