Chat App Message Service:Send chat app messages from the console

In Chat App Message Service, a channel represents a specific messaging platform, such as WhatsApp, Viber, Messenger, Instagram, and Email.

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

2. Enter a channel name and an optional description. When sending a message, you must select the corresponding channel.

A WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) is an official business account required for sending commercial messages on WhatsApp. A WABA that passes WhatsApp's business verification receives a badge, which increases customer trust, enhances brand image, and reduces the impact of misinformation.

Before you can send WhatsApp messages, you must register a WABA. In Chat App Message Service, you can quickly register a WABA through the official Facebook embedded signup flow.

1. Navigate to the Manage > WABA Management > WABA Registration and Binding page.

   Note

   • If you are already logged in to Facebook and 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 logged-in Facebook account is not the one you want to use, click Log In To Another Account to log in to the correct account or create a new one.

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

3. On the Fill in business information page, enter your business information as prompted, including the company name, company email, company website or business page, and country or region.

4. Create or select a WhatsApp Business Account.

5. Confirm your business and WhatsApp account information.

6. Complete the binding.

You can now send messages to your target users on WhatsApp.

For detailed instructions, see WABA Registration and Management.

Use Phone Number Management to manage the phone numbers for your WABA, including adding, syncing, and configuring numbers.

1. Add a phone number

   1. Navigate to the Manage > WABA Management > Phone Number Management > Add Phone Number page.

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

2. Enable local storage

   Note

   When local storage is enabled, message content may be temporarily processed in Meta's global data centers. After processing (up to 90 minutes), the content is deleted from all Meta data centers outside of your selected local storage region and is retained only in the data centers within that region.

   1. Go to Phone Number Management > Settings > Local Storage.

   2. Enable Local Storage.

3. Verify a phone number

   Important

   During verification, Meta sends a code to your phone number. Ensure that your phone number can receive messages or calls.

   1. On the Phone Number Management page, find the phone number you need to verify in the list and click Verify Phone Number.

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

      Note

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

4. Sync numbers

   This feature synchronizes the phone numbers from your WABA to the Meta Business Manager (BM) platform.

For detailed instructions, see Phone Number Management.

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

Starting April 1, 2025, WhatsApp will introduce Marketing Message Lite (MML), a new message type optimized for marketing, designed to improve performance and quality. It automatically optimizes sending and read rates to provide a better user experience and deliver stronger business results.

1. Navigate to the Manage > WABA Management > WABA Registration and Binding page.

   Note

   • If you are already logged in to Facebook and 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 logged-in Facebook account is not the one you want to use, click Log In To Another Account to log in to the correct account or create a new one.

2. In the Improve ROI with Marketing Message Lite API pop-up window, click Continue.

3. In the Connect Your Account To Alibaba Cloud Singapore pop-up window, click Get Started.

4. On the Fill in business information page, enter your business information as prompted, including the company name, company email, company website or business page, and country or region.

5. Create or select a WhatsApp Business Account.

6. Confirm your business and WhatsApp account information.

7. Complete the binding.

For detailed instructions, see Best Practices for Marketing Message Lite (MML).

Before you can send a Chat App message, you must design a template and submit it for approval.

1. Create a template

   1. Navigate to the Manage > Template Design > Create Template page.

   2. Based on your use case, select the appropriate template type. For more information, see WhatsApp template types.

      • marketing: Send promotional content to target users.

      • utility: Send messages to target users about a specific, agreed-upon transaction.

      • authentication: Send one-time passcodes to authenticate users.

   3. Define a custom template name, and select a Category and Language.

2. Design the template

   The following steps use a marketing template as an example. The process for other template types may vary based on the options available on the page.

   1. Select a template format:

      Note

      Catalog message and multi-product message (MPM) templates are marketing templates associated with the Meta Commerce Catalog. Before you can use them, you must authorize and bind a product catalog. For instructions on catalog authorization and binding, see Catalog Management. To learn how to create and send product catalog templates, see Best Practices for Product Catalog Templates.

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

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

      • multi-product message (MPM): A marketing template related to a Meta Commerce Catalog.

   2. Based on the template type, fill in the body content. You can also choose to add features like a header, limited-time offer, URL buttons, or call buttons.

   3. After saving the template, click Submit.

3. Template review

   Important

   WhatsApp may automatically change a template's category during review. To prevent messages from being sent with an incorrect category, you can select the "Pause sending if category changes" option. For more details, see WhatsApp Message Template Category Changes and Sending Control Settings.

   After submission, the template undergoes a review. You can monitor the review status on the Manage > Template Design page or subscribe to the ChatAppAudit-Template Audit Report to receive the result via Simple Message Queue or HTTP batch push.

   • The review is usually completed within five minutes but can occasionally take more than 24 hours.

   • If a template is rejected, the reason for rejection is displayed in the Language column on the Template Design page. You can then modify the template and resubmit it for review.

For a detailed explanation of template features and buttons, see Template Design.

After your message template is approved, you can use the channel to send Chat App messages.

1. Navigate to the Manage > Message Sending page.

2. Select the Language, Send Message, and Send Account. The language must match the language of the message template.

3. Send Type: You can choose to send the message immediately or at a scheduled time.

4. Import Method: Choose how to import the phone numbers of your target users.

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

   • Import Phone Number Group: Select a country code and enter the phone numbers of the target users.

   • Import Group: Select a predefined user group. For more information about user groups, see User Group Management.

5. Click Send.

For detailed instructions, see Message Sending.

After sending a message, you can view its delivery details, status, and batch information in the Chat App Message Service console.

1. Navigate to the Manage > Message List page.

2. Filter the list to find specific messages.

   Note

   The time filter does not support cross-month queries.

   • Message List: This tab includes sent and received messages. You can filter the list by Business number, List type, Batch ID, User phone number, Template code, and Time.

   • Batch Sending: You can filter this list by Business number and Time.

   • Pending/Failed: You can filter this list by Business number and Time.

For detailed instructions, see Message List.