How to Create a WhatsApp Template in Irelia

~5 minutes setup

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Introduction

You’ve built your AI agent, connected WhatsApp, and you’re ready to start reaching out to prospects. To do that — to send the first outbound message that kicks off a conversation — you need a WhatsApp template. Templates are how every business on WhatsApp starts outbound conversations. Meta requires them to keep the platform safe and spam-free, and Irelia makes creating and submitting them straightforward. In about five minutes, you’ll have a template submitted, and once Meta approves it, you’ll be ready to start sending. This article walks you through the entire process — from understanding why templates exist to submitting your first one for approval. By the end of this guide, you’ll have: ✅ A clear understanding of why WhatsApp requires templates and when they’re needed
✅ A template created inside Irelia with your message content and dynamic variables
✅ That template submitted to Meta for approval
✅ The knowledge to track its status and take next steps once it’s approved

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💡 Why WhatsApp Templates Exist

WhatsApp protects its users from unwanted messages with a strict rule called the 24-hour messaging window. Here’s how it works: when a contact messages you (or replies to a message you sent), a 24-hour window opens. During that window, your AI agent can send free-form messages — any text, in any format, with no restrictions. This is how your agent carries on natural conversations, asks qualifying questions, and responds to inquiries. But the moment that 24-hour window closes — meaning 24 hours have passed since the contact’s last message — free-form messaging stops. To message that contact again, you must use an approved template. This means templates are required in two key scenarios:

• Starting a new conversation — When you reach out to a contact who hasn’t messaged you yet (outbound). This is the most common use case: a lead fills out a form, and your AI agent sends the first WhatsApp message using a template.
• Re-engaging a silent contact — When a lead stopped replying and the 24-hour window expired. You send a follow-up template to bring them back into the conversation.

Templates exist to keep WhatsApp a trusted messaging platform. Unlike email or SMS, WhatsApp is a personal space — people use it to talk with friends and family. Meta takes that seriously: every template is reviewed before it can be sent, ensuring businesses don’t flood users with unwanted messages. Once approved, your template becomes a reusable message you can send to any number of contacts.

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🚪 Two Entry Points, One Process

You can create a WhatsApp template from two places inside your agent’s settings. The creation process is identical — but where you start determines how you’ll use the template later.

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From the Trigger tab — for conversation starters

Open your agent and click the Trigger tab. This is where you create templates for starting new conversations — the first outbound message a prospect receives. Once approved, a template created here can be sent through any of these methods:

• Irelia Forms — A landing page with a contact form that triggers the template automatically
• Meta Instant Forms — A native integration that sends the template to leads from your Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns
• API / automation — Connect Zapier, Make.com, Go High Level, or any other platform to trigger the template from your existing tools

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From the Follow-up tab — for re-engagement messages

Open your agent and click the Follow-up tab. This is where you create templates for follow-up sequences — messages sent automatically to contacts who stopped replying. Templates created here are used exclusively within Irelia’s automatic follow-up system. They can’t be sent via API, Irelia Forms, or Meta Instant Forms. However, you can also send any template manually from the chat panel when the 24-hour window has expired on a conversation — regardless of which tab it was created in.

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What You’ll Do

1. Click ”+ New template” from the Trigger or Follow-up tab (~30 seconds)
2. Name your template and write your message (~2 minutes)
3. Add example values for any dynamic variables (~1 minute)
4. Submit to Meta and track the approval status (~1 minute)

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📋 What You’ll Need

• An Irelia.ai account with at least one active AI agent Required
• A connected WhatsApp channel — learn how to connect WhatsApp to Irelia here if you haven’t yet Required
• Your message content ready (or use one of Irelia’s pre-built templates as a starting point) Optional

No coding required. If you can type a WhatsApp message, you can do this.

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⚡ Quick Path (Experienced Users)

Already comfortable with Irelia? Here’s the condensed version:

1. Navigate → Open your agent → Trigger tab (for conversation starters) or Follow-up tab (for re-engagement) → Click ”+ New template”
2. Name it → Enter a descriptive template name
3. Write it → Type your message in the content field (or click a pre-fill option). Use {{1}}, {{2}}, etc. for dynamic variables. Don’t skip numbers, don’t add spaces inside the braces
4. Confirm → Click “Confirm message”
5. Add examples → Fill in a sample value for each variable (e.g., Mario for {{1}})
6. Submit → Click “Send to Meta for approval”
7. Wait → Template appears with “Pending” status. It usually switches to “Approved” within a few minutes — the status updates automatically

Need more detail? Continue with the full guide below.

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🔧 Step-by-Step Setup

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What’s Next — After Approval

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Templates created in the Trigger tab

Once a template in the Trigger tab is approved, clicking on it opens the “Set up the sending of the WhatsApp template” panel. This is where you choose how to send the template to your contacts. You have three sending methods available:

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Templates created in the Follow-up tab

Once a follow-up template is approved, it becomes available in the follow-up sequence builder. You can add it to your automatic follow-up sequence, where it will be sent to contacts who stop replying — at the timing intervals you define. See How to Set Up Follow-Up Sequences for the full configuration guide.

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Changing the associated agent

At any time, you can change which agent owns a template. Click on the template to open its configuration panel, then use the “Agent associated” dropdown to select a different agent. This is useful when you want to reuse a template across different agent configurations.

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How to Avoid Your Template Getting Rejected

Meta reviews every template for compliance with their messaging policies. Most rejections come from a few common issues:

• Typos and grammar mistakes — Proofread your message carefully before submitting. Obvious errors signal low quality to Meta’s review process.
• Variable at the very start — Starting your message with a placeholder (like {{1}}, how are you?) without any text before it increases rejection risk. Always open with a word or greeting first.
• Promotional or spammy language — Messages that read like marketing blasts rather than conversations are more likely to be rejected. Keep the tone natural and conversational.
• Prohibited content — Templates promoting restricted products, containing misleading claims, or using URL shorteners (like bit.ly) will be rejected. See Meta’s template guidelines for the full list.

If your template is rejected, don’t worry — you can create a new one with the corrected content and submit it again. There’s no penalty for rejections.

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Editing and Deleting Templates

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Editing a template

You can modify a template’s message content after it’s been created. Click on the template and use the “Modify message” button to make changes.

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Deleting a template

To delete a template, click on it and use the “Delete” button. Deleted templates are permanently removed and can’t be recovered. If the template was part of a follow-up sequence, it will be automatically removed from that sequence.

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✅ Quick Checklist

✅ All checked? Your template is live and ready to go!

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🛠️ Troubleshooting & FAQs