Install Reach: Get the browser extension from the Chrome Web Store.
Before you start
WhatsApp requires all outbound messages from businesses to use pre-approved templates. Reach will only let you send templates that have been approved for your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA). Paused or rejected templates are visible but cannot be selected.
You’ll also need:
An active WhatsApp channel configured in your Octopods workspace.
A contact with a valid phone number loaded in the home screen. Reach pre-fills the recipient from the detected contact.
Step 1: Open the WhatsApp template browser
From the home screen, click Send WhatsApp in the quick actions — or click a WhatsApp channel row in the CHANNELS list to start composing on that specific channel.
If your workspace has more than one WhatsApp channel, pick the channel you want to send from when prompted.
Reach opens the WhatsApp screen with a recipient strip at the top reading To [name] [phone] · From [channel name].
Step 2: Browse and select a template
The browser shows your approved templates grouped into sections:
Recently used by you — Templates you’ve recently sent.
Your created templates — Templates you authored.
All templates — The full approved library for this WhatsApp channel.
Use the tools above the list to narrow down:
Type into Search templates… to filter by template name. Results update as you type.
Click one of the category filter chips — All, Marketing, or Utility — to filter by template category. Only one chip is active at a time.
If the list is empty, the screen reads No templates found. Try a different search term or category.
At the bottom of the browser you’ll see the reminder WhatsApp requires pre-approved templates for proactive outreach.
Click a template card to select it. Paused templates cannot be selected — Reach shows a warning message explaining the template is paused.
Step 3: Configure variables and media
Once you select a template, Reach opens the configuration screen. What appears here depends on the template:
Header media. If the template requires an image, video, or document header, a media upload zone appears with the header type label (Header image, Header video, or Header document) and the allowed formats and sizes:
Image — JPEG or PNG, max 5 MB.
Video — MP4, max 16 MB.
Document — PDF, max 100 MB.
Drop a file into the upload zone or click to select one. Reach uploads the file and shows a preview. Click the clear icon to remove it and upload a different file.
Header variable. If the template has a text header with a placeholder, an input field appears for each header variable.
Body variables. Fields for every placeholder in the message body (#{{1}}, #{{2}}, and so on). Where available, Reach pre-fills values from the contact’s CRM data — the field shows the auto-filled value alongside any fallback text you can override.
Footer variable. If the template footer contains a placeholder, input fields appear for those too.
Call-to-action buttons. For templates with dynamic URL buttons, a URL suffix field lets you customize the link. For copy-code buttons, a field lets you enter the specific code to copy.
Conversation behavior. A toggle at the bottom controls how this message threads in Intercom. The label changes based on context: Start new conversation in Intercom when checked (and no synced conversation exists), Send without conversation in Intercom when unchecked, or Add to conversation #[ID] in Intercom when a synced conversation is already linked to this contact.
Fill in every required field. Reach validates as you type and shows inline errors if a value is missing or invalid.
Click Review & send when the configuration is complete. The button reads Validating… briefly while Reach checks the payload.
Step 4: Review and send
Reach navigates to the Review message screen, which shows a final preview of the message along with its metadata:
Message preview — A WhatsApp-style preview with the media header, body text, footer, category label (Octopods · MARKETING, for example), and any call-to-action buttons shown at the bottom.
Details card — A small table listing To (the phone number, with the contact name in parentheses if available), Template (the internal template name), Category, and Channel (the channel ID prefixed with
#).Conversation setting — A read-only toggle confirming the conversation behavior you set on the configure screen.
Validation warnings — Dismissible warning banners at the top if Reach spotted anything unusual. Close each one individually after reviewing it.
Review the preview carefully.
Click Send via WhatsApp to submit the message. While sending, the button reads Sending….
To change something, click Edit to return to the configure screen.
If the send fails
If WhatsApp or the channel rejects the message, Reach replaces the preview with the Message not sent screen:
A red error icon and the heading Message not sent.
A short description of what happened.
An error panel with a title, description, and a What you can do section listing the suggested recovery step.
Three action buttons — Try resend again (retries the exact message), Try again (returns to the configuration screen to edit), and Back to Home.
What happens after the message is sent
Reach navigates to the Message sent screen and begins tracking delivery in real time. See Tracking Message Delivery for what the delivery timeline shows and how to follow up on a failed message.
What’s next