Broadcasts #

A Broadcast is a one-off or ongoing message send to a list of contacts: who receives it, what it says, when it goes out, and — optionally — which AI Agent picks up the replies. It’s the new home for the sending side of what a campaign used to do all in one place.

A Broadcast sends the opening message; an Agent handles the reply.

If you don’t pick an Agent for a Broadcast, replies land in your team inbox for a person to answer instead of the AI.

Where to Find Broadcasts #

In the main menu down the left side of the screen, under Engage, click Broadcasts. (On a phone, tap the menu icon ☰ first, then Broadcasts.)

The Broadcasts page lists every broadcast on your account — new ones you create here, and every classic campaign that sends messages (see Classic Campaigns in Broadcasts below).

Creating a Broadcast #

Click New Broadcast to open the wizard. It walks through five steps:

1. Audience #

Name the broadcast, pick the channel it sends on, and choose who receives it. A Broadcast sends on exactly one channel — if you need the same message on more than one channel, duplicate the broadcast afterward and pick a different channel for the copy (see Duplicating a Broadcast). Choosing the channel first lets the next step show exactly what that channel needs (WhatsApp Business API broadcasts open with a pre-approved template; WhatsApp Web and every other channel are plain text, with no approval).

Then pick an existing contact list or create a new one, and narrow it down with contact filters or exclusions if needed.

The Continue button stays greyed out until this step has both of its pieces: an audience (a list, or the contacts you selected) and a channel tile clicked so it shows highlighted. If Continue won’t light up, a short note next to the button tells you which piece is still missing — most often it’s the channel tile.

Send to new list members is worth knowing about: with it on, the broadcast keeps watching the list after it launches. Anyone added to that list later — by hand, by import, by an automation — automatically receives the opening message, and its agent handles their reply. That is how you get “add someone to a list and they get messaged” without setting anything else up.

Leave it off and the broadcast is a one-off: it sends to whoever is on the list at send time and stops there.

Two things to keep in mind when it is on:

• Every contact added to that list from then on costs credits, because each one gets a real message.
• If a second live broadcast on the same list also has it on, a new contact gets both opening messages, charged separately, and both agents pick up the conversation. When you switch the toggle on, the step tells you if another broadcast is already watching that list, links you to it, and offers to turn the setting off there in one click.

2. Message #

Write the opening message:

• WhatsApp requires a pre-approved message template — see WhatsApp Template Approval below.
• Every other channel (SMS, WhatsApp Web, and so on) uses plain text with no approval step.

Use Add variable to personalize the message with each contact’s own details — the live preview on the right shows exactly how it will read for a sample contact.

On WhatsApp, a contact whose variable comes out empty (for example a field that contact has not filled in) is skipped: WhatsApp rejects a template with an empty value, so that contact is marked failed and no credits are used for them. The same happens for every contact when the template has a variable in its header or in a link button, because a broadcast cannot fill those. Fill the field on those contacts, then send to them again.

Attaching a photo or video #

Under the editor, the Attachment section lets you send one image or video together with the opening message. Click Upload image or video (up to 10 MB) to add a file, or Choose from Media Library to pick something you already uploaded for one of your Agents. Every contact receives the attachment with the message, and it shows up in their chat like any other photo or video you send.

How it goes out depends on the channel:

• WhatsApp Web — the photo or video is sent with your message as its caption, exactly like sending a picture from your own phone.
• WhatsApp Business API — the image or video becomes part of the template, so it is submitted for approval together with the text. If you change or remove the attachment after the template was approved, submit it again — the broadcast won’t launch until the approved template matches what’s attached. Because templates in the Template Library are text-only, Use an approved template isn’t available while an attachment is on the broadcast. Attachments aren’t available yet on numbers connected Through our Meta app or with your own Meta app; use WhatsApp Web for those, or send the broadcast without one.
• SMS — text only. The attachment section doesn’t appear on SMS broadcasts.

An attachment doesn’t change what the broadcast costs.

Message variations (Spintax) #

On SMS and WhatsApp Web broadcasts, a Message variations (Spintax) section appears under the editor — and on these two channels it is a requirement, not a tip. A broadcast can only launch once its opening message can go out in at least four different versions. Sending the identical text to a list of people who have never spoken to you is the single pattern that gets WhatsApp numbers restricted, so the wizard stops it before the send instead of afterwards.

Write variations yourself with curly braces and pipes: {Hi|Hello|Hey} there goes out as “Hi there”, “Hello there”, or “Hey there”, picked at random for each contact. Or click Add variations with AI to have variations woven through your whole message automatically — the rewritten message lands back in the editor so you can review and edit it before launching. Personalization variables like {{first_name}} are always kept exactly as they are. A live counter under the editor shows how many different versions your message can go out in.

Until the message reaches four versions, the section opens with a warning instead of the counter: Required before launch: this message would go out as the exact same text to every contact. That is what gets WhatsApp numbers restricted. The Add variations with AI button sits right under it as the one-click fix. Once you are past four, the warning is replaced by the usual green counter telling you how many versions your message can go out in.

If you move on without varying the message, the Review step blocks the launch with Message variations required and a Fix this link that takes you back to the Message step. Launch stays greyed out until the opener is varied — or until you turn the protection off yourself.

Sending everyone the identical text anyway. Under the counter there is a Send the exact same text to everyone (not recommended) switch. Turning it on asks you to confirm first: “Identical messages to many new contacts is the pattern WhatsApp restricts numbers for. We block bursts of identical openers automatically, but the risk is yours.” Confirm and the broadcast launches without variations, with the warning replaced by a quiet Protection off — you accepted the risk line and a link to switch it back on (turning it back on needs no confirmation). The automatic guard described in Identical openers get numbers restricted still applies either way: a burst of identical opening messages to brand-new contacts is stopped even when this switch is on.

Add variations with AI costs credits per run, not per contact:

This price does not follow the AI Quality setting on the broadcast — variation generation is a one-off account-level action.

This section only appears for SMS and WhatsApp Web. A WhatsApp Business broadcast sends one pre-approved template, so per-contact variations aren’t possible there — and the four-version requirement doesn’t apply to it.

3. Replies #

Choose what happens when someone replies:

• Pick an Agent to have the AI continue the conversation automatically. You can create a new Agent right from this step if you don’t have one set up yet.
• Team handles replies — leave this on and replies go to your shared inbox for a person to answer, with no AI involved.

4. Sending #

Set the schedule (the channel itself is chosen back in step 1):

• Send immediately or pick a date and time.
• Drip settings — batch size, daily limits, and send frequency, so a large list goes out gradually instead of all at once. A drip repeats daily, weekly or monthly on the days you tick; there is no hourly option for a drip, because each batch needs a full sending day to go out within your number’s limits. Any broadcast with more than 50 contacts is automatically sent in batches over time to protect your sending number, even if you don’t configure drip settings yourself.
• Time-critical send — turn this on when a message is worthless if it arrives late, such as a webinar link going out five minutes before the call starts. It skips the automatic batching described above and sends your whole list in one go.
• Sending hours — switch on Only send between and pick two times to keep the broadcast to the hours your contacts are happy to hear from you. See below.
• Send from (WhatsApp Web only, shown when you have two or more numbers connected) — spread the broadcast across all your connected numbers, or tick the ones that may send it. See below.

Sending hours: only send between set times #

Under Sending hours, switch on Only send between and pick a start and an end time (09:00 and 17:00 to begin with). Messages then only go out inside that window, every day the broadcast runs.

• The times are in your account’s time zone, shown right under the times so there is no guessing.
• Overnight works too. Pick a start later than the end, such as 22:00 and 06:00, and the window runs through the night until the next morning.
• With drip settings, the window only opens on the days you ticked for the drip.
• Launching outside the window is fine. The first messages simply wait until the window next opens, and the broadcast shows as Scheduled until then. The same goes for a scheduled start time that falls outside the window.
• A batch that is already sending when the window closes finishes. Nothing is cut off halfway through a batch; the next batch waits for the window to open again.
• The broadcast’s page shows a Sending hours row with the window, so you can always check what it was set to.
• Sending hours covers the broadcast’s own messages. The follow-ups sent afterwards to people who did not reply keep their usual timing: the agent’s Active Hours and Quiet Hours.

Leave the switch off and the broadcast sends at any hour, as before.

Sending from several WhatsApp Web numbers #

A WhatsApp Web number can only start a limited number of new conversations a day, and that limit grows slowly while the number warms up. If you have connected more than one WhatsApp Web number, one broadcast can use all of them at once, and the daily ceiling becomes the sum of the numbers you send from: three numbers that may each start 50 conversations a day give one broadcast room for 150.

How it works:

• All connected numbers is the default. Each new contact is handed to whichever number has started the fewest conversations today, so the load stays even.
• Choose numbers lets you tick which numbers may send this broadcast, with each number’s daily allowance next to it and the combined ceiling underneath. A number you did not tick is never used for new contacts in this broadcast.
• Someone you already chat with keeps the same number. If a contact has spoken with one of your numbers before, the broadcast goes out from that number, even when it is not ticked. Switching numbers mid-conversation would look like a stranger writing in, so we never do it.
• Every number keeps its own limit and warm-up. Spreading a send multiplies your daily room; it does not remove any single number’s cap. When one number is used up for the day, the others carry on; when all of them are, the broadcast pauses and resumes on its own the next day.
• A number that is offline or waiting for a new QR scan cannot be used. If you ticked one that is not connected at launch, the wizard tells you which number to reconnect or untick.

The WhatsApp Business API and SMS have one sender per account, so the section does not appear on those channels.

When to use a time-critical send #

Automatic batching exists for a good reason: when a number suddenly sends hundreds of messages at once, carriers and messaging providers are more likely to flag or block it, and once that happens your messages stop reaching anyone. Pacing the send protects your number.

That trade-off is worth it for cold outreach. It isn’t worth it when your audience is already expecting the message and it only matters right now. Use time-critical sends for warm audiences waiting on something specific — a live call link, an event starting, a time-boxed reminder — and leave it off for everything else.

Two things to know:

• Your number’s own daily limit still applies, and it is a hard ceiling — a batch never sends past it. This matters most on WhatsApp Web: a number that is still warming up can only start a limited number of brand-new conversations per day (none at all on warm-up days 1 and 2). Messages to people the number has already chatted with do not count against that new-conversation allowance. If a batch needs more than the number is allowed today, the broadcast sends what fits, pauses, and tells you why — then resumes on its own when the allowance frees up, continuing where it left off until the whole list is done. The Review step warns you before you launch when the number cannot start enough new conversations today (see Review & Launch).
• If you have configured drip settings yourself, those win. Time-critical only skips the automatic batching, it never overrides pacing you chose on purpose.

5. Review & Launch #

Review your audience count and the cost estimate before committing. The estimate loads on its own as soon as you reach this step — there’s no button to press, and it refreshes if you go back and change the audience. It accounts for contact count, country, channel, and message length. Click Launch to schedule or start sending.

On WhatsApp Web the Review step also checks your sending numbers’ warm-up before you launch. If the numbers cannot start enough new conversations today for the contacts in the list, a warning tells you how many of the contacts are new, how many new conversations the numbers may still start today (and which warm-up day they are on), and what to do: launch anyway and let it resume when the allowance opens, raise the warm-up day on the Channels page if the number has real history, or connect a warmer number. Contacts the number has already chatted with are not new conversations and are not held back. The warning never blocks the Launch button. The channel picker on the Sending step shows the same thing in short form while your numbers are still warming up: the warm-up day and how many new contacts are left today.

What the estimate shows depends on who bills you for the messages:

• On a number you bought here, or your own number Managed by us, you see a total in credits, broken down by country.
• On a connection through our Meta app or your own Meta app there’s no credit total to show, because those message fees aren’t paid from your credits. You see how many contacts you’re sending to and how they split by country, with a note that Meta bills those fees to your WhatsApp Business Account. See WhatsApp Costs & the October 2026 Change.

Either way, the estimate covers the opening message going out. AI replies to anyone who answers are charged separately in credits, as always.

If the list you picked already automatically messages new members from another broadcast or classic campaign, this step shows a warning so you know contacts joining the list going forward will get two opening messages instead of one. It’s a heads-up, not a block — Launch still works if that’s what you intend.

“Add a payment method” instead of a launch #

If your WhatsApp number runs on your own WhatsApp Business Account and Meta has flagged a payment problem on it, Launch stops before anything sends and tells you to add a payment method in Meta’s WhatsApp Manager. This is deliberate: without a valid payment method Meta blocks business-initiated conversations, so the send would fail contact by contact and burn your list’s first impression for nothing.

Fix it in WhatsApp Manager — add or update the payment method on the WhatsApp Business Account that owns the number — then launch again. Full explanation in WhatsApp Costs & the October 2026 Change.

WhatsApp Template Approval #

This applies to the WhatsApp Business API only. If you send on WhatsApp Web, there is no approval step at all: your opening message goes out as an ordinary message from your own WhatsApp account, exactly as if you typed it yourself. Nothing is submitted to Meta, nothing is reviewed, and there is no waiting. The same is true for SMS and every other channel.

Because the WhatsApp Business API requires businesses to use pre-approved templates for the first message in a conversation, a WhatsApp Business broadcast goes through an extra step before it can send:

1. Write your template and submit it for approval.
2. WhatsApp reviews it — this happens entirely on WhatsApp’s side and typically takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.
3. Once approved, a broadcast that was scheduled for a future date arms itself automatically and sends right on schedule — you don’t need to come back and click anything. A broadcast set to send immediately becomes ready to launch as soon as approval lands.

If the template is rejected, you’ll be notified with the reason so you can adjust and resubmit.

Already have approved templates? Skip the wait #

If your Template Library already holds templates WhatsApp has approved, you don’t need to submit anything new. In the Message step, click Use an approved template (next to Submit for approval) and pick one from the list — only templates that are approved and ready to send are shown. The template’s text is copied into your broadcast and it’s ready to launch right away, with no new review.

Two things to know:

• If you edit the text after picking, it no longer matches the approved template — you’ll need to submit the edited version for approval like any new template. The same goes for adding a photo or video: library templates are text-only, so an attachment always means a new submission.
• This also works while another submission is stuck in review: picking an approved template replaces the pending one, so a slow review never has to hold up your send.
• A template you submit from inside a broadcast belongs to that broadcast. It doesn’t appear in the Template Library, and its approval status shows in the broadcast’s Message step. The Use an approved template picker only lists templates created on the Templates page.

Monitoring a Broadcast #

Open any broadcast to see its status and progress at a glance — audience size, messages sent, replies, and credits used, plus the opening message and reply setup it will use.

A broadcast moves through these stages:

From the broadcast’s page you can pause a send in progress and resume it later, and you’ll see live analytics: how many contacts were sent to, how many replied, and how many credits the broadcast has used.

See who got it, who did not, and who replied #

Under the stat tiles, the Recipients table lists every contact in the broadcast with:

• Status: Pending (not sent yet), Sent, Delivered, Read or Failed.
• Why it failed: the reason in plain words, with the code from WhatsApp or the carrier next to it. Failures that are only reported after the message left your number, like a number that cannot receive WhatsApp messages, show up here too.
• Replied: whether the contact wrote back.
• Sent: when the message went out.

Use All, Failed and Replied above the table to filter it; each shows how many contacts it holds. Click a contact to open their chat. Long lists are split into pages of 25.

Resuming a WhatsApp broadcast runs the same checks as launching one. If your WhatsApp number can’t send right now, or Meta has flagged a payment problem on your WhatsApp Business Account, the broadcast is not resumed and you’re told why. Fix that, then resume again.

“Sending” but the number stopped moving #

If your broadcast still says Sending and the sent count has sat at the same number for a while, it is almost always waiting between batches — not stuck.

After the first batch we pause for about three hours, and about one hour after every batch after that, before starting the next one. During that gap we look at how many people replied to the batch that just went out, because that reply rate is what tells us whether it’s safe to keep going. A send that keeps pushing into silence is the fastest way to get a number filtered or blocked.

The broadcast’s page tells you where you are: while it’s waiting you’ll see a note saying how many contacts are still queued and when the next batch is scheduled, and each batch in the list shows its own next-batch time. Nothing needs restarting or resending — the next batch starts on its own.

Two things to know:

• Your number’s daily limit applies even on a time-critical send. Time-critical skips the automatic pacing, but it can’t send past what your number is allowed that day. On WhatsApp Web, if the list needs more brand-new conversations than the number’s warm-up currently allows, the broadcast sends what fits and pauses. The broadcast’s page then shows the number’s warm-up day, today’s new-conversation allowance and how many of the remaining contacts are new, with View warm-up and Raise daily limit links to the number’s meters on the Channels page. It resumes on its own once the allowance opens (after the daily reset, or once the number reaches the next warm-up day) — and right away for contacts the number has already chatted with, since those never count as new conversations. Only a number on warm-up day 1 has to wait for day 3 before a brand-new conversation can go out.
• If the reply rate is too low, the next batch won’t start. Instead the broadcast pauses itself and tells you why, which is the protection described below.

A broadcast pauses itself automatically if very few contacts are replying — see Scaling WhatsApp Outreach Safely. When that happens the broadcast’s page explains the reason and offers a Continue anyway button if you accept the risk to your number.

Classic Campaigns in Broadcasts #

Any classic campaign that sends messages — meaning it has an opening message and an audience — also shows up automatically on the Broadcasts page, marked with a Classic campaign tag. You don’t need to do anything to make this happen, and campaigns that only handle incoming messages (no send side) won’t appear here — those are represented by their Agent and Entry Points instead.

The classic campaign editor is gone, so the Broadcasts page is where you manage these entries now. Most of it works exactly like any other broadcast; a few things are locked:

• Edit the audience, message or schedule from the Broadcasts page: open the entry and click Edit broadcast (top right). It’s available whether the send is running or not, so you can change the opening message of a live one, and any contact who joins its list from then on gets the new text.
• Pause and resume work directly from the Broadcasts page.
• Launching one that has never been sent isn’t possible from here. Instead of a Launch button you get a link reading Open the agent that runs this broadcast, which opens that Agent’s editor. If you want the send to go out, Duplicate the entry instead (see below) and launch the copy.
• Deleting a classic-campaign entry isn’t available from Broadcasts, and it’s skipped if you select it with others.
• Duplicating one creates a brand-new, independent broadcast you own completely — new audience, message, schedule, channel and reply Agent, all editable, and it launches normally. This is the way to carry a proven send onto the new system.
• The channel and the reply Agent are shown but locked on these entries, with a link to the Agent that runs it. To change either one, duplicate the entry and set them on the copy.

So you can monitor and manage every send — new and classic — from one place, and move the ones you still use onto the new system a duplicate at a time.

Duplicating a Broadcast #

Duplicate any broadcast to start a new one from a copy of its audience, message, and settings. This is also how you send the same broadcast on a different channel: duplicate it, then change the channel on the copy.

Working With Several Broadcasts at Once #

Every row on the Broadcasts page has a checkbox, and the header checkbox selects everything currently shown. Select the ones you want and a bar appears at the bottom of the screen with a Delete button — you confirm once, and they’re removed together. Broadcasts that are currently sending or scheduled, and classic-campaign entries, can’t be deleted this way; if they’re part of your selection they’re simply skipped and the rest are removed. Press Escape to clear a selection.

Next Steps #

• AI Agents — set up the persona that answers your broadcast’s replies.
• Entry Points — routing rules for conversations that don’t come from a broadcast.
• Moving from Campaigns to Broadcasts & Agents — where every old campaign setting lives now.
• WhatsApp Message Templates — more on building templates that pass review quickly.