Ads that Click to WhatsApp

Updated: May 21, 2026

This guide explains how to create and publish ads that Click to WhatsApp using the Marketing API.

Ads that click to WhatsApp send people that click on your ads directly into conversations with your business in WhatsApp. Use these ads to reach people at scale and deliver standout, individualized service.

Ads that click to WhatsApp support ads with an image, a video, a carousel, or a slideshow. You can also include call prompts in your ad.

If you’re interested in creating ads that send people to Messenger or Instagram chats, see Ads that Click to Messenger or Ads that Click to Instagram for guidance. You can also create ads that pick the destination the user is most likely to respond from, see Ads that Click to Multidestination for more information.

Ad creation overview

This document outlines the steps you need to follow to set up your integration for click to WhatsApp ads.

You will need to:

Create an ad campaign

Create an ad set that links your ads to your ad campaign

Create an ad creative for the WhatsApp ad type you want to serve

Create an ad by linking your ad creative to your ad set

Publish your ad to Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger

Before you start

This guide assumes you have:

An ad account with Meta⁠

Uploaded any assets, such as images or videos, to be used in your ads to Meta servers

A Facebook page with WhatsApp number linked⁠ manually or via API

To make successful calls to all endpoints in this guide, you will need:

A Page access token requested by a person who can perform the ADVERTISE task on the Page

The following permissions must be granted a person using your app:

ads_management

pages_manage_ads

pages_read_engagement

pages_show_list

Step 1: Create an ad campaign

Start by creating your ad campaign. To do this, make a POST request to the /act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/campaigns endpoint where <AD_ACCOUNT_ID> is the ID for your Meta ad account. Your request must include:

Parameters

Name	Description
`name` string	Required. Name for the click to WhatsApp campaign.
`objective` enum	Required. Campaign’s objective. Supported objectives are `OUTCOME_ENGAGEMENT`, `OUTCOME_LEADS`, `OUTCOME_SALES`, and `OUTCOME_TRAFFIC`. Note: For campaigns with call prompts, `objective` must be `OUTCOME_ENGAGEMENT`.
`special_ad_categories` list<Object>	Required. Special ad categories associated with the click to WhatsApp campaign. See the Ad Campaign reference for more details.
`status` enum	Optional. Valid options are `PAUSED` and `ACTIVE`. If this status is `PAUSED`, all its active ad sets and ads will be paused and have an effective status `CAMPAIGN_PAUSED`.

Standard request

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=Click to WhatsApp Campaign' \
  -F 'objective=OUTCOME_ENGAGEMENT' \
  -F 'status=ACTIVE' \
  -F 'special_ad_categories=[]' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/campaigns

Calling campaign request

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=Click to WhatsApp Calling Campaign' \
  -F 'objective=OUTCOME_ENGAGEMENT' \
  -F 'status=PAUSED' \
  -F 'special_ad_categories=[]' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/campaigns

Response

On success, your app receives a JSON response with the ID of your newly created campaign.

{
  "id": "<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>"
}

Updating

You can update a campaign by making a POST request to /<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>.

Reading

To verify that you have successfully created a click to WhatsApp campaign, you can make a GET request to /<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>. See the Ad Campaign reference for the complete list of available parameters.

Request

curl -X GET -G \
  -d 'fields=name,status,objective' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>

Response

{
  "name": "Click to WhatsApp Campaign",
  "status": "PAUSED",
  "objective": "OUTCOME_ENGAGEMENT",
  "id": "<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>"
}

Step 2: Create an ad set

Once you have an ad campaign, create your ad set. To create an ad set, make a POST request to the /act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets endpoint where <AD_ACCOUNT_ID> is the ID for your Meta ad account. Your request must include:

Parameters

Name	Description	Sample value
`bid_amount` unsigned int32	Required if bid_strategy is set to `LOWEST_COST_WITH_BID_CAP` or `COST_CAP`. The maximum amount you want to pay for a result based on your `optimization_goal`.	`1000`
`bid_strategy` enum	Optional. The bid strategy for this campaign to suit your specific business goals. See the Ad Campaign reference for more details. Values: `LOWEST_COST_WITHOUT_CAP`, `LOWEST_COST_WITH_BID_CAP`, `COST_CAP`	`LOWEST_COST_WITHOUT_CAP`
`billing_event` enum	Required. Must be set to `IMPRESSIONS` for ads that click to WhatsApp. Meta bills you when your ad is shown to people.	`IMPRESSIONS`
`campaign_id` numeric string or integer	Required. A valid click to WhatsApp campaign you wish to add this ad set to.	`4523897324`
`daily_budget` int64	Required if `lifetime_budget` is not set. The daily budget defined in your account currency. Allowed only for ad sets with a duration (difference between `end_time` and `start_time`) longer than 24 hours. Either `daily_budget` or `lifetime_budget` must be greater than `0`.	`1`
`destination_type` string	Required. Set to `WHATSAPP` for single-destination click to WhatsApp ads.	`WHATSAPP`
`end_time` datetime	Required when `lifetime_budget` is specified. When creating an ad set with a `daily_budget`, specify `end_time=0` or leave this field empty to set the ad set as ongoing with no end date. Example: `2015-03-12 23:59:59-07:00` or `2015-03-12 23:59:59 PDT`. UTC UNIX timestamp.	`2026-05-12 23:59:59-07:00`
`lifetime_budget` int64	Required if `daily_budget` is not set. The lifetime budget of the ad set defined in your account currency. If specified, you must also specify an `end_time`. Either `daily_budget` or `lifetime_budget` must be greater than `0`.	`1`
`name` string	Required. The name of the click to WhatsApp ad set.	`Jasper's Market`
`optimization_goal` enum	Required. What the ad set is optimizing for. Depending on the campaign’s objective, the ad set may be eligible for different optimization goals. `OUTCOME_ENGAGEMENT`: Engagement objective can optimize for `CONVERSATIONS`, and `LINK_CLICKS`. `OUTCOME_SALES`: Sales objective can optimize for `CONVERSATIONS`, `OFFSITE_CONVERSIONS`, `LINK_CLICKS`, `IMPRESSIONS`, and `REACH`. `OUTCOME_TRAFFIC`: Traffic objective can optimize for `CONVERSATIONS`, `LANDING_PAGE_VIEWS`, `LINK_CLICKS`, `IMPRESSIONS`, `REACH`, and `POST_ENGAGEMENT`. `OUTCOME_LEADS`: Leads objective can optimize for `CONVERSATIONS`.	`OUTCOME_SALES`
`promoted_object` AdPromotedObject	Required. The object this ad set is promoting across all its ads. For ads that click to WhatsApp, promoted_object has the following conditions: Required: `page_id`: Required. The ID of the Facebook Page. Optional: `whatsapp_phone_number`: The WhatsApp phone number associated with the click to WhatsApp ad set. See Ad Set, Promoted Object for more details.	`{ "page_id": "452645324" }`
`start_time` datetime	Optional. The start time of the ad set. This field will default to the current time if no value is provided. Example: `2015-03-12 23:59:59-07:00` or `2015-03-12 23:59:59 PDT`. UTC UNIX timestamp.	`2026-03-12 23:59:59-07:00`
`status` enum	Optional. The status of the ad set. It can be different from the effective status due to its parent campaign. This field will default to `ACTIVE` if no value is provided. Values: `ACTIVE`, `PAUSED`, `DELETED`, `ARCHIVED`	`ACTIVE`
`targeting` Targeting object	Required. The targeting structure of an ad that clicks to WhatsApp. See Targeting for more details. To enable the WhatsApp Status feature, see Placement targeting for more details.	`{ "device_platforms": ["mobile"], "geo_locations": { "countries": ["US"] } }`
`time_start` datetime	Optional. Interchangeable with `start_time`.	`2026-02-14 22:59:59-07:00`
`time_stop` datetime	Required when `lifetime_budget` is specified. Interchangeable with `end_time`.	`2026-05-12 23:59:59-07:00`

Visit the Ad Account Ad Set reference for the complete list of available parameters.

Request

curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "access_token":"<ACCESS_TOKEN>",
    "bid_amount":"<BID_AMOUNT>",
    "billing_event":"IMPRESSIONS",
    "campaign_id":"<CAMPAIGN_ID>",
    "daily_budget":"<DAILY_BUDGET>",
    "destination_type":"WHATSAPP",
    "name": "<AD_SET_NAME>",
    "optimization_goal": "IMPRESSIONS",
    "promoted_object": {
      "page_id": "<PAGE_ID>"
    },
    "status": "PAUSED",
    "start_time": "<START_TIME>",
    "targeting": {
      "geo_locations": { "countries":["US","CA"] },
      "device_platforms": ["mobile", "desktop"]
    }
  }' \
"https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets"

Response

{
  "id": "<AD_SET_ID>"
}

Updating

You can update an ad set by making a POST request to /<AD_SET_ID>.

Reading

To verify that you have successfully created a click to WhatsApp ad set, you can make a GET request to /<AD_SET_ID>. See the Ad Set reference for the complete list of available parameters.

Request

curl -X GET -G \
  -d 'fields=name,destination_type,optimization_goal,bid_strategy,status' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/<AD_SET_ID>

Response

{
  "name": "Click to WhatsApp Campaign",
  "status": "PAUSED",
  "objective": "OUTCOME_ENGAGEMENT",
  "id": "<AD_SET_ID>"
}

Step 3: Create an ad creative

The ad creative allows you to add assets to your ads. To create an ad creative, make a POST request to the /act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adcreatives endpoint where <AD_ACCOUNT_ID> is the ID for your Meta ad account. Your request must include:

Parameters

Name	Description
`name` string	Required. The name for your ad creative.
`object_story_spec` AdCreativeObjectStorySpec	Required. An object containing information about a message. See Ad Creative Object Story Spec for more details. Required: `page_id`: The ID of the Facebook Page Optional: `link_data`: The spec for a link page post or carousel ad `photo_data`: The spec for a photo page post `text_data`: The spec for a text page post `video_data`: The spec for a video page post
`degrees_of_freedom_spec`	Optional. See Standard Enhancements for Advantage+ Creative for more details.

Visit the Ad Creative reference for the complete list of available parameters.

Filling out a Page welcome message

The default message that a customer sees is “Hello! Can I get more info on this?”. You can create more tailored user experiences for your ads that click to WhatsApp by customizing your ads’ greeting message in the page_welcome_message field under object_story_spec.

Note: If you are using the WhatsApp message to trigger any WhatsApp Flows, please make sure to work with your BSP and agencies when updating it to ensure your Flows aren’t disrupted.

Examples

Adding autofill message with a greeting message

"page_welcome_message": {
  "type": "VISUAL_EDITOR",
  "version": 2,
  "landing_screen_type": "welcome_message",
  "media_type": "text",
  "text_format": {
    "customer_action_type": "autofill_message",
    "message": {
      "autofill_message": {
        "content": "<AUTOFILL_MESSAGE>"
      },
      "text": "<GREETING_MESSAGE>"
    }
  }
}

Adding an automated greeting message with Call Now call to action

     "page_welcome_message": {
    "type": "VISUAL_EDITOR",
    "version": 2,
    "landing_screen_type": "welcome_message",
    "media_type": "text",
    "text_format": {
      "customer_action_type": "autofill_message",
      "message": {
        "text": "<AUTOMATED_GREETING_MESSAGE_TEXT>",
        "automated_greeting_message_cta": {
          "type": "call"
        },
        "autofill_message": {
          "content": "<AUTOFILL_MESSAGE_CONTENT>"
        }
      }
    }
}

Adding an automated greeting message with View Website call to action

"page_welcome_message": {
    "type": "VISUAL_EDITOR",
    "version": 2,
    "landing_screen_type": "welcome_message",
    "media_type": "text",
    "text_format": {
      "customer_action_type": "autofill_message",
      "message": {
        "text": "<AUTOMATED_GREETING_MESSAGE_TEXT>",
        "automated_greeting_message_cta": {
          "type": "url",
          "url": "<WEBSITE_URL>"
        },
        "autofill_message": {
         "content": "<AUTOFILL_MESSAGE_CONTENT>"
        }
      }
    }
  }

Adding an automated greeting message with View Catalog call to action

"page_welcome_message": {
  "type": "VISUAL_EDITOR",
  "version": 2,
  "landing_screen_type": "welcome_message",
  "media_type": "text",
  "text_format": {
    "customer_action_type": "autofill_message",
    "message": {
      "text": "<AUTOMATED_GREETING_MESSAGE_TEXT>",
      "automated_greeting_message_cta": {
        "type": "catalog"
      },
      "autofill_message": {
        "content": "<AUTOFILL_MESSAGE_CONTENT>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Adding an automated greeting message with a Flows call to action

Only Flows that fit the following criteria can be used to create an ad creative:

WhatsApp Flows version > 5.1

No validation errors

Static Flow (i.e., a Flow without data exchange)

Single screen

Only eligible components:

Text Heading

Text Subheading

Text Body

Text Caption

Text Input

Text Area

Date Picker

Radio Buttons Group

Footer

Checkbox Group

No more than 8 components in the screen

At least 1 input component such as:

Text Input

Text Area

Date Picker

Radio Buttons Group

Checkbox Group

"page_welcome_message": {
  "type": "VISUAL_EDITOR",
  "version": 2,
  "landing_screen_type": "ctwa_flows",
  "media_type": "text",
  "text_format": {
    "customer_action_type": "whatsapp_flow",
    "message": {
      "text": "<AUTOMATED_GREETING_MESSAGE_TEXT>",
      "automated_greeting_message_cta": {
        "type": "flow",
        "flow_data":{
          "call_to_action":"Apply now",
          "flow_id":"<FLOW_ID>"
        }
      },
      "autofill_message": {
        "content": "<AUTOFILL_MESSAGE_CONTENT>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: The flow_id passed above, should belong to the same WhatsApp Business Account as that of the phone number that is promoted in the ad set. See more about WhatsApp Flows.

Adding icebreakers with a greeting message

"page_welcome_message": {
  "type": "VISUAL_EDITOR",
  "version": 2,
  "landing_screen_type": "welcome_message",
    "media_type": "text",
    "text_format": {
      "customer_action_type": "ice_breakers",
      "message": {
        "text": "<GREETING_MESSAGE>",
        "ice_breakers": [
          {
            "title": "<ICEBREAKER>"
          },
          {
            "title": "<ICEBREAKER>"
          },
          {
            "title": "<ICEBREAKER>"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Adding message with a call prompt

curl \
  -F 'object_story_spec={
      "page_id": "<PAGE_ID>"
      "link_data": {
     "image_hash":<IMAGE_HASH>
            "call_to_action": {
                "type": "WHATSAPP_MESSAGE",
                "value": {
                    "app_destination": "WHATSAPP"
                }
          },
          "link": "https://api.whatsapp.com/send",
          "name": <AD_HEADLINE>",
          "page_welcome_message":
       "type": "VISUAL_EDITOR",
        "version": 2,
        "landing_screen_type": "ctwa_call_prompt",
        "media_type": "text",
        "text_format": {
          "message": {
            "text": "<MESSAGE>",
            "call_prompt_data": {
              "call_prompt_message": "<CALL_PROMPT_MESSAGE>"
            }
          }
        },
        "user_edit": false
      },
  https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adcreatives

Response

{
  "id": "<AD_CREATIVE_ID>"
}

Ad creative create examples

Request

curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "name": "Sample ad creative",
        "object_story_spec": {
          "page_id": "<PAGE_ID>",
          "link_data": {
            "name": "<AD_HEADLINE>",
            "message": "<AD_PRIMARY_TEXT>",
            "description": "<AD_DESCRIPTION>",
            "image_hash": "<IMAGE_HASH>",
            "link": "https://api.whatsapp.com/send",
            "page_welcome_message": "<PAGE_WELCOME_MESSAGE>",
            "call_to_action": {
              "type": "WHATSAPP_MESSAGE",
              "value": {
                "app_destination": "WHATSAPP"
              }
            }
          }
        },
        "degrees_of_freedom_spec": {
          "creative_features_spec": {
            "standard_enhancements": {
              "enroll_status": "OPT_IN"
            }
          }
        }
      }' \
"https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adcreatives"

Response

On success, your app receives a JSON response with the ID of your newly created ad creative.

{
  "id": "<AD_CREATIVE_ID>"
}

Ad that uses a messaging sequence configured on a partner app

curl -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adcreatives"
     -H "Content-Type: application/json"
     -d '{
           "access_token": "<PAGE_ACCESS_TOKEN>",
           "name": "<IMAGE_AD_NAME>",
           "object_story_spec": {
             "page_id": "<PAGE_ID>",
             "link_data": {
               "image_hash": "<IMAGE_HASH>",
               "link": "<IMAGE_URL>",
               "call_to_action": {
                 "type": "WHATSAPP_MESSAGE",
                 "value":{"app_destination":"WHATSAPP"}
               }
             }
           },
           "asset_feed_spec": {
             "additional_data": {
               "partner_app_welcome_message_flow_id": "SEQUENCE-ID"
             }
           }
         }'

For more information about message sequences, refer to Welcome message sequences in the Whatsapp Business Platform documentation.

Creating ad creatives using Instagram content

You can also use your existing Instagram content for your ad creatives.

curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "source_instagram_media_id": "<INSTAGRAM_MEDIA_ID>",
        "instagram_user_id": "<INSTAGRAM_USER_ID>",
        "object_id": "<PAGE_ID>",
        "call_to_action": {
          "type": "WHATSAPP_MESSAGE",
            "value": {
              "link": "https://api.whatsapp.com/send",
              "app_destination": "WHATSAPP"
            }
          }
        },
        "degrees_of_freedom_spec": {
          "creative_features_spec": {
            "standard_enhancements": {
              "enroll_status": "OPT_IN"
            }
          }
        }
      }' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adcreatives

Updating

You can update an ad creative by making a POST request to /<AD_CREATIVE_ID>.

Reading

To verify that you have successfully created a click to WhatsApp ad creative, you can make a GET request to /<AD_CREATIVE_ID>. See Ad Creative for the complete list of available parameters.

Request

curl -X GET -G \
  -d 'fields=name,object_story_spec{link_data{call_to_action,page_welcome_message}}' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/<AD_CREATIVE_ID>

Response

{
  "name": "Sample ad creative",
  "object_story_spec": {
    "page_welcome_message": {
      "type": "VISUAL_EDITOR",
      "version": 2,
      "landing_screen_type": "welcome_message",
      "media_type": "text",
      "text_format": {
        "customer_action_type": "autofill_message",
        "message": {
          "autofill_message": {
            "content": "Sample autofill message"
          },
        "text": "Sample greeting message"
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "id": "<AD_CREATIVE_ID>"
}

Step 4: Create an ad

Ads allow you to associate ad creative information with your ad sets. To create an ad, make a POST request to the /act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/ads endpoint where <AD_ACCOUNT_ID> is the ID for your Meta ad account. Your request must include:

Parameters

Name	Description
`name` string	Required. The name for your ad.
`adset_id` numeric string or integer	Required. The ID of the ad set.
`creative` AdCreative	Required. The ad creative to be used by this ad. You may supply the `creative_id` of an existing ad creative or create a new ad creative by including all required fields. See Ad Creative for more details.
`status` enum	Required. The configured status of the ad. Values: `ACTIVE`, `PAUSED`, `DELETED`, `ARCHIVED`

Request

curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "name": "Sample ad",
        "adset_id": "<AD_SET_ID>",
        "creative": {
          "creative_id": "<AD_CREATIVE_ID>"
        },
        "status": "PAUSED"
     }' \
  "https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/ads"

Response

{
  "id": "<AD_ID>"
}

Updating

You can update an ad by making a POST request to /<AD_ID>.

Reading

To verify that you have successfully created a click to WhatsApp ad, you can make a GET request to /<AD_ID>. See the ad reference for the complete list of available parameters.

Request

curl -X GET -G \
  -d 'fields=status,adset_id,campaign_id' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/<AD_ID>

Response

{
  "status": "PAUSED",
  "adset_id": "<AD_SET_ID>",
  "campaign_id": "<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>",
  "id": "<AD_ID>"
}

Step 5: Publish your ad

Verify your ad exists in Ads Manager. When you are ready to publish your changes, select your campaign, the ad set for the campaign, and the ad, and click the Publish button.

You can also publish your ad using the API. Simply send a POST request to /<AD_ID> with the status parameter set to ACTIVE where <AD_ID> is the ad you want to publish.

Meta reviews your ad, and the status will be PENDING_REVIEW. Once approved, the status will automatically update to ACTIVE, and your ad will be delivered.