Setting up your WhatsApp Business catalog is essential to turn conversations into direct sales. The catalog works as a virtual storefront on the business profile, where customers browse items and prices and add products to a cart without leaving the app.
To avoid rejections, each item has to follow Meta’s commerce policies. This guide walks through how to build the product list, get items approved, and make daily customer service easier.
Key Takeaways
- Each catalog item can have up to 10 images or videos, plus a price, description, and product code.
- Every product is reviewed against Meta’s policies before customers can see it.
- On the official API, the catalog supports interactive multi-product messages and integration with AI agents.
- The WhatsApp cart accepts up to 99 units of each item and does not expire.
What Is the WhatsApp Business Catalog and How Does It Work?
Understanding how the WhatsApp Business catalog is structured is the first step to putting a company’s products online inside the chat. The feature turns the business profile into a direct sales channel, so customers can explore the portfolio without leaving the messaging app.
The Basic Structure of the Catalog in the App
The catalog is a virtual storefront inside the business profile, available right from the chat screen. According to the WhatsApp Help Center, each item requires a name and a country of origin, and it can also include a price, sale price, description, website link, and product or service code. Each item accepts up to 10 images or videos, and the size limit for a video is 50 MB.
Products and services only appear after the platform approves them. All content is reviewed for compliance with the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy. Items that are pending review or rejected stay hidden from customers, and rejected items show a red exclamation icon.
The App vs. the Official API
In the standard app, inventory is managed by hand and updated from the phone. On the official API, the catalog is an inventory managed in Meta Commerce Manager and connected to the WhatsApp Business Account (WABA). According to the official documentation, only one catalog is allowed per WABA, although that catalog can serve multiple phone numbers linked to the business.
This deeper integration enables automation at scale and round-the-clock service. With an AI agent for e-commerce, the business can send interactive messages with a single product, multiple items organized in sections, or dynamic carousels. These commerce messages do not require template approval, as long as they are sent within active conversations.
The Role of the Cart in the Customer Journey
The cart brings multiple items together in a single order, which keeps the customer’s buying intent organized. According to Meta’s guidelines, customers can add up to 99 units of the same product, and there is no limit on the number of different items in the cart.
This speeds up closing sales right in the chat and reduces friction in the buying journey. The cart has no expiration date, but once it is sent to the business it cannot be edited. The cart is for customers only: business accounts cannot send pre-filled carts to contacts.
How to Create a WhatsApp Business Catalog in the App
Creating a WhatsApp Business catalog means filling in specific information inside the app. The process organizes your offer, so customers can see the items clearly and decide to buy right from the chat.
Open the Catalog and Add Your First Item
To start, go to the Tools tab, tap Catalog, and then tap Add new item. This is where the virtual storefront begins, letting the business show its products or services clearly from the first contact.
When adding an item, according to the WhatsApp Help Center, the product or service name and the Country of origin are required. This structure matters even for businesses that plan to scale and connect service to advanced systems such as the official WhatsApp Business API, where the inventory connects to professional automation tools.
Add Images, Videos, and Extra Details
Visual appeal helps turn browsers into buyers, so the app lets you enrich each item with media. Tap Add photos and videos to upload up to 10 images or videos per item; videos have a 50 MB size limit. That is enough to show how a product is used, different angles, and what sets it apart.
Beyond media, you can optionally add a price, sale price, description, website link, and product or service code. Detailed descriptions and organized links also help build knowledge base files such as llms.txt that guide automated AI answers. That way, when the business decides how to create AI agents for WhatsApp, the system has accurate data to answer questions and qualify leads.
Organize Products Into Collections
As the catalog grows, collections group similar items and make browsing easier. Specific categories, such as new arrivals, promotions, or seasonal services, help customers find what they want quickly without scrolling through a long, mixed list.
Collections are also reviewed by WhatsApp to confirm they comply with its commerce policy. According to the WhatsApp Help Center, this review should take no more than 24 hours. Once approved, the collections become visible to customers and give the shopping experience a professional, intuitive structure.
The Commerce Policy and Item Approval
Whether products appear in the WhatsApp Business catalog depends on compliance with Meta’s rules. Items that break them are blocked, so businesses need to know the guidelines to avoid gaps in the storefront and in sales.
How Meta’s Review Works
Catalog images, videos, products, and services are reviewed for compliance with the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy. According to the official documentation, an item is only visible to customers after WhatsApp approves it. This keeps the environment safe and consistent for people who interact with business accounts.
While under review or after a rejection, products stay hidden from the storefront. Understanding these visibility rules is essential for scaling service professionally, especially while tracking what changed in the WhatsApp Business API in 2026, since policy updates directly affect operations and catalog approval.
Prohibited and Restricted Items
The Messaging Policy states that catalogs and other commerce experiences must follow Meta’s Commerce Policy. The guidelines expressly prohibit selling firearms, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and medical or healthcare products. Trying to list these products leads to the item being rejected.
Beyond healthcare items and controlled substances, the restrictions cover specific categories of services and digital goods. Products Meta does not allow in the catalog include:
- Live animals, except livestock;
- Real, virtual, or fake currency;
- Human body parts or fluids;
- Real-money gambling;
- Adult products and services, dating services, and multilevel marketing schemes.
Request Another Review for Rejected Products
When a product fails review, it shows a red exclamation icon in the app. This visual marker makes pending issues easy to spot, so the team can fix the item’s description, image, or link.
If an allowed product is blocked by mistake, the business can appeal. Tap the rejected item, tap Request another review, enter your reason, and tap Continue. For larger operations connected to the official API, rejected items are managed directly in Meta Commerce Manager, which centralizes inventory control.
How to Set Up the Catalog on Meta’s Official API
Connecting the WhatsApp Business catalog through the official API supports sturdier operations for businesses with a high volume of conversations. The process links the brand’s inventory directly to the support number and lays the groundwork for AI agents to qualify leads and drive sales without constant human involvement.
Connect Your Inventory Through Meta Commerce Manager
The first step is to structure product data outside the messaging app. On the official API, inventory is sent to Meta through the Commerce API or directly in Meta Commerce Manager. This creates a single source of data for the company’s whole ecosystem.
Central management makes bulk updates to prices, descriptions, and stock easier. Instead of editing item by item on the phone, the operations team or the ERP system syncs the information automatically. That keeps availability messages, even those sent as an automated WhatsApp Business message, in line with the real stock of the online or physical store.
Link the Catalog to the WhatsApp Business Account (WABA)
With products loaded in Meta’s manager, the next step links that data to the messaging setup. Only one catalog is allowed per WABA (WhatsApp Business Account). This keeps the operation under a single business identity and centralizes approvals and compliance history with Meta’s commerce policies.
Despite the limit per account, the same catalog can be used by several phone numbers connected to the same WABA. A franchise network, for example, can share the same storefront across each location’s local number. This flexibility is one of the advantages of running WhatsApp Business on a platform such as ConverZAP, a Tech Provider verified by Meta.
Turn On Storefront and Cart Visibility
The final step defines how customers interact with products in the chat. On the official API, the cart and catalog visibility are turned on or off for each phone number. A business can keep the storefront visible on its sales number and hide it on a number dedicated to technical or billing support.
Adjust these settings after the integration, because the initial configuration follows Meta’s defaults. By default, the cart is already on to receive orders, but the storefront icon is hidden on the number’s profile. The technical team has to send a configuration request for the shop icon to appear next to the business name in customers’ apps.
Product Message Formats on the API
The official API offers interactive formats for showing products during a conversation. These messages make choosing easier without leaving the chat and bring the WhatsApp Business catalog into the user experience.
Single-Product Messages and Carousels
A single-product message highlights one item with full details, which is ideal for direct questions about a product. The business can send specs, price, and images straight to the customer’s screen, making it easier to sell on WhatsApp in a more visual, direct way.
A carousel lets customers swipe between product options, creating an interactive horizontal storefront inside the conversation. According to Meta, these formats make it easier to share inventory through the API and help customers compare options quickly before adding items to the cart.
Multi-Product Messages
When a customer wants to explore a whole category, the business can send a multi-product message with items organized clearly. This format groups up to 30 products into sections, making it easy to browse product lines or complementary services, such as service packages at a beauty salon.
Showing an entire category in one message cuts the number of separate sends and streamlines service. With the right structure, the ConverZAP AI agent can show exactly what the customer is looking for, improving the chance of conversion while keeping the conversation flowing without cluttering the screen.
Rules for Sending Within Active Conversations
Interactive product messages do not require a template or prior approval from Meta, which makes daily operations faster. However, they can only be sent within existing, customer-initiated conversations. They do not work as mass notifications or outbound campaigns. Following this rule is essential to keep the number healthy and avoid impact on your WhatsApp API messaging limits.
Because these messages happen in service conversations, they fall within the user-initiated 24-hour window. To budget for service conversations that include products, businesses can use the WhatsApp API cost calculator and estimate what it takes to scale automated sales.
How the WhatsApp Cart Works
The cart centralizes orders on WhatsApp and turns conversations into structured transactions. Knowing its limits helps improve the sales experience, especially when the WhatsApp Business catalog is connected to automated service.
Unit and Item Limits in the Cart
Customers can build complex orders right in the messaging app. According to Meta, a customer can add up to 99 units of each item to the cart. That covers both regular retail and larger orders from repeat customers.
Beyond the per-item limit, there is flexibility in variety: there is no cap on the number of different items in an order. This supports cross-selling, common in WhatsApp for e-commerce, and lets customers explore different products in a single conversation.
No Edits After the Cart Is Sent
While browsing, the customer has full control over the selection. The cart does not expire, so the customer can close the app and come back later without losing progress. That means businesses should watch for stalled purchase intent and use tactics to recover abandoned carts on WhatsApp.
The flow changes once the customer finishes. After the cart is sent to the business, the customer cannot edit the order. Any change in quantity or removal of a product requires a new cart or a manual adjustment by the agent or by an AI agent connected to Meta’s official API.
Managing Incoming Orders
The buying process has clear rules about who builds the order. The business cannot send pre-filled carts to the customer; only the customer selects items and submits the final list. The brand’s role is to guide the journey by sending product messages or carousels that lead to conversion.
When the customer confirms the purchase, the data structure makes automation easier. The order arrives as a structured message, ready to be processed by the sales system, CRM, or service platform. With ConverZAP, a Tech Provider verified by Meta, an AI agent can read that structure immediately, confirm amounts, and move the conversation forward 24 hours a day.
Connecting the Catalog to AI Agents
Automated service boosts WhatsApp Business catalog sales. ConverZAP AI agents use the knowledge base to guide customers efficiently through the purchase, linking the product inventory to smart answers.
How AI Answers Product Questions
The AI agent understands natural language and answers questions about item specs. Instead of fixed menus, AI agents read the real context of each question and clarify details, sizes, or variations of the products sent in the conversation.
The AI relies on the company’s real documents to keep the context. When the business uploads PDF, Word, Excel, or JSON files to ConverZAP, the system absorbs the technical information. That lets the virtual assistant give accurate storefront information without depending on human agents all the time.
Lead Qualification Based on Catalog Interest
The system detects customer interest and qualifies the lead automatically from product interactions. When someone asks about specific items, the agent collects key data and updates the funnel, strengthening the integration between WhatsApp and the CRM for structured sales follow-up.
Using Meta’s official API reduces the risk of blocks during qualification. Unlike unofficial automations, the API helps the business stay compliant with the platform’s messaging policies, keeping the number stable while the AI handles simultaneous conversations.
24/7 Support for Closing Sales
ConverZAP, a Tech Provider verified by Meta, enables round-the-clock service. Businesses that use the catalog can answer customers late at night or on weekends, cutting wait times and improving the chances of closing orders outside regular business hours.
The shared inbox lets human agents take over complex conversations the AI started. The system brings contacts for multiple agents into the same number and shows the full history, so the sales team picks up the negotiation exactly where the AI left off.
Common Questions About the WhatsApp Business Catalog
Technical questions are common when building a digital storefront. Clear answers help keep the tool working, avoid interruptions in sales, and streamline service.
Why is my product under review or hidden?
WhatsApp reviews every new item to keep it in line with the platform’s rules. Images, videos, and text are checked before they become available to customers. During that process, the item stays under review and does not appear in the public storefront.
Rejected items also stay hidden and show a red exclamation icon. If an item was wrongly rejected, according to the WhatsApp Help Center, the business can tap the product, choose Request another review, and enter the reason.
Can I use the same catalog on several numbers?
Yes. On the official API, a single inventory linked to the WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) can be shared across the company’s phone numbers. According to Meta, only one catalog is allowed per WABA, but it serves every number registered under it.
This centralizes stock and price management in larger operations and avoids repeated manual entry. Branches or departments use the same product base while the ConverZAP AI agent serves and qualifies customers at the same time.
How does coexistence affect the catalog?
When the number is connected to ConverZAP through coexistence, it keeps working normally in the WhatsApp Business app. Catalog management on the phone stays active while the AI works in parallel through Meta’s official API.
The team follows conversations in the platform’s inbox, where replies sent from the phone show the label “Sent from phone”. This reduces the operational impact of the transition and keeps the conversation history organized for every agent.
Frequently Asked Questions
In most regions, the WhatsApp Business app does not process payments directly, so the business sends external payment links or uses local methods such as bank transfers or Pix in Brazil. On the official API, approved payment gateways can be integrated to complete the transaction automatically within the conversation.
Yes. Both the app and Meta Commerce Manager let you add extra attributes to products. To manage complex inventory with many variations and separate SKUs, however, connecting an external e-commerce system through the official API is the recommended option.
Yes. Catalog management tools let you set a sale price next to the original price, which appears crossed out. This helps highlight offers and encourages quick conversions during WhatsApp conversations.
Meta recommends square images with a minimum resolution of 500×500 pixels in standard formats such as JPG or PNG. Very heavy files or images outside the required proportions may load slowly or fail the automatic approval process.
Yes. Both the app and Meta’s manager let you hide a specific item manually. The product no longer appears to customers in the storefront but stays saved in your inventory until stock is replenished. In the app, this option may not be available to every account yet.
Conclusion
Mastering the WhatsApp Business catalog changes how a business presents products and engages its audience. Clear offers connected to an automated operation reduce friction in the buying journey and speed up closing deals. To scale and keep service fast around the clock, the next step is to connect the operation to AI agents for WhatsApp that qualify leads and sell based on your own documents.
ConverZAP, a Tech Provider verified by Meta, runs on the official WhatsApp API with an AI sales agent for WhatsApp that qualifies leads and a team inbox for your sales team. You can start a free trial and see the pricing page for what each plan includes.
