> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://guides.clickatell.com/flow/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://guides.clickatell.com/flow/channel-capabilities/use-whatsapp-with-chat-flow/initiate-whatsapp-conversations.md).

# Initiate WhatsApp conversations

You can use Chat Flow to initiate a WhatsApp conversation with your customers. 

This opens up many possibilities to contact your customers on WhatsApp without having to wait for them to reach out first (e.g., sending reminders, shipping updates, marketing messages, promotions, etc.).

When initiating a conversation with customers via WhatsApp, you must use a [WhatsApp message template](https://guides.clickatell.com/whatsapp-channel/channel-capabilities/whatsapp-message-templates). Chat Flow makes use of a dynamic API flow that gets triggered by an incoming payload. This sends out a pre-approved WhatsApp message template to the specified numbers.

{% hint style="info" %}
Learn how to send WhatsApp message templates via Chat Flow [here](/flow/channel-capabilities/use-whatsapp-with-chat-flow/send-whatsapp-message-templates.md). 
{% endhint %}