Click-to-WhatsApp Ads: Sell Inside Meta’s Free 7-Day Window
A click-to-WhatsApp ad is a Facebook or Instagram ad whose button opens a WhatsApp chat with your business. When people search for WhatsApp ads, this is usually what they mean. AeroChat replies to every person who clicks within seconds, which opens Meta’s free entry point window of up to 7 days. It then runs the whole sale inside that window: it answers, qualifies, books or builds the order, sends a payment link, and records the lead in HubSpot, Pipedrive or GoHighLevel with the ad it came from.
What happens today
You pay for the click, the chat opens, and the first reply comes hours later from whoever has the phone. Ad clicks arrive in bursts, often at night and at weekends, when people scroll. By the time someone replies, the person has moved on.
The ones who do get an answer often get a generic greeting instead of an answer about the offer in the ad. Few of them reach the CRM, so nobody can tell which ad produced which sale.
A slow reply now also costs money. If nobody replies within 24 hours of the first message, Meta’s free window never opens, and every message after that follows the normal per-message rules.
How Meta’s free entry point window works
Meta gives chats that start from a click-to-WhatsApp ad a free entry point window. These are the conditions, from Meta’s WhatsApp pricing documentation.
- The customer taps your ad and sends a message from the WhatsApp app on an Android or iOS phone. Messages sent from WhatsApp on desktop or the web do not open the window.
- You reply within 24 hours of that message. This is the condition that decides it. If you miss it, no free window opens.
- That reply is free, and it opens the free window. The window stays open for up to 7 days from your reply.
- Inside the window, the messages you send are free: service replies, and marketing, utility and authentication templates.
- Meta Business Agent messages are the exception. These come from Meta’s own AI agent and are charged per token even inside the window. AeroChat’s replies are not Meta Business Agent messages.
- Meta tracks the window per business and per customer. When it closes, the standard WhatsApp rules apply again.
The 24-hour condition is where businesses lose the free window, because people click ads when nobody is at the phone. AeroChat replies as soon as the first message arrives, at any hour, so every ad chat that starts on a phone gets its free window.
How it runs on WhatsApp
This is a complete ad-to-sale flow. Every step after the click happens inside the free window.
- Before the ad goes live, give each ad its own prefilled message, such as “Hi, I’d like the first-visit facial offer” (example). AeroChat reads it and knows which ad and which offer the person clicked.
- The customer sends the prefilled message. AeroChat replies straight away about that offer. This reply opens the free window.
- It answers questions about price, what is included and terms from your knowledge base and your product or service data.
- It searches your CRM by phone number to see whether this is a returning customer or an open lead. If WhatsApp did not pass a phone number, it asks for an email address instead.
- It asks one or two qualifying questions, such as which day suits, which size, or where they are.
- It closes in the chat. For a service, it reads free slots from your booking system and books the one the customer picks. For a product, it checks stock in your store and confirms the item, variant and delivery cost.
- It sends a payment link for the deposit or the order. The customer pays without leaving WhatsApp.
- It writes the result back: the booking or order in your system, and the contact in your CRM with the ad campaign as the source and a note of the conversation.
- Over the next days, customers who did not finish come back to the same chat, and AeroChat picks up where they left off. Your team can follow up from the inbox, and a WhatsApp broadcast to ad leads who opted in is free while their window is open.
- Anything outside the offer, and any request for a person, goes to your team in the inbox or on the mobile app.
If it all happens within the window, the chat from the first reply to the paid booking or order, plus the follow-up, carries no Meta message fees.
The recipe
Two examples follow. Copy the one closest to your business and change the names and values.
A spa selling a first-visit offer
Copy this into AeroChat
When someone messages us from a Facebook or Instagram ad, follow these steps.
- Read their first message to see which offer they clicked. “First-visit facial” means our S$68 first-visit facial (example). If it is not clear, ask which offer they saw.
- Reply straight away with what the offer includes, how long it takes and the price, from our knowledge base.
- Search Zenoti for a guest with their phone number. If there is none, ask for their name and email and create the guest with the source “Click-to-WhatsApp ad, facial October” (example).
- Ask which day and time suit them, check free slots in Zenoti, and offer three.
- When they pick one, book it and send a S$20 deposit link (example). Confirm the booking when the deposit is paid, with the date, time and address.
- If they are not ready to book, add a note to the guest record with what they asked and the offer they came for.
- If they mention pregnancy, a medical condition or a skin reaction, or ask for a person, hand the conversation to our team.
Keep the first reply short and about the offer in the ad. Reply in the customer’s language.
An online store selling a product from the ad
Copy this into AeroChat
When someone messages us from a Facebook or Instagram ad, follow these steps.
- Read their first message to see which product they clicked. “Hydra Serum” means our Hydra Serum 30 ml (example). If it is not clear, ask which product they saw.
- Answer their questions from the Shopify product data: what it contains, size, price and delivery time. Do not make claims that are not on the product page.
- Check stock in Shopify for the variant they want. If it is out of stock, offer the closest variant in stock.
- Ask for their delivery postcode and quote shipping from our Shopify shipping rates.
- If the ad promised a discount, apply the code AD10 (example). Send a payment link for the order total.
- Ask whether they want WhatsApp messages about new launches. If they say yes, add them to Klaviyo with the tag ctwa-serum (example).
- If they ask about a reaction or a skin condition, or ask for a person, hand the conversation to our team.
Keep the first reply short and about the product in the ad. Reply in the customer’s language.
Write one line per ad in the first step, matching each ad’s prefilled message to its offer or product. Change the tags, sources and amounts to the ones you use.
Connect the systems behind it
- HubSpot. AeroChat creates the contact with the campaign as the source, so HubSpot reports show which ads produce leads and sales.
- GoHighLevel. AeroChat reads free calendar slots, books the appointment, tags the contact and opens an opportunity.
- Pipedrive. AeroChat creates the person and the lead, labelled with the campaign, for ads that end in a sales call.
- Zenoti. AeroChat finds or creates the guest, reads free slots and books the treatment from the ad.
- Klaviyo. AeroChat adds shoppers who agree to marketing, tagged with the ad, so later campaigns reach them.
- Google Calendar. Built in by connecting a Google account. AeroChat offers free times and books the appointment straight into your calendar.
Shopify is built in for product data, stock, shipping rates and discounts. Airwallex payment links are built in on Growth and up, and Stripe or HitPay connect the same way as any other system.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
What it costs on WhatsApp
The table sets out what Meta charges at each point of a click-to-WhatsApp ad chat.
| Situation | What Meta charges |
|---|---|
| The customer messages you from the ad | Nothing. Messages from customers are always free. |
| You reply within 24 hours of that message, and the customer used WhatsApp on Android or iOS | Your reply is free and opens the free entry point window, for up to 7 days from that reply. |
| You reply after 24 hours | No free window opens. Standard rules apply. |
| The customer messaged from WhatsApp on desktop or the web | No free window opens. Standard rules apply. |
| Service replies inside the free window | Free. |
| Marketing, utility and authentication templates inside the free window | Free. |
| Meta Business Agent messages inside the free window | Charged per token. |
| After the free window closes | Service replies within 24 hours of the customer’s last message are free up to 1,000 a month per business phone number, then charged per message. Templates are charged per message, and marketing templates have no free allowance. |
Source: Meta for Developers, WhatsApp pricing, checked 30 October 2026.
Finishing the sale inside the window is what keeps an ad chat free, and fewer replies to close it saves money once the window has ended. Rates vary by country and are set in Meta’s rate cards. AeroChat passes Meta’s WhatsApp fees through at cost.
Also on Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and web chat
The same ad workflow runs on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok (direct messages and TikTok Shop buyer chat), Telegram, web chat and email, with the same connections behind it. Ads that open an Instagram or Messenger chat follow their own reply windows: see click-to-Instagram ads, click-to-Messenger ads, and click-to-message ads for all three side by side.
Click-to-WhatsApp ads by industry
- Aircon and home services: service ads booked into a technician slot, with the address and unit count taken in the chat.
- B2B suppliers: trade ads turned into qualified leads and quotes for your sales team.
- Beauty stores: product ads answered from your product data and sold with a payment link.
- Dental clinics: first-visit ads booked into the diary, with symptoms handed to the clinic team.
- Fashion stores: collection ads closed in the chat with size help and stock checks.
- Hair and beauty salons: promotion ads booked with the right stylist.
- Hotels: package ads checked against availability and booked direct.
- Property agents: listing ads qualified and booked for a viewing before an agent calls.
- Restaurants and caterers: set menu and catering ads turned into reservations and paid deposits.
- Spas and wellness centres: first-visit offers booked with a deposit.
- Tuition centres: trial class ads booked into a class with spaces left.
Read more: Click-to-WhatsApp ads in the AeroChat glossary.
Questions
What are WhatsApp ads?
Most of the time, WhatsApp ads means click-to-WhatsApp ads: Facebook or Instagram ads with a button that opens a WhatsApp chat with your business. The term is also used for marketing messages sent on WhatsApp to customers who opted in, which use approved marketing templates charged per message.
How do I get the free 7-day window from a click-to-WhatsApp ad?
Reply within 24 hours of the customer’s first message. The customer must have messaged from the WhatsApp app on Android or iOS, not from desktop or the web. Your reply opens a free window of up to 7 days, in which service replies and marketing, utility and authentication templates are free. An instant automated reply opens it every time.
What happens when the free window ends?
The standard rules apply. Within 24 hours of the customer’s last message, service replies are free up to 1,000 a month per business phone number, then charged per message. Outside that, you can only send approved templates to customers who opted in, charged per message.
Can I tell which ad a WhatsApp sale came from?
Yes, if each ad has its own prefilled message. AeroChat reads it, knows the offer, and records the campaign as the source on the contact in your CRM, next to the booking or order that followed.
Close your next ad click inside the free window
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Related: lead capture into your CRM and payment links in chat.