What are Click-to-WhatsApp ads?
Click-to-WhatsApp ads (often shortened to CTWA) are ads on Facebook and Instagram with a Send WhatsApp message button. When someone taps it, WhatsApp opens a chat with your business, usually with a short pre-filled message such as "Is this available?". You set them up in Meta Ads Manager by choosing WhatsApp as the message destination and linking your number.
Chats that begin this way can open a free entry point window on the WhatsApp Business Platform, which can be longer than the normal 24-hour window. Meta sets these terms and changes them, so check its current rules.
Why do they matter for sellers in Bangladesh?
Most f-commerce buyers want to ask a question before ordering: price, size, colour, delivery time. Sending them to a website loses many of them. A CTWA ad takes them straight to a chat. The catch is speed: an ad can bring dozens of chats in an hour, and people who wait too long simply leave. Ads only pay off if someone, or something, answers fast.
Example
A shoe seller boosts a Reels video with a WhatsApp button. Within an evening, 80 people send "price?". The AI assistant replies with price and sizes from the catalog, sends photos, and passes chats with special requests to the team. In SaleMag these chats land in the same shared inbox as every other WhatsApp conversation, where the AI chatbot can answer them.
Related terms
24-hour window, shared inbox, conversational commerce, f-commerce.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need the WhatsApp API to run Click-to-WhatsApp ads?
No. The ads also work with the WhatsApp Business app. The API helps when many chats arrive at once and several people or an AI assistant need to answer.
Are conversations from these ads free?
Chats that start from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad can open a free entry point window on the platform. Meta sets the length and terms, so check its current rules. You still pay for the ad itself.
Can I see which ad a chat came from?
Meta includes ad referral details with the first message on the Business Platform. Whether you see them depends on the software you use.
About the author
WhatsApp & F-commerce automation, Dhaka
The Dhaka team that builds SaleMag, the AI sales inbox for WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram used by online sellers in Bangladesh.