WhatsApp Status ads

A WhatsApp Status ad appears in the WhatsApp Status feed, where your customers already look every day. One tap takes the viewer straight into a chat with your number, with no landing page in between. You create, launch and track it in Ads Manager.


Where	Ads Manager → Launch WhatsApp Status Ad
Shows in	The WhatsApp Status feed. Instagram story ads can run alongside.
A tap opens	A WhatsApp chat with your number
Needs	Ads Manager set up, and enough ad credits. See Set up Ads Manager.
Media	An image or a video
Budget	A daily budget, or a lifetime budget if you want to schedule it
Icebreakers	Optional buttons at the start of the chat, each able to start a chatbot flow

Create a Status ad

1. Choose the objective

In Ads Manager, click Launch WhatsApp Status Ad. Or click + Create Ad and pick WhatsApp Status Ad as the type.
Select your Ad Objective. Engagement suits getting more chats started.
Choose a Performance Goal, such as Maximise number of conversations.

A live preview shows how the ad will look in the Status feed, with the estimated monthly reach for your account.

2. Choose the audience

Set the campaign objective, performance goal, Pixel and conversion event the ad is optimised for.
Use a saved audience, or build a custom or lookalike audience.
Add the locations to target, and set the gender and age group.

3. Set the budget and dates

Choose your daily budget and a start date. Leave the end date open to keep the ad running, or set one for a fixed campaign.

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Scheduling needs a lifetime budget
To run the ad only on certain days or at certain hours, switch to a lifetime budget. Scheduling does not work with a daily budget.

4. Add the creative

Give the ad a name, for your own reference.
Write the Primary Text and Headline that appear with the ad.
Add an image or video from the Media Library, or add a Media URL.

No creative? The Ad Creative generator makes one for you. It uses ad credits, so allow for that in your budget.

5. Set up Icebreakers (optional)

Icebreakers are quick reply buttons that appear the moment someone starts a chat from your ad. They let the customer tell you what they want without typing.

Turn Icebreakers on.
Add a Greeting message. It is required when Icebreakers are on.
Add one or more Icebreaker options.
Link each option to a chatbot flow, so tapping it starts the next step automatically.

A live WhatsApp preview beside the form shows how the chat will look.

6. Publish

Publish the ad. It goes through Meta's review before it goes live, which takes some time, so it may not show as active straight away. If it is rejected, see the reason in Ads Manager.

How it is measured

The Ads Manager dashboard shows, for each ad:

Metric	What it tells you
Leads	How many people the ad brought in
Click-through rate	The share of viewers who tapped
Cost per lead	What each lead cost
Total spend	What the ad has spent
CAPI signals	The conversion events sent to Meta. See Conversions API.

The numbers come from Meta, so they can take a few minutes to update.

When to use it

Use it to start conversations with people who do not follow you yet. People open the Status feed every day for personal updates, so a short, friendly ad fits there better than a hard sell.

Make it look like a Status. A photo or short video that feels like something a person would post does better than a banner with a price stamped on it.

Use Icebreakers. A customer who taps and sees "Shop new arrivals", "Track my order" and "Talk to us" knows what to do next. A blank chat asks them to think of something to type, and many leave.

Link every Icebreaker to a flow. The customer gets an answer the moment they tap, at any hour. See Chatbot flows.

Judge by cost per lead. Clicks and views matter less than how many people start a chat, and what each one cost.