WhatsApp Templates by Category

WhatsApp Business Platform allows businesses to send pre-approved message templates for engaging with customers. Each template must belong to one of three main categories — Marketing, Utility, or Authentication.

These categories define the purpose and usage policy for your message templates and its cost.

Marketing Templates

Purpose: To promote products, services, and offers, or to drive user engagement.

Marketing templates are used when you want to initiate a conversation with a customer — for example, sharing a sale, a new launch, or a limited-time deal.

Examples:

• “Hey 👋 Get 20% off on your next order! Use code WELCOME20 before midnight.”

• “New arrivals are here! Tap below to explore the latest collection.”

• “Your favorite items are back in stock — shop now before they sell out!”

Best Used For:

• Offers, discounts & promotions

• Product recommendations

• Re-engagement campaigns

• Cart recovery reminders

Customers must have opted in to receive marketing messages.

Utility Templates

Purpose: To share transactional or informational updates related to an existing order, booking, or account activity.

These are non-promotional messages that keep the customer informed about what they already expect.

Examples:

• “Your order #4523 has been shipped and will arrive by tomorrow.”

• “Your payment of ₹2,499 was received successfully.”

• “Your appointment is confirmed for Monday, 4 PM.”

Best Used For:

• Order and delivery updates

• Payment confirmations & receipts

• Appointment or booking reminders

• Account status or subscription updates

Tip: Utility templates help build trust and improve post-purchase experience.

Authentication Templates

Purpose: To send secure one-time passwords (OTPs) or verification codes for login and account access.

These messages are time-sensitive and critical for user verification workflows.

Examples:

• “Your login code is 827492. It will expire in 5 minutes.”

• “Use 654321 to verify your WhatsApp Business account.”

• “Your OTP for completing payment is 789045.”

Best Used For:

• OTP delivery

• Two-factor authentication

• Account verification or password reset

Note: Authentication templates are approved only for verification-related use cases and must not include promotional content.

Comparison Summary

Category	Purpose	Example	Allowed Content
Marketing	Promote & re-engage	“Get 25% off today!”	Offers, promotions, announcements
Utility	Inform & update	“Your order has been shipped.”	Transactional updates
Authentication	Verify & secure	“Your OTP is 827492.”	Login codes, account verification