What are WhatsApp ads?
Meta offers three kinds of WhatsApp advertising: ads that click to WhatsApp, which run on Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp and open a chat with your business; ads in the WhatsApp Status placement; and marketing messages, a placement that delivers WhatsApp messages inside Ads Manager campaigns. Click-to-WhatsApp ads and marketing messages need a WhatsApp Business account.
“WhatsApp ads” covers more than one product. It can mean an ad on Facebook or Instagram that opens a WhatsApp chat with your business. Meta also sells ad space inside WhatsApp itself, in Status, and lets businesses add WhatsApp marketing messages to the same campaigns as their ads. The chat and messaging options start from a WhatsApp Business account, set up through the WhatsApp Business app or the API.
What types of WhatsApp ads are there?
| Type | Where it shows | What Meta says you need |
|---|---|---|
| Ads that click to WhatsApp | Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp; a tap opens a WhatsApp chat | A WhatsApp Business account connected to your Page or business portfolio |
| Ads in WhatsApp Status | The WhatsApp Status placement | A campaign that includes the WhatsApp Status placement |
| Marketing messages placement | A WhatsApp message to people in your messaging customer base | A Traffic, Leads or Sales campaign, a WhatsApp Business account in your portfolio and a messaging customer base |
How do ads that click to WhatsApp work?
They send people who click straight into a WhatsApp conversation with your business. Meta says you can use them to build awareness, drive traffic or engagement, or generate leads and sales, with steps that vary by objective. When you build the ad, you can offer a “start conversation” template with suggested prompts, or, where available, a form inside WhatsApp built with WhatsApp Flows to book appointments or collect contact details.
You can create these ads in three places:
- Ads Manager, by choosing an objective and selecting WhatsApp as a message destination or conversion location.
- Your Facebook Page, by boosting a post with external links, videos or single photos and setting the goal to Get more messages.
- The WhatsApp Business app, under Settings, Business tools, Advertise on Facebook.
What do you need first?
- A WhatsApp Business account, from the WhatsApp Business app or the WhatsApp Business API.
- That number connected to your Facebook Page, with you as a Page admin, or connected to your business portfolio.
Meta says the WhatsApp number connected to the Facebook Page you choose is the one used in the campaign.
What specs apply to WhatsApp Status ads?
Meta’s video length table allows up to 60 minutes for WhatsApp Status, and its playback rules require 100% of the ad’s pixels to be in view before a video plays. Meta adds that from September 2026 you can create partnership ads in the WhatsApp Status placement.
What are marketing messages as a placement?
For campaigns with the Traffic, Leads or Sales objective, Meta lets you add marketing messages as an extra placement, so one campaign delivers ads and WhatsApp messages with the same creative, setup and budget. You need a WhatsApp Business account connected to your business portfolio and a messaging customer base, and Meta’s article assumes you have secured customers’ permission to contact them. Meta says you can send only one message to the same phone number every three days. It may not be available in your country yet.
FAQ
Are WhatsApp ads available everywhere?
No. On its click-to-WhatsApp pages, Meta says certain messaging-related metrics, ad campaigns and organic messaging features are unavailable for businesses and ads delivered to and from Europe, Japan and South Korea. The marketing messages placement may also not be available in your country or region yet.
Do I need a Facebook Page for click-to-WhatsApp ads?
In Ads Manager, you can connect the WhatsApp number to either your Facebook Page or your business portfolio. Meta’s steps still ask you to choose a Facebook Page, and the number connected to that Page is used. Creating the ad from the WhatsApp Business app also connects WhatsApp to a Page, or creates one.
How long do I have to reply to someone who messages from an ad?
If you use the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta says a conversation started from your click-to-message ad opens a free messaging period that may extend up to 7 days for you to reply. Meta notes the feature may not be available to you yet, so check your own account.
Sources
- Create ads that click to WhatsApp in Ads Manager (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- About ads that click to message on Meta technologies (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Create ads that click to WhatsApp from your Facebook Page (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Create ads that click to WhatsApp from the WhatsApp Business app (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- About ad placements across Meta technologies (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- About marketing messages as a placement in campaigns on Ads Manager (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Video length specifications across placements in Meta Ads Manager (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Video ad playing specifications by placement (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- About partnership ads (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
Drafted with AI and checked claim by claim against the pages linked under Sources. Found a mistake? Tell us via the corrections policy.