WhatsApp Status ads and promoted Channels: a practical guide for Indian brands
WhatsApp Status ads are Meta ads shown between people's Status updates in the Updates tab. A tap can open a WhatsApp chat with your business or your website. Promoted Channels boost your WhatsApp Channel in the channel directory. Both are bought through Meta's ad tools, never appear in personal chats, and work best when an automated reply is ready for the chats they start.
Prices as on 22 October 2026. Figures were checked against the provider's official pages on that date. Providers change prices and rules without notice, so confirm on the official page before you budget. Convo360 adds no markup: you pay the provider directly with your own account. Convo360 is not affiliated with Meta or WhatsApp. This summarises published sources on the date shown; Meta's own pages prevail.
- Status ads sit in the Updates tab, between Status updates, and never inside personal chats.
- A Status ad can send people into a WhatsApp chat with you or to a web page, with app links listed as coming soon.
- Promoted Channels raise your Channel's visibility in the directory, but a Channel is still one-way broadcasting.
- Meta does not pass ad click IDs for chats that start from Status ad placements, so plan your own tracking.
- The ad only starts the conversation; a fast, useful first reply decides whether it becomes a lead.
What Meta launched in the Updates tab
On 16 June 2025 Meta announced three ways for businesses and creators to use WhatsApp's Updates tab, the screen that holds Status and Channels. Meta says the tab is visited by 1.5 billion people every day. The features were to roll out gradually over the following months:
- Ads in Status: ads that appear between people's Status updates.
- Promoted Channels: paid visibility for a Channel in the channel directory.
- Channel subscriptions: followers pay a monthly fee for exclusive updates from a Channel.
Meta's own framing is that the personal side of WhatsApp does not change. Personal messages, calls and statuses remain end-to-end encrypted and are not used to show ads, and Meta says it will never sell or share phone numbers with advertisers. Ads appear only in the Updates tab, away from chats. Trade publication Storyboard18 reported in February 2026 that Status ads and promoted Channels were rolling out worldwide, with controls for users to hide ads from specific businesses.
How Status ads work for a business
WhatsApp's business site describes Status ads as a way to extend your existing Meta ad campaigns to WhatsApp Status. You choose where a tap takes people:
| Destination | Good for |
|---|---|
| A WhatsApp chat with your business | Enquiries, bookings, catalogue questions, lead capture |
| Your website | Product pages, landing pages, festive offers |
| Your app | Listed by WhatsApp as coming soon |
For targeting, Meta says it uses limited information: country or city, language, the Channels a person follows and how they interact with ads. If the person has added WhatsApp to Meta's Accounts Center, ad preferences from their other Meta accounts can be used too. Personal chats, calls and groups are not used.
For a Lucknow chikankari brand or a Coimbatore coaching centre, the chat destination is usually the stronger choice, because the person lands in a conversation where you can answer questions immediately.
Promoted Channels and when they make sense
A WhatsApp Channel is a one-way broadcast: you post text, photos, videos, stickers and polls, and followers read them. Promoted Channel ads push your Channel up in the directory so new people find it.
- Use it if you publish often and have something worth following: daily gold rates for a jeweller, new arrivals for a fashion label, match-day offers for a restaurant.
- Skip it if you post once a month. A promoted Channel with stale posts wastes the follow.
Remember that a Channel is not your business inbox. Followers cannot chat with you inside it. Put your WhatsApp chat link in posts so that interested followers can move into a real conversation, where your bot and team can help.
Tracking where your chats came from
Here is a detail many businesses miss. Meta's WhatsApp changelog of 20 October 2025 says ad click IDs are not included in incoming message webhooks for messages that originate from WhatsApp Status ad placements. So the attribution you may rely on for Facebook and Instagram Click to WhatsApp ads will not identify Status ad chats in the same way.
Practical ways around it:
- Use a distinct pre-filled first message for each Status campaign, such as Hi, I saw your Diwali Status offer.
- Ask one quick question early: where did you see us? Offer buttons so it takes a tap.
- Compare chat volume by day against the campaign's spend and reach in Meta's reporting.
Meta also requires Click to WhatsApp advertisers to support business-scoped user IDs, because some customers will message from a username without sharing a phone number. See usernames and BSUIDs explained.
What about message charges?
The ad itself is paid through Meta's ad tools. Messages are a separate matter. Meta's pricing page says that when someone messages you from an ad that clicks to WhatsApp and you reply within 24 hours, a free entry point window opens, during which marketing, utility, authentication and service messages are not charged. Meta's pages do not separately spell out how each Status placement is treated, so check your Meta billing report after the first campaign before you count on free replies.
Outside that window, normal rates apply: in India from 1 October 2026, replies are service messages at INR 0.115 each after 1,000 free per number a month. Current rates are in our WhatsApp pricing guide.
Handling Status ad chats on Convo360
On Convo360 the chats from a Status ad arrive in the same inbox as every other WhatsApp conversation, so you can automate them like this:
- Trigger the right flow. In the Flow Builder, add a keyword trigger matching your pre-filled message, or let the new-conversation trigger catch everyone else.
- Reply in seconds. Start with Buttons or a List Menu (prices, book a visit, talk to us), then let the AI Reply block answer open questions from your knowledge base.
- Capture the lead. Use Set Variable to store the campaign name, then Save CRM lead so sales sees where the enquiry came from.
- Hand over hot leads. Route ready-to-buy chats to your team in the live-chat inbox.
- Follow up with care. Add consenting leads to a contact group and use a drip sequence, not daily blasts.
The same approach works for Facebook and Instagram ads; see automating the chat after the click.
Example conversation
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Frequently asked questions
What are WhatsApp Status ads?
They are Meta ads shown between people's Status updates in WhatsApp's Updates tab. A business can extend its Meta ad campaigns to this placement and send people who tap into a WhatsApp chat with the business or to a website.
Do WhatsApp Status ads appear in personal chats?
No. Meta says ads appear only in the Updates tab, which holds Status and Channels. Personal messages, calls and statuses remain end-to-end encrypted and are not used to target ads, and phone numbers are not shared with advertisers.
What is a promoted WhatsApp Channel?
It is a paid placement that boosts your WhatsApp Channel in the channel directory so more people discover and follow it. Channels remain one-way broadcasts, so include a chat link in your posts for followers who want to talk.
How do I track leads from WhatsApp Status ads?
Meta does not include ad click IDs for chats that start from Status ad placements. Use a distinct pre-filled message per campaign, ask how the customer found you with a quick button, and store the answer with the lead in your CRM.
Are replies to Status ad chats free?
Meta does not charge for messages inside the free entry point window opened by ads that click to WhatsApp. Meta's pages do not separately describe each Status placement, so verify in your billing report. Outside free windows, normal service and template rates apply.
Official sources
- Meta Newsroom: Helping you find more Channels and businesses on WhatsApp (16 June 2025)
- WhatsApp Business: Ads in Status and Channels
- Meta: WhatsApp changelog (20 October 2025 entry on Status ad placements)
- Meta: Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (free entry point window)
- Storyboard18: WhatsApp introduces global Status ads and promoted Channels (February 2026)
Related reading
Available across India — see WhatsApp & AI calling automation by state and city.