Chat App Message Service:Send messages through the console

A channel is the type of path used to send messages. WhatsApp, Viber, Messenger, Instagram, and Email channels are supported.

1. Select the type of channel you want to create.

2. Customize the channel name and remarks. You must select the appropriate channel type for sending different types of messages.

A WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) is an official business account that enterprises must register to send commercial WhatsApp messages. A WABA verified by WhatsApp receives a verification badge, which increases customer trust and enhances brand image while reducing interference from fraudulent messages.

To send WhatsApp messages, you must first register a WABA. In the console, you can quickly register a WABA through the official Facebook embedded signup flow.

1. Go to the Channel Management page. Select your WhatsApp channel, click Manage. Then, choose WABA Management > WABA Registration and Binding.

   Note

   • If you are already logged in to Facebook or the logged-in account is the one you want to use for WABA registration, click Continue as [Your Name].

   • If you are not logged in or the current account is not the one you want to use, click Log In To Another Account.

2. In the Connect Your Account To Alibaba Cloud Singapore dialog box that appears, click Get Started.

3. On the Fill in business information page, enter your business information as prompted. This includes your company name, company email, website or business homepage, and the country or region where your company is located.

4. Create or select a WhatsApp Business account.

5. Confirm your business information and WhatsApp account information.

6. Complete the binding.

You can now start chatting with your target users via WhatsApp.

For detailed instructions, see Register and manage a WABA.

Number management is used to manage the phone numbers under a WABA, including adding, syncing, and configuring number settings.

1. Add a number:

   1. Go to the Channel Management page. Find the WhatsApp channel and click Manage. Choose WABA Management > Phone Number Management. Click Add Phone Number.

   2. Enter the Name, Country/Region, and Phone Number that you want to use to send messages.

2. Enable local storage:

   Note

   After you enable local storage, message content may be stored in Meta's global data centers during processing. After the data is used (up to 90 minutes), the message content is deleted from Meta's data centers outside the specified local storage region and is retained only in the data center in your selected local storage region.

   1. Choose Phone Number Management > Settings > Local Storage.

   2. Enable Local Storage.

3. Verify the number:

   Important

   You will receive a verification code from Meta to verify your number. Ensure your phone number can receive messages.

   1. On the Phone Number Management page, find the number you want to verify and click Verify Phone Number.

   2. In the Obtain Verification Code dialog box, select the language for the notification, and click Send Verification Code or Obtain Voice Verification Code.

      Note

      If your phone number is a landline, choose to receive a voice code. If it is a mobile number, you can choose to receive the code via SMS or voice call.

4. Sync numbers:

   You can sync the numbers under your bound and approved WABA with the Business Manager (BM) platform.

For detailed instructions, see Manage phone numbers.

Chat App Message Service lets customers migrate phone numbers registered with other BSPs to Alibaba Cloud using the number migration feature. For detailed instructions, see Migrate phone numbers.

On April 1, 2025, WhatsApp launches the new, optimized marketing message type, Marketing Messages Lite (MML). MML is designed to help businesses improve performance and message quality. It automatically optimizes sending and reading to provide a higher-quality user experience and better business performance.

1. Go to the Channel Management page. Find the WhatsApp channel and click Manage. Choose WABA Management > WABA Registration and Binding.

   Note

   • If you are already logged in to Facebook or the logged-in account is the one you want to use for WABA registration, click Continue as [Your Name].

   • If you are not logged in or the current account is not the one you want to use, click Log In To Another Account.

2. In the Improve ROI with Marketing Messages Lite API dialog box, click Continue.

3. On the Connect Your Account To Alibaba Cloud Singapore page, click Get Started.

4. On the Fill in business information page, enter your business information as prompted. This includes your company name, company email, website or business homepage, and the country or region where your company is located.

5. Create or select a WhatsApp Business account.

6. Confirm your business information and WhatsApp account information.

7. Complete the binding.

For detailed instructions, see Best practices for Marketing Messages Lite (MML).

A message template is the content of a Chat App message. It consists of a header, template variables, body text, and call-to-action buttons. Before you send a message, design your template and wait for it to be approved.

1. Add a template:

   1. Go to the Channel Management page. Find the WhatsApp channel and click Manage. Choose Template Design > WABA Registration and Binding.

   2. Based on your use cases, select the appropriate template type. For more information, see WhatsApp message templates.

      • Marketing: Send promotional content.

      • Utility: Send messages related to a specific, completed transaction.

      • Authentication: Send pre-defined WhatsApp authentication messages.

   3. Customize the template name, and select a Category and Language.

2. Design the template:

   The following example uses a marketing template. For other template types, follow the instructions on the page.

   1. Select a template format:

      Note

      Catalog templates and multi-product message (MPM) templates are marketing templates related to the Meta Commerce Catalog. You must authorize and bind a product catalog before using them. For more information, see Catalog management. To create and send product catalog templates, see Best practices for product catalog templates.

      • Custom: Customize the template content to your specific needs.

      • Catalog Message: A marketing template related to a Meta Commerce Catalog.

      • MPM Message: A marketing template related to a Meta Commerce Catalog.

   2. Based on the template type, fill in the body content and choose whether to add a header, limited-time offer, URL buttons, or call buttons.

   3. After saving, click Submit.

3. Template review:

   Important

   The category of a WhatsApp message template may be automatically changed during the review process. You can check the Pause sending when category is changed option when designing the template. For more information, see Add send control when WhatsApp message template category changes.

   Wait for the template to be reviewed. You can check the review result on the Template Design page, or by subscribing to ChatAppAudit (Simple Message Queue | HTTP URL).

   • The review is typically completed within 5 minutes but can sometimes take over 24 hours.

   • If the review fails, you can see the reason in the language column. Redesign the template and submit it for review again.

For template features and buttons, see Template design.

After the template is approved, you can use the channel to send messages.

1. Go to the Channel Management page. Find the WhatsApp channel and click Manage. Choose Message Sending.

2. Select the Language, Send Message, and Send Account. The sending language must be the same as the message template language.

3. For Send Type, you can schedule a sending time or send immediately.

4. Import the numbers of target receivers.

   • Upload Excel File: Download the template, fill in the relevant variables, and then upload the Excel file.

   • Import Phone Number Group: Select a dialing code and enter the target user numbers.

   • Import Group: Import your user group. For more information, see Manage user groups.

5. Click Send.

For detailed instructions, see Send messages.

After sending messages, you can view the sending and delivery details, status reports, and batch sending details in the console.

1. Go to the Channel Management page. Find the WhatsApp channel and click Manage. Choose Message List.

2. Filter the data as needed.

   Note

   The time range filter does not support querying across different months.

   • Message List: This tab displays lists for both sent and received messages. You can filter the data by business number, status, Batch ID, user phone number, template code, and time.

   • Batch sending: You can filter the data by business number and time.

   • Pending/Failed: You can filter the data by business number and time.

For detailed instructions, see Message list.