Template categories: utility, marketing and authentication

What belongs in each category?

Utility is transactional and tied to an action the customer took: an order confirmation, a shipping update, a booking reminder, an appointment change. The defining test is whether the customer would expect it because of something they did.

Marketing is anything promotional: an offer, a new product, a re-engagement message, a newsletter. Sending one requires a payment method on the WhatsApp Business Account, which is why the first marketing attempt on an account that has only ever replied to customers commonly fails.

Authentication is one time passcodes and verification. It has the strictest format, with tight constraints on what can surround the code, and it exists as its own category because the delivery expectations are different.

Why not declare everything as utility?

Because Meta reclassifies, and being reclassified is worse than declaring honestly.

Promotional content in a utility template is caught consistently. The template is either rejected at review, or approved and then recategorised later, at which point sends that were being billed as utility start being billed as marketing without anyone changing anything. That is a surprise on an invoice rather than a saving.

Repeatedly submitting miscategorised templates also attracts attention to the account itself. The cheaper path is to declare what the message actually is, which also makes the review faster because the reviewer is checking the thing the template says it is.

Common mistakes

• Putting an offer inside a utility template. It is caught consistently and may be recategorised after approval.
• Attempting a marketing send with no payment method on the account. Meta requires one and no provider can add it.
• Using authentication for anything other than a passcode. The format constraints are strict and it will not pass.

Frequently asked questions

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