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MESSAGING AND TEMPLATES
Service conversation / free window
A service conversation is the 24-hour period that opens whenever a customer sends you a message on WhatsApp. Inside it, free-form replies of any kind are free and unlimited; since July 2025 utility templates delivered inside the window are free as well, while marketing and authentication templates are still billed per message.
customer service windowfree form messageper message pricingutility template
Why it matters
Under the retired conversation-based pricing, businesses paid a service charge per 24-hour window; Meta made service conversations free in late 2023 and moved to per-message pricing in July 2025. The result is that anything the customer starts costs nothing to answer, which is why inbound-led designs (QR codes, click-to-chat links, ads that open a chat) are the cheapest way to run WhatsApp.
In VGraple CRM
The inbox shows the remaining window on every conversation and switches the composer to templates when it closes. Broadcast cost previews count recipients with an open window at zero for utility templates, and flows reply free-form inside the window and fall back to a template outside it.
Related terms
Customer service window, Free-form message, Per-message pricing, Utility template.