WhatsApp Ads Trigger

The WhatsApp Ads Trigger in Manychat automatically starts a conversation on WhatsApp when someone interacts with your Meta ads. By sending users from an ad directly into a WhatsApp conversation, you can qualify leads automatically, answer questions, and guide them through a sales funnel — all without manual effort.

Setting up the WhatsApp Ads Trigger involves three stages: creating the automation in Manychat, setting up the ad campaign in Meta Ads Manager, and connecting the trigger to your ad. This article walks you through each stage.

Create the automation in Manychat

1. Open your Manychat account.
2. Select Automation in the sidebar.
3. Click + New Automation.
4. Click + Start From Scratch and select Start from a blank canvas.
5. When the Flow Builder opens, click + New Trigger to add the trigger.
6. In the pop-up that opens, switch to the WhatsApp tab and select User clicks a CTWA Ad (Click-to-WhatsApp Ad).
7. Click Save to add the trigger to your automation.
8. Next, add what happens after the user clicks the ad: for example, add a Send Message node to your automation:
   • Click on WhatsApp under Choose the next step.
   • In the panel that opens, compose the initial message your contacts will see when they click your ad. Add a single block of text or media and include at least one Button or Quick Reply.
   • Make sure that the Send within 24-hour window option is selected. Since the user has already opted in to receive messages from you, you must communicate with them within the allowed 24-hour period.
9. To see how it works, you can click the Preview button at the top of the Flow Builder. 
10. You can choose to preview the automation either in Manychat or directly on WhatsApp. 
11. The second option lets you see everything exactly as your audience will experience it. Click the arrow icon next to the Preview to select the preview mode. 
12. Once you’ve finished setting up the automation, click the Set Live button if you’re creating a new automation or Update if you’re making changes to the existing one.

Set up the ad in Meta Ads Manager

After completing the steps above, navigate to Meta Ads Manager to create your ad campaign.

1. In the Meta Ads Manager, click Create to start creating a new Ad campaign.
2. Choose the ad type and the campaign objective. The WhatsApp Ads Trigger is only available for Traffic, Engagement, Leads, and Sales campaigns.
3. Click Continue.
4. Select Manual setup to fully customize the campaign.
5. On the Campaign screen, you can configure the following settings:
   • Campaign name: Enter a descriptive name to identify this campaign later.
   • Budget type: Choose between Campaign budget (Meta distributes spend automatically) or Ad set budget (manual control per ad set). 
   • Budget schedule: If you select Campaign budget, choose Daily budget or Lifetime budget, and enter the amount. 
   • A/B test: Toggle on to compare ad variations after publishing. 
   • Special Ad Category: Select if your ad relates to housing, employment, financial products, social issues, elections, or politics. Leave unselected if none apply. 
6. When you're done, click Next.
7. Next, make sure the Conversion location is set to Message destinations.
8. Select WhatsApp, then choose the number linked to your Manychat account.
9. Once you’ve set up everything on this page, click Next.
10. Next, in the Ad Creative section, verify that the Identity section shows the correct profiles for your business, including the right WhatsApp phone number.
11. Once you’re all set with your ad, locate the Message template section. Here you can create or select the template for the first message users will see when they start a conversation. For example: "Hello! How can we assist you today?"
12. Make sure the Start the conversation option is selected.

Connect the trigger and publish

Before publishing the ad, return to Manychat to connect the trigger to your draft ad campaign.

1. Open the automation you created in Manychat.
2. Click the User clicks a CTWA Ad trigger node.
3. Connect the trigger to your ad. You can do so in two ways:
   • Using an Ad Account — Select this option if the Facebook account connected to Manychat has access to the ad account. Choose the ad account name and ad from the dropdown.  It may take up to 30 seconds for your ad to appear on Manychat.
   • Using an ad ID — Select this option if you'd like to connect the ad using its ID. Copy the ad ID from Meta Ads Manager and paste it into the corresponding field in Manychat. To find the ad ID, go back to the Ad level in Meta Ads Manager. On the final setup screen (where the Publish button appears), click the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner and select Copy Ad ID.
4. Click Save.
5. Click Set Live or Update to publish the automation.
6. Return to Meta Ads Manager and publish your ad campaign. You can use the Ad Preview button at the Ad level in Meta Ads Manager to preview the user experience before publishing the ad.

Once the ad is live, contacts who click it are redirected to WhatsApp with a pre-filled message. To start the automation, they must send the message.

⚠️ You can update the automation at any time while the ad is live — no need to pause the ad or disable the trigger.