WhatsApp Template Category Guide: How to Keep Your Templates in the “Utility” Category

WhatsApp Template Category Guide: How to Keep Your Templates in the “Utility” Category

When you submit a WhatsApp Business API template, Meta reviews it and assigns one of the following categories:

• Utility

• Authentication

• Marketing

Recently, many businesses have noticed that templates originally submitted as Utility are being re-categorized as Marketing, which results in higher messaging costs and restricted usage.

This guide explains how to create Utility templates that remain compliant and avoid re-categorization.

What Is a Utility Template?

A Utility template is strictly for updates related to an existing user action, such as:

• An order

• A payment

• A booking

• A subscription

• A delivery status update

Utility messages must be factual, neutral, and clearly linked to a previous action initiated by the customer.

Valid Utility Examples

• “Your order #{{1}} has been confirmed and will ship on {{2}}.”

• “We received your payment of ${{1}} successfully.”

• “Reminder: your appointment is scheduled for {{1}} at {{2}}.”

⚠️ Utility templates must not promote, upsell, recommend, or encourage new engagement.

Why Templates Get Re-Categorized as Marketing

Meta will classify a template as Marketing if it includes any promotional or engagement-oriented signals, such as:

• Promotional words like “discount”, “limited time”, “exclusive”

• Calls to action encouraging purchases (e.g. “Shop now”)

• Mixed content (transactional update + promotion)

• Generic greetings not tied to a transaction

• Buttons leading to product pages or offers

If the wording feels even slightly persuasive, Meta will reject it as Utility.

Checklist: Keep Templates in the Utility Category

Review this checklist before submitting your template:

✅ 1. Link the message to a user action
Reference an existing order, payment, booking, or subscription.

✅ 2. Use neutral, factual language
Inform the customer — do not persuade.

✅ 3. Select the correct template language
The selected language must match the actual message content.
Language mismatch can cause rejection or re-categorization.

✅ 4. Avoid promotional wording
Avoid words like deal, offer, upgrade, exclusive.

✅ 5. Use variables correctly
Placeholders like {{1}}, {{2}} must represent real transactional data.

✅ 6. Use functional buttons only
Allowed:

• Track order

• View invoice

• Manage booking

Avoid:

• Shop now

• Browse products

• Learn more

✅ 7. Keep the message single-purpose
One template = one transactional objective.

✅ 8. Re-check the category after approval
Meta may re-evaluate templates later.

✨ Reform Your Template Using AI (Recommended)

If your template keeps getting approved as Marketing, you can use the following ChatGPT prompt to reform it into a Utility-compliant version before resubmitting:

Prompt: Reform Template from Marketing to Utility

Please reform the following WhatsApp template message so that it complies with Meta’s Utility category rules. 
Keep the message strictly functional and transactional (such as order confirmation, shipping update, or account notification). 
Remove any promotional or marketing language. 
Make the tone system-like and informational.
Do not add calls to action that encourage new purchases.
Keep all placeholders (e.g. {{1}}, {{2}}) unchanged.
Ensure that any buttons are compliant with Utility templates (e.g. Track Order, View Invoice).

👉 Paste your original template below the prompt and review the output before submitting it to Meta.

If Your Template Is Re-Categorized as Marketing

If Meta changes your template from Utility to Marketing:

1. Edit the content to remove any promotional or vague language

2. Re-submit it under the Utility category with a clear transactional purpose

3. If needed, submit an appeal including:

   • Template name

   • Business ID

   • Short explanation linking the message to a user action

Why Staying in the Utility Category Matters

• ✅ Lower messaging costs

• ⚡ Faster delivery priority

• 🤝 Higher customer trust

• 🛡 Better compliance and lower risk of account restrictions

Best Practice

Keep Utility templates strictly transactional and create separate Marketing templates for promotions or engagement campaigns.

This separation ensures compliance — and protects your WhatsApp costs 💬💰