Utility Template Library

Meta has recently made available the Utility Template Library, which makes it faster and easier for businesses to create utility templates for common use cases, like payment reminders, delivery updates and more.

These pre-written templates have already been categorized and priced as utility. These templates contain fixed content that cannot be edited and parameters you can adapt for business or user-specific information.

Clients with a Shared WABA can browse and create templates using the Utility Template Library in WhatsApp Manager, or it is also possible create them via the API.

via WhatsApp Manager

Creating Utility Templates

Follow the instructions below to create templates using the Utility Template Library in WhatsApp Manager.

1: In the left sidebar of WhatsApp Manager under Message Templates, select Create Template.

2: Under Browse the WhatsApp Template Library, select Browse Templates.

3: Clients will now see all currently available utility templates. Use the search bar to search by topic or use case, or use the dropdown options on the sidebar to filter the results.

Hovering over a template will show you its parameter values that you can use.

4: To create a template, select one by clicking on it. Then, add your template name, select the language, and fill out the button details. Once you have completed these steps, click Submit.

If you choose Customize template, your template will have to go through review before you are able to send messages.

Template Parameters and Restrictions

When a template contains the value library_template_name in the GET /message_templates?name=<TEMPLATE_NAME> response, it is a template created from the Utility Template Library and is subject to type checks and restrictions.

The templates in the library contain both fixed content and parameters. The parameters represent spaces in the template where variable information can be inserted, such as names, addresses, and phone numbers.

In the example above, parameters like the name Jim or the business name CS Mutual can be modified to accept variables like your customer's name and your business's name.

Messages sent using templates from Utility Template Library are subject to parameter checks during send time. Values used in parameters that are outside of the established ranges listed below will cause the message send to fail.

List of parameters and sample values

All parameters are length restricted. If you receive an error, try again with a shorter value.

Parameter Type	Description	Sample Value
ADDRESS	A location address. Must be a valid address	1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025
TEXT	Basic text.	regarding your order. 12 pack of paper towels your request puchase Jasper's Market
AMOUNT	A number signifying a quantity. May contain a prefix or suffix for monetary values such as USD or RS May contain decimals (.) and commas (,) May contain valid currency symbols such as $ and €	145 USD $375.32 €1,376.22 EUR R$ 1200
DATE	A standard calendar date.	2021-04-19 13/03/2021 5th January 1982 08.22.1991 January 1st, 2024 05 12 2022
PHONE NUMBER	A telephone number. May contain numbers, spaces, dashes (-), parentheses, and plus symbols (+)	[phone] [phone] [phone]
EMAIL	A standard email address. Must be a valid email address	[e-mail] [e-mail] [e-mail]
NUMBER	A number. Must be a number. Cannot contain spaces.	23444 90001234921388904 453638

Forms

Forms are only available to accounts who have had their message limits increased (1k). See Messaging Limits.

Some templates in Utility Template Library are interactive forms that are powered by WhatsApp Flows.

In WhatsApp Manager, you can identify these specific templates by the "Form" label they contain. The current supported use cases are Customer Feedback and Delivery Failure.

Identifying FORMS in the API response

When calling the GET /message_template_library endpoint (see documentation below), the type key in the buttons array will show as "FLOW".

 
{
      "name": "delivery_failed_2_form",
      "language": "en_US",
      "category": "UTILITY",
      "topic": "ORDER_MANAGEMENT",
      "usecase": "DELIVERY_FAILED",
      "industry": [
        "E_COMMERCE"
      ],
      "body": "We were unable to deliver order {{1}} today. 
      Please {{2}} to schedule another delivery attempt.",
      "body_params": [
        "#12345",
        "try a redelivery"
      ],
      "body_param_types": [
        "TEXT",
        "TEXT"
      ],
      "buttons": [
        {
          "type": "FLOW", //indicates Form type
          "text": "Reschedule"
        }
      ],
      "id": "7138055039625658"
}

via API

Searching and Filtering Available Utility Templates

To browse and filter available templates, use the message_template_library endpoint.

GET https://waba-v2.360dialog.io/message_template_library

Once you find the template you are interested in, note the name as you will use it when creating the template via the POST method below.

Headers

Name	Type	Description
D360-API-KEY	string

Query String Parameters

To search for specific Utility Templates, insert the query string parameters below.

Placeholder	Description	Sample Value
<SEARCH_KEY> String	Optional. A substring you are searching for in the content, name, header, body, or footer of the template.	payments
<TOPIC> Enum	Optional. The topic of the template. See Template Filters below	ORDER_MANAGEMENT
<USECASE> Enum	Optional. The use case of the template. See Template Filters below	SHIPMENT_CONFIRMATION
<INDUSTRY> Enum	Optional. The industry of the template. See Template Filters below	E_COMMERCE
<LANGUAGE> Enum	Optional. The template language locale code. See Supported Languages	en_US

Template Filters

There are several templates to choose from in the Utility Template Library. You can use the API to filter them based on a few factors.

// Get all available templates
GET /message_template_library

// Search for substring
GET /message_template_library?search=<SEARCH_KEY>

// Filter by template language
GET/message_template_library?language=<LANGUAGE>

List of available filters by: Industry, Topic, and Use Case Enums

Example Request

GEThttps://waba-v2.360dialog.io/message_template_library?industry=<INDUSTRY>

Available Filters

Industry
E_COMMERCE
FINANCIAL_SERVICES

Example Request

GEThttps://waba-v2.360dialog.io/message_template_library?topic=<TOPIC>

Available Filters

Topic
ACCOUNT_UPDATES
CUSTOMER_FEEDBACK
ORDER_MANAGEMENT
PAYMENTS

Example Request

GEThttps://waba-v2.360dialog.io/message_template_library?usecase=<USECASE>

Available Filters

Use Case
ACCOUNT_CREATION_CONFIRMATION	PAYMENT_DUE_REMINDER
FEEDBACK_SURVEY	PAYMENT_ACTION_REQUIRED
SHIPMENT_CONFIRMATION	PAYMENT_OVERDUE
DELIVERY_UPDATE	PAYMENT_CONFIRMATION
ORDER_DELAY	FRAUD_ALERT
DELIVERY_FAILED	AUTO_PAY_REMINDER
DELIVERY_CONFIRMATION	PAYMENT_SCHEDULED
ORDER_PICK_UP	PAYMENT_REJECT_FAIL
ORDER_ACTION_NEEDED	STATEMENT_AVAILABLE
ORDER_CONFIRMATION	LOW_BALANCE_WARNING
ORDER_OR_TRANSACTION_CANCEL	RECEIPT_ATTACHMENT
RETURN_CONFIRMATION	STATEMENT_ATTACHMENT
TRANSACTION_ALERT

Creating Utility Templates

You can use the 360dialog API when you are ready to create a template from the library. Alternatively, you can also create it using the WhatsApp Business Manager.

To create a new template using the Utility Template Library API, call the endpoint using the body properties fetched from the GET endpoint.

POST https://waba-v2.360dialog.io/message_templates

Headers

Name	Type	Description
D360-API-KEY	string

Body

Placeholder	Description	Sample Value
<NAME> String	Required. The name you are providing for your template. Maximum 512 characters.	my_payment_template
<CATEGORY> Enum	Required. The template category. Must be UTILITY for use with Utility Template Library.	UTILITY
<LANGUAGE> Enum	Required. The template language locale code. See Supported Languages	en_US
<LIBRARY_TEMPLATE_NAME> String	Required. The exact name of the Utility Template Library template.	delivery_update_1
<LIBRARY_TEMPLATE_BUTTON_INPUTS> Array of objects	Optional. The website and/or phone number of the business being used in the template. Note: For utility templates that have button inputs, this property is not optional.	“[ {'type': 'URL', 'url': {'base_url' : 'https://www.example.com/{{1}}', 'url_suffix_example' : 'https://www.example.com/demo'}}, {type: 'PHONE_NUMBER', 'phone_number': '[phone]'} ]"

Example Request

curl --location 'https://waba-v2.360dialog.io/message_templates' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'D360-API-KEY: {{token}}' \
--data '{
    "name": "my_utility_template",
    "category": "UTILITY",
    "language": "en_US",
    "library_template_name": "statement_available_2",
    "library_template_button_inputs": [
        {
            "type": "URL",
            "url": {
                "base_url": "https://YOUR_URL.com"
            }
        }
    ]
}'

Example Response

{
    "id": "993337975719662",
    "status": "APPROVED",
    "category": "UTILITY"
}

Sending Utility Template Messages

See our Sending Template Messages to learn how to send it to customers.