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Sending WhatsApp Templates from the Inbox App

Pick an approved template, fill in the variables, and send it to the contact — all from the Octopods panel in Intercom's sidebar.

Written by Tarek Khalil

When you need a template

WhatsApp requires a template for messages sent outside the 24-hour customer-service window — that is, any outbound message more than 24 hours after the customer’s last inbound message. Templates are text patterns you pre-register with WhatsApp (through your WhatsApp Business Account, or WABA), which must be approved before you can send them.

The Octopods Inbox App also supports Viber Business Messages (VBM) templates. If you have a VBM channel connected, the same flow in this article applies — the template list simply shows your approved VBM templates instead.

Sending a template

  1. Open the customer’s Intercom conversation.

  2. In the Octopods panel, click Send a message template.

  3. Select the channel to send through — a connected WhatsApp channel or a connected Viber Business Messages channel.

  4. Browse the list of approved templates. Each template row shows its name, language, and a preview of the first part of the body.

  5. Select the template you want to use.

  6. Fill in any variables the template expects — for example, the customer’s first name, an order number, or an appointment time.

  7. Review the preview to confirm the message reads correctly with your substituted values.

  8. Confirm to send.

Paging and syncing your template list

If you have more than 75 templates, the picker pages through them. Use the page controls to reach the one you need.

If a template you just approved in your WABA or VBM console is not showing up, use Sync templates in the panel to refresh the list against the provider.

When the list is empty

If you see the message “You have no WhatsApp Business API (WABA) templates approved or created yet”, you have not yet created or approved any templates on the connected channel. Head to your WABA account, create and submit the templates you need for approval, and come back once they are approved. Approval times are controlled by the provider — see the WhatsApp Business Platform section for details.

Variables and preview

Templates can contain variable placeholders such as {{1}}, {{2}}, and so on. The Inbox App prompts you for each placeholder in turn and shows the composed message in the preview before you send. If a variable is missing, the preview highlights the empty placeholder so you can fill it in before confirming.

Tip: For templates you send regularly, keeping the variable content consistent — for example, always using the customer’s first name for {{1}} — makes previews predictable and reduces the chance of sending a message with the wrong substitution.

After sending

Once confirmed, Octopods hands the template and variables to the provider. The message appears in the conversation’s history in Intercom so your team sees it as part of the thread, and status updates (delivered, read) flow back through the channel. If the send fails, the panel surfaces the error and you can retry from the same screen.

What’s next

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