---
title: What are Click-to-WhatsApp ads? Meaning & examples
description: Click-to-WhatsApp ads are Facebook and Instagram ads with a button
  that opens a WhatsApp chat with your business. Learn how they work and how to
  handle replies.
url: https://salemag.net/glossary/click-to-whatsapp-ads
language: en
published: 2026-10-21
updated: 2026-10-21
author: SaleMag Team
tags:
  - click to whatsapp ads
  - facebook ads
  - whatsapp marketing
---

# What are Click-to-WhatsApp ads? Meaning & examples

> Click-to-WhatsApp ads are Facebook and Instagram ads whose button opens a WhatsApp chat with your business, often with a pre-filled first message. You create them in Meta Ads Manager. Instead of a website visit, each click becomes a conversation that your team or AI assistant can turn into a sale.

## 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](https://salemag.net/glossary/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](https://salemag.net/glossary/shared-inbox) as every other WhatsApp conversation, where the [AI chatbot](https://salemag.net/features/ai-chatbot) can answer them.

## Related terms

24-hour window, shared inbox, conversational commerce, f-commerce.

## FAQ

### 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.