WhatsApp Business glossary: the terms you'll meet, in plain English

Prices below are Meta’s list rates for messages delivered to Indian (+91) numbers, per delivered message, before GST, from the rate card effective 1 October 2026. Everything else is as Meta describes it on 1 October 2026. When a term has a longer guide, we link to it.

A

Authentication template

A template that carries a one-time password, and nothing else. Meta requires it to come from its template library, with no links, media or emojis, and parameters of 15 characters or fewer. In India it costs ₹0.115 per delivered message. See template categories.

B

Broadcast list

A feature of the WhatsApp Business app, not the Platform. You can send one message to up to 256 contacts per list, and only people who have saved your number receive it. WhatsApp’s help centre describes a monthly limit of “up to 35 free broadcast messages” rolling out in some countries, without saying whether India is one of them. See app vs Platform.

BSUID (business-scoped user ID)

An ID Meta has sent with every incoming message since April 2026, unique to each pairing of your business portfolio and a customer. It exists because of usernames: once a customer adopts one, you may not see their phone number, so the BSUID is how your systems recognise them. Supporting BSUIDs is mandatory for providers and for click-to-WhatsApp advertisers.

Business AI

Meta’s AI assistant inside the WhatsApp Business app, launched for Indian small businesses on 14 May 2026. It answers common questions, recommends products, captures leads and books appointments, and the owner can take over a chat at any time. It lives in the app, not on the Platform, and Meta’s announcement gives no price. Compare Meta Business Agent.

Business portfolio

The container in Meta’s business tools (formerly Business Manager) that holds your business’s WhatsApp accounts, phone numbers, ad accounts and people. It matters more than it sounds: messaging limits, volume tiers and verification all sit at portfolio level. Make sure it’s your portfolio, not your provider’s. See how to choose a provider.

Business verification

Meta’s check that your business is real, using documents such as your registration and address. It is the usual way to raise your messaging limit from 250 to 2,000, and one of the requirements for the blue badge. Start it early; it can’t be rushed on the day you need it.

C

Calling (WhatsApp Business Calling)

Voice calls between customers and a business number on the Platform. Calls a customer makes to you are free. Calls your business makes are billed by Meta, and need the customer’s permission first. India is one of the countries where business-initiated calling is supported.

Click-to-WhatsApp ad (CTWA)

A Meta ad whose button opens a WhatsApp chat with your business instead of a website. Besides the lead, it can open a free entry point window, which makes the follow-up messages free for a while. See the real estate playbook.

Cloud API

Meta’s own hosted API for sending and receiving WhatsApp messages on the Platform. Your provider’s software talks to it on your behalf; you rarely deal with it directly unless you have developers.

Coexistence

Using the same phone number on both the WhatsApp Business app and the Platform at once. You connect through a provider’s Embedded Signup, need app version 2.24.17 or later, and can bring across up to six months of chats. Afterwards, broadcast lists in the app become read-only, group chats aren’t synced and sending speed is fixed at 20 messages a second. Messages sent from the app stay free.

Customer service window

The 24 hours after a customer last messaged you. Inside it you can send any reply, free-form text included; each new customer message restarts the 24 hours. Outside it, you can only send an approved template. Since 1 October 2026 replies inside the window are no longer free beyond 1,000 per number a month. See what changed on 1 October.

D

Direct Send

A newer Meta option that lets eligible businesses send utility messages without creating templates first; Meta generates the template automatically. Utility became generally available on 31 July 2026, and Meta describes it as a premium option.

Display name

The business name shown on your WhatsApp profile. Meta checks it against its guidelines, and you can change it at most 10 times in 30 days. Businesses with the blue badge have to contact Meta support to change it.

E

Embedded Signup

The sign-up screens a provider places in its product so you can connect your number without leaving it. Through it your business creates or picks its own business portfolio, WhatsApp account and phone number, and Meta says businesses onboarded this way own those assets and get full access to WhatsApp Manager, where the numbers, templates and quality ratings live.

Error 131049

The failure code you see when WhatsApp holds back a marketing template because the person has hit their per-user marketing limit. Meta asks you to wait at least 24 hours before trying that person again. Retrying sooner can make them unreachable from your account for up to a day. See messaging limits.

F

Flows

Form-like screens inside a WhatsApp chat, such as a booking form or a short questionnaire, which the customer fills in without leaving the conversation. Building one usually needs a developer or a provider that supports them.

Free entry point

A window in which all messages to a customer, templates included, are free. It opens when a customer messages you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad on their phone and you reply within 24 hours. Meta now says it “may remain open for up to 7 days” from your reply. Older guides say 72 hours; that is out of date.

Green tick

The old name for the badge on an Official Business Account. The badge is now blue.

I

In-App Signup

Opt-in links in the form wa.me/<number>/signup/<id> that let a customer subscribe to your messages from inside WhatsApp, with a confirmation message and an optional promo code. Meta launched it in June 2026, and it is available in India.

INR billing

Paying Meta in rupees. Indian businesses that Meta bills must move every messaging account to INR by 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027, Meta won’t deliver messages from their non-INR accounts. See the INR deadline.

Interactive message

A message with reply buttons or a pick-list the customer taps instead of typing. Useful inside the customer service window, where a tap is faster and less error-prone than “reply 1 for sales”.

L

Linked devices

The extra phones or computers that can use one WhatsApp Business app account: up to 4 plus the main phone, free. Meta’s paid multi-agent option goes up to 10 devices. Past that, a team needs the Platform and a shared inbox. See setting up a shared inbox.

M

Marketing Messages API

A separate Meta route for sending marketing templates, generally available since November 2025, with the same prices as the Cloud API and extras like message expiry times and conversion reporting. Meta says it delivered up to 9% more high-engagement messages than the Cloud API in its own test on about 12 million marketing messages in India in January 2025.

Marketing template

Any template that promotes, retargets or mixes promotion with something else. That includes cart reminders and renewal nudges, “even if requested by users”, in Meta’s words. In India it costs ₹0.8631 per delivered message, and there’s no volume discount.

Messaging account

Under the account model Meta rolled out from September 2026, the account that holds your templates and billing. It can be owned by you or your provider, and each provider sharing your number gets its own. Compare WhatsApp account.

Messaging limit

How many different people your business can message outside a customer service window in any rolling 24 hours. New portfolios start at 250. One scaling path, usually business verification, gets you to 2,000; then 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited follow automatically. The limit is shared by every number in the portfolio. See messaging limits.

Meta Business Agent

Meta’s AI agent for businesses on the Platform, launched in June 2026. Since 1 August 2026 Meta bills it at $2 per million tokens, which Meta puts at roughly 4 to 5 US cents for a typical message. The free window from an ad doesn’t remove the token charge.

Meta Verified and Meta One

Paid Meta subscriptions for businesses using the WhatsApp Business app. They add a verified badge, impersonation protection, support and more linked devices, with tiers up to 10 devices. Meta One was announced in September 2026 with US dollar prices; Meta hasn’t published rupee prices, and its help centre says availability is still limited.

O

Official Business Account (OBA)

A Platform number with the blue badge next to its name, still often called the green tick. To apply you need business verification, at least 30 days on the Platform, two-step verification (a PIN on the number), an approved display name and compliance with Meta’s messaging policy. If you’re rejected, you can reapply after 30 days. Only OBA numbers appear in WhatsApp search for people who haven’t saved them.

Opt-in

The customer’s agreement to receive your WhatsApp messages. Meta requires it before you message someone, says it must name your business and make clear the person is opting in, and accepts any method: a website form, SMS, a call or paper. India’s DPDP rules add their own consent duties, which apply to most businesses from around May 2027. See customers in staff phones.

P

Per-user marketing limit

A cap on how many marketing templates one person receives from all businesses combined. Meta publishes no fixed number; it moves with how that person reads marketing messages. Templates blocked by it fail with error 131049. Marketing templates sent inside an open customer service window don’t count.

Prepaid billing

An Indian option to fund Meta’s charges by UPI top-up instead of an invoice. You choose it when first adding a payment method and can’t switch later, and it isn’t available on a provider’s credit line. When the balance runs out, messages fail with error 131042.

Provider

The company whose software connects you to the WhatsApp Business Platform and usually gives your team an inbox, campaigns and automation. People often call them BSPs (business solution providers). See 12 questions to ask one.

Q

Quality rating

Meta’s rating of your templates and your number, based on how people respond, including blocks and reports. Templates show as high, medium or low quality; a low-rated template can be paused or disabled. High quality is also a condition for your messaging limit to go up.

R

Recategorisation

Meta changing a template’s category. Since April 2025, a template you submit as utility that Meta judges to be marketing is approved as marketing, not rejected. An approved template can also be moved later, usually with a day’s notice, and from 15 September 2026 even after a review if the messages it sends don’t match its category. You have 60 days to ask for a review.

S

Service message

A free-form reply you send inside the customer service window, as opposed to a template. From 1 October 2026 each business number gets 1,000 free a month; after that, each costs ₹0.115 to an Indian number. The allowance resets monthly and doesn’t roll over. Emoji reactions, like a 👍, stay free and don’t use it up.

T

Template (message template)

A message format Meta has approved in advance, with placeholders such as {{1}} for a name or order number. It is the only way to start a conversation or message someone outside the customer service window, and you pay per delivered message by category. Meta says review takes up to 24 hours.

U

Usernames

WhatsApp usernames are rolling out gradually in 2026. Businesses could reserve theirs from 29 June 2026. Once a customer has one, you may not see their phone number unless you’ve messaged or called each other in the last 30 days or they’re in your contact book on Meta, which is why BSUIDs exist.

Utility template

A non-promotional message tied to something the customer did or asked for, such as an order update or appointment reminder. It costs ₹0.115 to an Indian number. Since 1 October 2026 it is charged even inside an open customer service window.

V

Volume tiers

Lower prices for high monthly volumes of utility and authentication messages, counted across your business portfolio. Marketing has none. In India the first utility discount starts at 25 million messages a month, so few small businesses will ever reach it.

W

WhatsApp account (WABA)

The account that holds your phone number and business profile. It used to be called the WhatsApp Business Account, or WABA, and held templates and billing too; Meta has since split those into messaging accounts. Meta says the WhatsApp account is always owned by the business.

WhatsApp Business app

The free app for small businesses, on one phone plus linked devices. It has labels, quick replies, broadcast lists and Business AI, and no per-message charges. See app vs Platform.

WhatsApp Business Platform

Meta’s service for businesses that need more than the app: many people on one number, approved templates, automation and integrations. You reach it through a provider or your own developers, and pay Meta per message. See what it costs from October 2026.