A WhatsApp sequence sends a series of approved templates to each contact over hours or days, with a wait before each message. It's the WhatsApp version of an email drip campaign, with one big difference: a person's sequence stops the moment they reply, and the conversation goes to your team in Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Chat or the web inbox. Learn more on the WhatsApp Automation page.
Before You Start
- A connected WhatsApp number (see Setting Up WhatsApp Business) with a payment method in WhatsApp Manager.
- A plan that includes WhatsApp marketing: the free trial and the Basic, Pro and Business plans.
- Approved templates for each message. Every step is a template, because most steps go out more than 24 hours after the contact's last message. See WhatsApp Template Manager and Library.
- Contacts with WhatsApp consent. See WhatsApp Consent and Opt-Outs.
Broadcast or Sequence?
| Broadcast | Sequence | |
|---|---|---|
| Messages per person | One | Up to 10, with waits |
| When it sends | Now or at a scheduled time, to everyone | On each person's own schedule, from when they join |
| Who gets it | An audience at send time | Anyone you add, who texts a keyword, or whose WhatsApp chat ends |
| Best for | Announcements and offers | Onboarding, follow-ups, reminders and nurturing |
Creating a Sequence
Go to Outbound > Campaigns, click New campaign and choose WhatsApp sequence. The sequence opens on the Steps tab with one empty message. Click the name at the top to rename it.
Add your messages
Click Edit on a step, choose an Approved template and set each Personalization variable to a Contact field (with a fallback such as "there") or a value that's Same for everyone. The phone preview shows the message as the contact will see it. Enter your number under Send a test to your WhatsApp to receive it yourself, then click Save step.
Use Add message at the bottom, or the + between steps, to add up to 10 messages. Each step's menu lets you Move up, Move down, Skip this step or Delete step.
Set the waits
The amber chip above each step is its wait. Click it to set minutes, hours or days. The first step's wait counts from when the person joins (choose 0 to send right away); every other wait counts from the previous message.
Choose who joins
Open the Settings tab and pick one option under Who joins:
- You add people: use Add people to add a list, segment or smart audience.
- They text a keyword: choose an opt-in keyword such as JOIN. Contacts who text it are opted in, tagged into its list and join the sequence. Manage keywords under Contacts > Opt-ins.
- A WhatsApp chat ends: people join when their WhatsApp chat is closed, from any widget or one you choose. Only chats that end after you save this setting count.
Each person joins a sequence once.
Review the settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Also stop when they get this tag | Optional exit tag, for example "customer". Anyone who gets it leaves the sequence before their next message. |
| Send from | The WhatsApp number that sends. Replies come back to it. Pause the sequence to change it. |
| Send window | On by default (9:00 AM to 8:00 PM). Messages only go out in these hours in each contact's local time, worked out from their phone number; the time zone you choose is used when we can't tell. Tick Weekdays only to skip weekends. A message that comes due outside the window waits until it opens. |
| Include contacts who messaged you | Opted-in contacts get every step. Contacts who only messaged you (implied consent) get Utility steps; turn this on to also send them Marketing steps. |
Click Save settings.
Start the sequence
Click Start sequence. A checklist confirms the number is connected, every active step has an approved template, the trigger is set and your plan includes WhatsApp marketing. Click Fix it to jump to anything that's missing. Once it's live, messages for people who are due go out within a few minutes, inside the send window.
When a Sequence Stops for Someone
- They reply. Any WhatsApp message from the contact ends their sequence and cancels anything not yet sent. The reply opens a normal conversation for your team or AI agent.
- An agent or bot messages them in a chat, more than 5 minutes after they joined. (Automatic replies to the keyword that started the sequence don't count.)
- They opt out by replying STOP or tapping Meta's "Stop promotions" button, or they're marked unsubscribed.
- They get the exit tag, if you set one.
- They lose consent for the next step, or their number isn't valid.
- You stop it for them, or for the whole sequence.
While a WhatsApp chat with someone is open, their next message waits until the chat ends, so a sequence never interrupts a live conversation. US (+1) contacts skip Marketing steps, because Meta doesn't deliver Marketing templates to US numbers, and still get Utility steps. See US Numbers and SMS Fallback.
Managing a Live Sequence
- Pause keeps everyone where they are; nobody gets a message until you click Resume.
- Stop sequence (in the ... menu) ends it for everyone still active and cancels messages that haven't gone out. It can't be undone; use Duplicate to run it again.
- Editing a step applies to messages that haven't gone out yet. Messages already sent aren't affected.
- New steps added to a live sequence start skipped, so nobody waits on a step without a template. Choose a template, save it, then choose Include this step.
- Skip this step lets people pass through it without a message; the next step's wait still applies.
- Deleting a step moves anyone waiting for it on to the following step. Its results stay in your reports.
The People Tab
The People tab lists everyone in the sequence with their status, a progress bar of messages sent and when their next message is due. Filter by Active, Waiting, Replied, Completed or Stopped, or search by name or phone. Statuses include:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Active · step N next | Their next message is step N, due at the time shown. |
| Waiting · open chat | They have an open WhatsApp chat; the message waits until it ends. |
| Waiting for send window | It's outside your send window in their time zone. |
| Waiting · monthly limit | Your monthly WhatsApp message limit is used up. |
| All sent · watching for replies | Every message went out; replies in the next 72 hours still count. |
| Replied after step N | They replied, so their sequence stopped. |
| Completed | They got every message without replying. |
Click a person to see their timeline (each message with sent, delivered, read and replied times) and to Skip current step, Stop for this person or open the contact and conversation. Select several people to stop, skip or remove them in bulk. Removed people can be added again later, but they won't get steps they already received.
Adding People
Click Add people and choose a smart audience, list or segment. Before anyone is added you see how many will join, and how many are already in the sequence, have no WhatsApp consent, opted out or have no valid number. You can add up to 10,000 people at a time. On a new account, adding more than 500 people at once needs a one-time review, and you can't add more people than your remaining monthly message limit. People added to a draft or paused sequence start once it's running.
Results
The Overview tab shows how many people joined, are active, replied, completed and opted out, plus the estimated Meta cost. Results by step shows delivered, read and replied rates for each message, and Recent replies lists the latest replies with the step they answered. Sequence messages are also included in Analyze > WhatsApp campaigns daily totals.
Limits and Costs
- Every message counts toward your plan's monthly WhatsApp message limit, the same as broadcasts. When it's used up, messages wait until the limit resets or is raised. See WhatsApp Sending Limits and Quiet Hours.
- Sending stays inside Meta's daily messaging limit for your number. If Meta pauses a template or blocks your number, the sequence pauses with the reason shown at the top; fix it and click Resume.
- Meta charges per delivered template by category and country, billed to your WhatsApp Business Account. Estimate costs with the WhatsApp pricing calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a contact be in more than one sequence?
Yes. A reply or opt-out stops all of their active sequences at once.
Can someone go through the same sequence twice?
Each person joins a sequence once and never gets the same step twice. To run the same messages for them again, Duplicate the sequence and add them to the copy.
Why is someone stuck on "Waiting"?
Their next message is held for a reason shown in their status: an open WhatsApp chat, the send window in their time zone, or your monthly limit. It goes out automatically once that clears.
Why did a step skip some people?
Open the person's timeline to see the reason. The most common are US numbers on a Marketing template and a missing personalization value with no fallback.
Can I send free-form messages in a sequence?
No. Sequence steps are approved templates, because most go out more than 24 hours after the contact's last message.
Do replies count if they come after the last message?
Yes. After the last message, people stay in the sequence for 72 hours so their reply is counted, then they're marked Completed.