# WhatsApp: Free service conversations

Whenever a WhatsApp user messages your business, a 24-hour timer called a [customer service window](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/cloud-api/guides/send-messages#customer-service-windows) starts (or refreshes if one has already been started). When a free-form message is delivered by the business in response, with no open conversation of any other [category](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing#conversation-categories) open between your business and that user, a [service conversation](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing#service-conversations) is opened.

**Starting November 1, 2024, all service conversations are completely free for all businesses.**

Previously, each WhatsApp Business Account received 1,000 free service conversations per month and paid Meta a fee for each additional conversation, but this threshold has now been removed.

Business benefits:

* Reduction in costs for existing customer journeys​.
* Improved ROI for IVR and call center deflection​ use cases.
* An increase in the number of service-related use cases.