WhatsApp marketing messages leave the Cloud API on 13 October 2027: what to do
From 13 October 2027, Meta will no longer deliver marketing messages through the WhatsApp Cloud API. Marketing templates must be sent through the Marketing Messages API for WhatsApp, and each business must accept its terms. Replies, OTP and utility messages stay on the Cloud API. Your number, templates and billing model do not change.
- The deadline is 13 October 2027, and it applies to marketing messages only.
- Service replies, authentication (OTP) and utility messages continue on the Cloud API as they are.
- Every business has to accept the Marketing Messages API terms once, in WhatsApp Manager.
- Until the deadline, businesses that have not accepted are routed through the Cloud API automatically, so nothing looks broken.
- A utility template that Meta reclassifies as marketing follows the marketing rules too.
What Meta announced
In October 2026 Meta sent an early notice to businesses and providers using the WhatsApp Business Platform: marketing messages on the Cloud API will sunset on 13 October 2027. From that date, all marketing message delivery through the API moves to one place, the Marketing Messages API for WhatsApp, which Meta also calls the MM API.
Meta has given up to twelve months to complete the move, and says most integrations take about two weeks of work.
The notice is specific about what is not changing. Service messages (your replies inside a customer conversation), authentication messages (OTPs) and utility messages (order updates, reminders, receipts) continue on the Cloud API. Only messages in the marketing category are affected.
What the Marketing Messages API is
It is a second sending route built only for marketing templates. According to Meta's developer documentation, it uses a technical format similar to the Cloud API, works with your existing phone numbers and your existing marketing templates, and has the same billing model.
What it adds is on the delivery side:
- Optimised delivery. Meta decides how to deliver marketing messages so that they reach more of the people likely to find them useful.
- Benchmarks and recommendations. Performance compared with similar businesses, with suggestions.
- Time-to-live. A way to stop a time-sensitive offer from being delivered after it has stopped being relevant.
- Creative optimisations. Automatic improvements to images and richer formats. Meta marks some of these as still in testing.
Meta notes that some optimisation features have geographic restrictions, so not every feature is available in every country. Check the documentation for what applies to your market before promising results to anyone.
One limit to know: this route accepts marketing templates only. Utility, authentication and free-form messages are refused there and must keep going through the Cloud API.
Who has to do what
| You are | What you need to do |
|---|---|
| A business using a platform such as Convo360 | Accept the Marketing Messages API terms in WhatsApp Manager. The platform handles the sending route. |
| A business with its own developers on the Cloud API | Change marketing sends to the new endpoint, keep everything else on the Cloud API, and accept the terms. |
| An agency or reseller | Check which of your clients have accepted the terms, and help the rest do it well before the deadline. |
Only somebody with full control of the business portfolio in Meta can accept the terms. In many Indian businesses that is the owner or the person who first created the Meta Business account, not the marketing executive who sends the campaigns. Find out who that is now; it is the step most likely to be stuck in the last week.
How to accept the terms
Meta's onboarding guide describes it as a short task in WhatsApp Manager:
- Open WhatsApp Manager and go to Overview.
- In the Alerts section, choose the alert to accept terms and get started with the Marketing Messages API for WhatsApp.
- Follow the steps to sign the Terms of Service.
A few conditions apply. The WhatsApp Business Account must be active and not restricted for policy violations, and the phone number must already be registered on the Cloud API. Meta says the requirements may change, so read the alert itself when you do it.
If you do not see the alert, the account may not be eligible yet, or the person logged in may not have full control of the business portfolio.
What happens if you do nothing
Until the deadline, nothing visible. Meta's notice explains that businesses which have not accepted the terms are covered by auto-routing: their marketing messages fall back to the Cloud API automatically, so campaigns keep going out.
That fallback ends with the sunset. After 13 October 2027, a business that has not accepted the terms, or whose platform still sends marketing templates the old way, will find that its marketing broadcasts stop being delivered. Replies, OTPs and order updates would still work, which makes the failure easy to miss until the next festive campaign.
There is a second, quieter case. Meta sometimes reclassifies a template: something approved as utility is judged to be marketing and moved to that category. From the sunset, such a template has to go by the marketing route as well. If your system decides the route from the category a template had when it was created, and not the category it has today, those messages will fail. See how template categories work for why this happens.
What this means on Convo360
On Convo360 you do not rebuild anything. Your number, your approved templates, your contact groups and your broadcasts stay as they are. You continue to pay Meta directly for messages, with no markup from us.
Our part is the sending route: Convo360 will send marketing-category templates through the Marketing Messages API, and everything else through the Cloud API, well before the 2027 deadline. The route will be chosen from the template's current category at the moment of sending, so a reclassified template is handled correctly.
Your part is one task: accept the terms in WhatsApp Manager, using the steps above. We recommend doing it this quarter and not next year, because it costs nothing, changes nothing in how you work today, and removes the only thing that could stop your campaigns on the day.
If you run broadcasts for several brands, do it for each business portfolio. If you are new to broadcasting, start with how to run a WhatsApp broadcast campaign.
A sensible timeline
- Now: find out who has full control of your Meta business portfolio, and accept the terms.
- Next three months: if you have your own integration, move marketing sends to the new endpoint and test with a small group.
- By mid-2027: agencies and resellers confirm every client has accepted. Review templates that Meta has reclassified.
- Before Diwali 2027: send one real marketing campaign and check the delivery report, so the first test is not the festive campaign itself. The deadline falls in the festive season.
Meta's own guidance is to treat this as a routine upgrade and not an emergency. The businesses that will have trouble are the ones that read the notice, saw that nothing broke, and forgot about it.
Step by step
- Find the right personIdentify who has full control of your Meta business portfolio. Only that person can accept the terms.
- Open WhatsApp ManagerGo to WhatsApp Manager and open the Overview page for your WhatsApp Business Account.
- Accept the terms from AlertsIn the Alerts section, choose the alert for the Marketing Messages API for WhatsApp and sign the Terms of Service.
- Check your sending routeAsk your platform or developer to confirm that marketing templates will be sent through the Marketing Messages API before 13 October 2027.
- Send a test campaignSend one marketing template to a small group and check the delivery report, well before your next festive campaign.
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Frequently asked questions
When do WhatsApp marketing messages stop working on the Cloud API?
On 13 October 2027. From that date Meta delivers marketing messages only through the Marketing Messages API for WhatsApp. Service, authentication and utility messages continue on the Cloud API, so replies, OTPs and order updates are not affected.
Do I need a new WhatsApp number or new templates?
No. Meta's documentation says the Marketing Messages API works with your existing phone numbers and your existing marketing templates. The number must already be registered on the Cloud API, and your WhatsApp Business Account must be active and unrestricted.
Will WhatsApp marketing messages cost more after the change?
Meta's documentation states that the Marketing Messages API has the same billing model as the Cloud API. Rates themselves are set by Meta per country and can change at any time, so check Meta's current rate card before budgeting a campaign.
What happens if I have not accepted the terms yet?
Until 13 October 2027 your marketing messages are routed through the Cloud API automatically, so campaigns keep working. After that date the fallback ends, and marketing messages from a business that has not accepted the terms will not be delivered.
Are OTP and order update messages affected?
No. Authentication and utility messages stay on the Cloud API. The one exception is a utility template that Meta reclassifies as marketing: from the sunset it must be sent through the Marketing Messages API like any other marketing template.
What do Convo360 customers need to do?
Accept the Marketing Messages API terms once in WhatsApp Manager, under Overview and then Alerts. Convo360 handles the sending route for broadcasts and flows, so your templates, contact groups and campaigns stay exactly as they are.
Related reading
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