Service is one of the message categories on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform, alongside marketing, utility and authentication templates. It covers replies you write freely after a customer has messaged you: answers to questions, order help, support.
Two conditions define it. It is not a template, and it can only be sent while the customer service window is open, which means within 24 hours of the user's last message.
The billing change. Service messages were free from 1 November 2024. Since 1 October 2026 Meta charges from the 1,001st delivered service message per month, per business phone number, and unused free messages do not roll over. An account without a payment method stops delivering them once the free tier is used.
What stays free. Messages from users are never charged. Inside a free entry point window, opened by an eligible click-to-WhatsApp ad, service messages carry no Meta charge. Meta Business Agent messages are billed in tokens instead and do not use the free tier.
Why it matters for brands
Replying inside the window used to be a way to avoid cost. It now scales with support volume, so an automated reply that resolves a question in one message costs less than a bot that needs five. Budget service messages by number, because the 1,000 free messages apply to each number separately.