Service Conversation
A WhatsApp conversation opened by the customer, inside which the business can reply free-form for 24 hours — service messages are charged at the utility rate from 1 October 2026, after the first 1,000 a month per business number.
Last updated: 2026-06-10
Definition
A Service conversation is one the customer starts: they message the business first, which opens a 24-hour customer-service window during which the business can reply with any free-form content — text, images, documents, catalog messages, interactive buttons — without a pre-approved template. Service conversations are charged per message at Meta's utility rate from 1 October 2026, after a free tier of 1,000 service messages a month per business number; when Meta moved Marketing, Utility, and Authentication to per-message pricing in 2025, it kept customer-service messaging free, having already removed the old monthly cap of 1,000 free conversations in November 2024. The window resets with every new inbound customer message. Once it lapses, re-opening contact requires a paid template in one of the three business-initiated categories.
How it applies in India
Service conversations at the utility rate are why inbound-led WhatsApp commerce is so capital-efficient for Indian SMBs: a customer who messages from a click-to-WhatsApp ad, a wa.me link on the website, or a QR code at the counter can be served — catalog browsing, order taking, payment link, support — at ₹0.115 per message from 1 October 2026 as long as agents or bots reply inside the rolling 24-hour window. WatEase's inbox shows the remaining window time per chat so teams prioritise replies before the window closes.
Frequently asked questions
Are service conversations really unlimited and free?
Unlimited, and from 1 October 2026 free only for the first 1,000 a month per business number. Customer-initiated conversations and the business's replies inside the 24-hour service window have no monthly cap, and from 1 October 2026 Meta charges those replies per message at its utility rate once a business number has sent 1,000 service messages that month — a new free tier (the old 1,000-free-conversations limit ended in November 2024). You also pay when you initiate contact with a template outside an open window.
Can I send promotional content inside a service conversation?
You can reply free-form inside the window, but pushing unsolicited promotions into support chats raises block and report rates, which damages your quality rating and messaging tier. Keep service replies responsive; run promotions as properly opted-in Marketing templates.
Related terms
- Service Window (24-hour)A 24-hour period after a customer's last inbound message during which the business can reply at the utility rate (from 1 October 2026, after the first 1,000 a month per business number) with any non-template content.
- Marketing ConversationA WhatsApp message category covering promotional content — offers, product launches, re-engagement — billed at the highest rate of Meta's template categories.
- Utility ConversationA WhatsApp message category for transactional updates tied to an existing customer action — order confirmations, shipping alerts, payment receipts — priced far below Marketing.
- Authentication ConversationA WhatsApp message category exclusively for one-time passcodes (OTPs) and login/verification codes, sent via Meta's fixed-format authentication templates.
- Conversation-Based PricingMeta's pricing model for the WhatsApp Business API until 1 July 2025: businesses were charged per 24-hour conversation, with rates that depended on category and country.
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