WhatsApp routinely reviews message templates. During these reviews, WhatsApp may update a template's category in two main situations:
Category change during review
When you create a template and submit it for review, WhatsApp reviewers change the category if they determine that the content does not match the selected category. The category is then automatically updated upon approval.
Example: You create a template with the Utility category and the following content: "Your order has been shipped and is expected to arrive this Friday. Thank you for your order! Use coupon code: SAVE20, for a 20% discount on your next purchase!" Because this content includes promotional information, WhatsApp reviewers will change the category from Utility to Marketing and approve it.
After approval, you can still send this template, but its actual category is now Marketing.
NoteCategory updates might change from Marketing to transaction-related.
Category update during routine checks
To ensure template content and categories are consistent, WhatsApp performs periodic, automated checks. Starting April 16, 2025, if WhatsApp detects a mismatch between a template's category and its content, it will instantly update the category.
In both situations, the template's category may be different from what you expect when you send a message. If a template's category changes from Utility to Marketing, your messages will be billed at the marketing rate. This can increase your messaging costs.
Automatically pause sending when the category changes
To help you control costs, Chat App Message Service provides the Pause sending when category is changed feature. You can enable this option when you create a template. If WhatsApp updates the template's category to Marketing, the service automatically pauses sending for that template. This prevents unintended use and extra costs.
Chat App Message Service attempts to block sending as soon as it receives the category update notification from WhatsApp. However, due to network latency and other factors, a few messages might still be sent and billed at the marketing rate.
Procedure
When you create a WhatsApp message template, set the template category to Utility.
On the template design page, select the Pause sending when category is changed check box.
Edit the template content, then save and submit it for review.
If the template category is changed to Marketing during the review or subsequent checks, the service automatically pauses sending for this template.
If a template's category is changed to Marketing and sending is paused, you can resume sending by clearing the Pause sending when category is changed check box.
After you clear this check box, you cannot enable this setting again. Proceed with caution.