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Guide · Research · For the owner who only sends promotions

One WhatsApp thread for promotions, order updates, login codes and support: what Meta and BCG's 2026 research found

Many businesses start on WhatsApp with promotions. A 2026 study by Meta and Boston Consulting Group suggests the businesses getting the most from messaging went further, putting order updates, login codes and support in the same thread. Here is what Meta's blog reports from it, and what it does not say.

Published 6 October 2026

What the research is

The study, “Leading in the Age of Messaging”, surveyed 533 business leaders across 10 markets. Meta's WhatsApp Business blog summarised its findings for United States enterprises on 3 August 2026. The figures below are what those businesses reported in the survey. They describe large companies, the post does not list the ten markets, and it gives no figures for small businesses, so they are a direction to weigh, not a forecast.

What the businesses ahead reported

Across the whole journey
Enterprises using messaging from first contact to after-sales reported up to twice the improvement in customer lifetime value and in the cost of winning a customer, compared with those running one use on its own.
Login and verification codes
A 25 to 30 percent increase in how often verification succeeded, for enterprises sending codes by message.
Support in the chat
A 15 to 20 percent improvement in customer satisfaction and in how likely customers were to recommend the business.
Order and delivery updates
Engagement rates 20 to 25 percent higher for enterprises sending fulfilment and transaction updates by message.
AI already in the chat
92 percent of the United States enterprises surveyed already use AI in direct messaging with customers.

Why one thread

The post's explanation is about trust. When the same thread carries the messages customers value most, such as an order update, a login code or a quick answer, customers learn to expect important information there, and engagement with later messages, marketing included, can grow. Each message reinforces the next. James Detmer, a Director of Product Management at Meta, puts it this way: “It's not about being the only channel. It's about giving customers a high-trust space where the most important interactions can happen in a single continuous thread, without losing context.”

Adding the missing pieces

  1. Order and delivery updates. Sent as utility messages, covered in the template categories guide.
  2. Login and verification codes. Covered in the one-time passcode guide.
  3. Support, by people or AI. What Meta says an AI agent may settle alone is in the support line guide.
  4. Permission first. Every message outside a customer's own enquiry needs their agreement, as the opt-in guide explains.

Questions

Does sending order updates on WhatsApp help our marketing?

Meta's summary of its 2026 study with Boston Consulting Group says that when customers learn to expect important information in the thread, engagement with later messages, marketing included, can grow. Enterprises sending order updates reported engagement rates 20 to 25 percent higher.

How many businesses already use AI in customer messaging?

In the same study, 92 percent of the United States enterprises surveyed said they already use AI in direct customer messaging.

Do these figures apply to a small business in the UAE?

Not directly. The study surveyed 533 leaders of large businesses across 10 markets, the summary reports United States findings, and it neither lists the markets nor gives small-business figures. Treat the figures as a direction, not a forecast.

Sources

More plain-language notes like this one are on the guides page.

Want every customer message in one place?

We set up a business's WhatsApp number on a system its team runs, so order updates, codes, support and offers all go out from one number, in one thread the business owns. A short call is the easiest way to see how that would work for you.

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