WhatsApp recently announced a change in their pricing policy and introduced four new conversation categories. This change goes into effect June 1, 2023 and impacts all businesses using WhatsApp.

This article provides additional details and addresses some of the questions you may have about WhatsApp’s policy changes. It addresses the following questions:

What does this mean?

Starting June 1, 2023 all business-initiated conversations will be charged per 24-hour conversations based on 3 new conversation templates (requiring opt-in): utility, authentication, and marketing. While previously the first 1,000 business-initiated conversations per month were free, that will no longer apply and all business-initiated conversations will be charged.

User-initiated conversations are being renamed to service conversations and the first 1,000 service conversations per month will be free for all accounts.

Charges for all types of conversations will vary based on region. Further details can be found here.

What are the new conversation categories?

There are three business-initiated conversation categories (all of which require customer opt in):

• Utility conversations - Facilitate a specific, agreed-upon request or transaction or update to a customer about an ongoing transaction, including post-purchase notifications and recurring billing statements
• Authentication conversations - Enable businesses to authenticate users with one-time passcodes, potentially at multiple steps in the login process (e.g., account verification, account recovery, integrity challenges)
• Marketing conversations - Include promotions or offers, informational updates, or invitations for customers to respond / take action. Any conversation that does not qualify as utility or authentication is a marketing conversation.

The fourth category is service conversations – all user-initiated conversations will be categorized as service conversations, which help customers resolve inquiries. More details on template guidelines can be found here.

How will this change affect me?

The invoices you receive from Meta will look different and the prices you’re being charged based on conversation types will be reflected within the updated invoices. Based on the volume of conversation types, your total invoice might increase or decrease.

What do I need to do?

No action is required on your part. On April 1, 2023, Meta will update your WhatsApp Business Manager accounts to reflect the new template categories. You’re welcome to review these changes to make sure everything looks in order. On the off chance that you disagree with the template category assigned to a template, you can directly appeal to Meta from within the WhatsApp Manager. Please note that you can only appeal until May 15, 2023, after which Meta will close the appeal forms. Read more here about timelines and the process for appealing an incorrect template assignment.

Please refer to Meta's new rate cards to estimate the pricing changes you may incur, noting again that business-initiated conversations will no longer be included in the free tier.

You can also review the WhatsApp pricing explainer document for additional details and examples related to how WhatsApp conversations will be initiated and charged as of June 1, 2023.

This change will not affect how your customers currently engage with you on WhatsApp.