What is a WhatsApp conversation

A conversation is essentially a 24-hour timeframe triggered when a business sends a message. This message could be either initiated by the business (business-initiated) proactively or in response to a message from the user (user-initiated).

User-Initiated Conversations

In this category, also called the Service category, customers initiate conversations.

Service conversations are also triggered when you use automatic welcome messages.

Picture this scenario: a customer reaches out to your business seeking a product not available in your store. A few minutes later, one of your LiveChat agents responds with a link to the product, thereby triggering the 24-hour session. As it turns out, the customer had been searching in the wrong section for the product. Satisfied with your agent's assistance, the customer concludes the conversation.

In this situation, you will be charged for one user-initiated (Service) conversation, because the agent was able to resolve a conversation within the 24-hour window.

Let's clarify: the conversation starts upon your response to a customer inquiry. If you choose not to respond to the incoming message, no session is initiated, and there are no associated charges. However, if you have automatic replies configured, and send a response to an incoming e.g. spam message, you will start a user-initiated conversation.

Business-Initiated Conversations

You can initiate business-initiated conversations proactively by sending template messages or WhatsApp campaigns from LiveChat to customers who have opted in. These conversations always begin with a preapproved message template.

The type of conversation is determined by the message template used. You have the flexibility to switch between conversation categories by sending a template from a different category during the conversation.

For instance, if you send a message to promote sales of your new products, you would likely use a marketing template to initiate a Marketing conversation. However, if you’re sending a scheduled booking reminder, you can choose to send a Utility message template, thereby initiating a Utility conversation.

Utility category

Utility conversations are initiated by businesses and typically involve specific, agreed-upon updates, requests, or transactions. These may include sending post-purchase notifications, order confirmations, or recurring billing statements to customers. Since Utility conversations are initiated by the business, they always begin with a WhatsApp message template categorized as Utility.

Marketing category

True to its name, Marketing conversations are initiated by businesses to promote a product or service to customers. This involves sending relevant offers, enticing deals, or updates about product restocking to customers who have opted in.

Additionally, any business-initiated conversations that do not fall under Authentication or Utility categories will be classified by WhatsApp as Marketing Conversations.

Authentication category

In Authentication conversations, ensuring security is paramount. Through authentication templates, you can verify users using One Time Passwords at various stages of the login or verification process, including account registration, account recovery, and other instances where confirming the customer's identity is necessary. These conversations are also initiated by the business.