Fallbacks & Template Routes

The picker step (Step 3 — Pick a Flow or Pick a Template) has a small but important second half:

• Flow mode lets you attach a list of WhatsApp template fallbacks for contacts the flow can't reach.
• Template mode lets you configure one or more template routes so a single broadcast can cover several WhatsApp numbers.

Both exist because of WhatsApp's 24-hour customer-service window — Meta rejects freeform messages to contacts whose window is closed, and a one-size-fits-all primary doesn't always cover every contact.

WhatsApp Window — The Underlying Rule

Templates are window-safe by definition: they always go through, regardless of the window. Freeform text, media, and AI-generated cards are not.

Flow Mode — Template Fallbacks

When you pick a flow, you can optionally attach a list of WhatsApp template fallbacks. Each fallback is a (template, integration) pair.

At dispatch time, for each contact:

1. The dispatcher checks whether the flow can reach the contact through its primary channel.
2. If it can't (typically because the contact's WhatsApp window is closed and the flow's first card isn't a template), the dispatcher looks at the configured fallback list.
3. It picks the fallback whose integration matches the contact's WhatsApp chat and sends that template instead.
4. The per-contact history row is marked as having used the fallback.

If you don't configure any fallbacks, contacts the flow can't reach are recorded as skipped — no fallback fires. So if your audience contains WhatsApp contacts and your flow's first card is freeform, you almost certainly want at least one fallback.

Per-contact decision

Why a list of fallbacks?

If you have several WhatsApp numbers, a single fallback template won't work — templates exist per integration. By configuring a list of fallbacks, you can cover EU, US, and APAC WA numbers in one broadcast. The dispatcher picks the fallback whose integration matches each contact's chat.

If a contact's WA chat is on an integration not covered by any of your fallbacks, no fallback fires — the contact is skipped.

Template Mode — Template Routes

In template mode, you supply one or more template routes. Each route is a (template, integration) pair, the same shape as a flow-mode fallback — but routes are the primary delivery path for template mode, not a fallback.

At dispatch time, for each contact, the system picks the route whose integration matches the contact's chat and sends that template.

Multi-region patterns

A single broadcast with multiple routes can cover several WhatsApp numbers without splitting into separate broadcasts:

• One route per region (EU template + EU number, US template + US number, APAC template + APAC number).
• One route per language (English template + English-only number, Spanish template + Spanish-only number).
• One route per use-case (transactional number for receipts, marketing number for promos — still in one broadcast if the audience spans both).

Each contact receives at most one template — the one routed to their chat's integration.

Why no flow-style fallback for template mode

Templates are already window-safe. There's nothing to fall back from — if a route matches, the template lands; if no route matches, the contact is skipped. The wizard hides any fallback-list field on template mode and the API rejects fallback config to prevent dead config.

Provider Breakdown

The Review step shows a per-provider count derived from your audience and (for template mode) your route integrations:

≈ 845 Telegram · 312 WhatsApp · 78 Instagram · 16 Viber

Use this for compliance ("this audience reaches 312 EU WhatsApp contacts under our DPA") and cost sanity-checks (template fees, Viber out-of-session pricing). It's recomputed any time you change Steps 1, 2, or 3.

Common Patterns

Conversational marketing flow with a safety net

• Step 2: Flow.
• Step 3: Pick the flow (starts with a text card asking a question). Add one fallback template per WhatsApp integration in your audience — the fallback announces the same campaign in template form.
• Result: in-window contacts get the conversational experience; out-of-window WA contacts get the announcement. Telegram contacts always get the flow.

Multi-region template announcement

• Step 2: Template.
• Step 3: Add one route per region: (template_es, WA_Spain), (template_pt, WA_Portugal), (template_en, WA_UK).
• Result: each contact receives the template for their region's WA number. Contacts whose most-recent chat isn't on any of these numbers are skipped.

One-channel-only flow

• Step 2: Flow.
• Step 3: Pick the flow. No fallbacks.
• Result: contacts the flow can reach get it; contacts it can't (closed-window WA) are skipped. Use this when you don't want to send anything to those contacts at all.

What Routing Doesn't Cover

• Flow-to-flow window routing. If you want a different flow (not just a fallback template) to run when the WA window is closed, that's not in v1. Use a flow-mode broadcast with template fallbacks instead.
• Cross-channel preference. If a contact has both Telegram and WhatsApp, you can't say "prefer Telegram for this broadcast" — the dispatcher uses the contact's most-recent chat.
• SMS / email channels. Broadcasts dispatch through whatever messaging integrations you've connected — Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram, Viber. SMS and email are not first-class channels for broadcasts at this time.