# Message Templates & Session Messages

Unlike regular WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business offers a bunch of features that help you make your business more efficient. Including enabling message templates. In a way, message templates will give you an edge over session messages if you use them properly. But either way, you should not what both of them have to offer. Here’s what -

### Session Message <a href="#i87rnvb5265q" id="i87rnvb5265q"></a>

The messages you send to customers when they contact you and you want to respond are session messages. The WhatsApp Business channel becomes available for a 24-hour period during which you are allowed to communicate with the customer without being limited to the usage of pre-approved template messages. The session window updates and is reset for another 24 hours each time a consumer responds.

### Message Template <a href="#bzvgw2cedirt" id="bzvgw2cedirt"></a>

If you want to reach out to customers who are yet to contact you, then the message template is the way to go. The 24-hour window begins as indicated above after the customer reacts to your Message Template, and all messages you send during that time are Session Messages. Message Templates are pre-approved messages by Facebook that can be sent to customers/users to (re)open a session window.

When it comes to message templates, updates to a reservation, an account, or a different form of alert are typically included in it. Message Templates cannot be sent in bulk, and they can only be sent via API at this time in order to start a conversation.

### Key Differences <a href="#v57bjm95pzxn" id="v57bjm95pzxn"></a>

| Session message                                                                                                                                                                  | Message Templates                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| <ul><li>You want to respond to the dialogue that the customer starts with you.</li><li>Opens a free 24-hour communication window</li><li>There is no approved content.</li></ul> | <ul><li>You need to start a dialogue with the client, or</li><li>You want to speak with a customer again after the 24-hour session time has passed.</li><li>Prior approval is required before use.</li></ul> |


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.myalice.ai/myalice-guide-arabic/myalice-for-whatsapp/overview/message-templates-and-session-messages.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.