Overview

WhatsApp A/B and Split campaigns let you test up to five message variants in a single campaign. Each variant uses a different pre-approved WhatsApp template. You compare the results and send the best performer to the rest of your audience.

WhatsApp bills per message. Testing on a small group first helps you choose the best template before sending it to everyone.

A/B and Split campaigns share the same setup. They differ in what happens after the first send.

Campaign Types

Use Cases

Promotional Campaign Optimization

A retail marketer plans a Diwali sale for 500,000 users. They have three approved templates: one with a product carousel, one with a hero banner and a CTA, and one with a text-only offer. They create an A/B campaign and send each variant to 10% of the audience. They choose Click as the winning criteria and set a 2-hour test window. Netcore sends the winning template to the remaining 70%.

Re-engagement Template Testing

A fintech company has two templates for dormant users. One highlights a limited-time cashback offer. The other highlights new features. The marketer creates a Split campaign with a 50-50 distribution. They compare long-term conversions for each message.

CTA Button Optimization

An e-commerce brand wants to know whether a Shop Now quick reply button or a View Offers CTA button drives more clicks. They run an A/B campaign with Click as the winning criteria.

Media Attachment Testing

A travel brand tests one template with a video and another with a static image. They run an A/B campaign to find the media format that drives more engagement for holiday packages.

Tone Testing for Timed Offers

A food delivery app wants to promote a lunch offer between 11 AM and 1 PM. They test a playful template against a direct discount template. They pick the one that earns more clicks.

Prerequisites

Check the following before you create an A/B or Split WhatsApp campaign.

• Feature access: Netcore turns this feature off by default. Contact your Netcore Customer Success Manager or Support to enable it for your account.
• UCE-enabled panel: The A/B and Split options appear only on panels where the Unified Content Editor (UCE) is enabled.
• WhatsApp templates: Create at least two templates. Use templates from the Marketing category. Utility and Authentication templates are not suited for variant testing.
• Conversion goal: Configure a conversion goal if you want to use Conversion as the winning criteria.
• Audience size: Plan for at least 100 contacts in every variant. Smaller groups do not give reliable results.

Create an A/B or Split WhatsApp Campaign

Campaign creation follows four steps: Setup, Audience, Content, and Schedule. You then review the campaign on the Preview page and publish it.

1. Go to Campaigns > Create > WhatsApp. A side drawer opens with the tabs Regular, A/B, and Split.
2. Select A/B or Split. Each tab shows a short description of the campaign type.
3. In Setup, enter the campaign name and the other details. This step works the same as in a Regular WhatsApp campaign. An A/B or Split tag appears in the campaign name header while you create the campaign.
4. In Audience, select your lists or segments. This step also works the same as in a Regular campaign.
5. In Content, configure the variants. The Content section below explains each setting.
6. In Schedule, choose when to send the campaign.
7. On the Preview page, review the campaign and publish it.

Content

The left panel holds the variant and test settings. The right panel holds the template picker.

Winning Criteria (A/B Campaign only)

Select the metric that decides the winner.

• Hover over the dropdown to see the tooltip: "Winner will be chosen based on the selected criteria."
• Conversion is available only if you configure a conversion goal. Without a goal, the dropdown shows an error.
• Netcore tracks Read receipts for reporting. You cannot use Read as the winning criteria.
• The Winning Criteria dropdown does not appear for Split campaigns.

Variants

A campaign needs at least 2 variants. You can add up to 5. Netcore labels them Variant A, B, C, D, and E.

When you delete a variant in the middle, the later variants shift up and Netcore relabels them. For example, if you delete Variant B from A, B, C, and D, the remaining variants become A, B, and C. You do not lose any data.

Template Selection

Select a WhatsApp template for each variant. Every variant needs a template before you can move to the next step.

• Netcore resolves dynamic variables, such as {{1}} or {{name}}, for each user at send time. This works the same as in Regular WhatsApp campaigns.
• WhatsApp templates look the same on every device. The preview has no Android or iOS toggle.
• If you click Next Step and a variant has no template, Netcore shows the error: "Please select a template for Variant [X] to proceed."

Audience Distribution

The distribution slider controls how Netcore divides your audience. Each variant needs at least 10% of the audience. The percentages must add up to 100%. The slider and the text boxes stay in sync. When you move the slider, the text boxes update. When you type a value, the slider moves.

A/B Campaign

The slider shows a Winner group. This group receives the winning template after the test window ends. The winner group also needs at least 10%. The slider shows the winner percentage as a grey section.

Netcore sets a default distribution based on the number of variants.

Split Campaign

The slider has no Winner group. Netcore divides the audience equally by default. You can adjust the values.

Netcore shows these errors when a value is not valid.

Test Window (A/B Campaign only)

The test window sets how long Netcore runs the test before it declares a winner.

• Default: 2 hours.
• Unit: Hours or Days.
• Range: 1 to 23 hours, or 1 to 30 days.
• A note on the page explains that Netcore declares the winner after the test window ends. If two variants tie, Netcore picks the winner at random.
• The test window must end before the campaign end time. If it does not, Netcore shows the error: "Test window duration exceeds campaign end time. Please adjust."
• The Test Window setting does not appear for Split campaigns.

Schedule

The Schedule step offers the same options as a Regular WhatsApp campaign. You can send the campaign immediately or schedule it for later.

Preview

The Preview page shows a summary of your campaign before you publish it.

• Toggle between variants to check each one.
• For each variant, the page shows the selected template name.
• For A/B campaigns, the page also shows the Winning Criteria and the Test Window duration.
• For Split campaigns, the page shows only the variant distribution.
• Click Send test to send a test message. The test modal works the same as in a Regular WhatsApp campaign.

Review all details carefully. After you publish, the changes you can make depend on the campaign state. The Editing a Campaign section explains the rules.

Campaign Listing Page

The campaign listing page shows your A/B and Split campaigns with extra details.

Identify A/B and Split Campaigns

A Campaign Type tag appears in the campaign header. The tag reads Regular, A/B, or Split. Hover over a campaign to see the campaign type in the tooltip.

View Variants

Click the downward arrow next to a campaign to expand it. The page shows each variant with its own details.

The first variant (Variant A) shares the Campaign ID of the parent campaign. The other variants get consecutive IDs.

Winner Indicator

After the test window ends and Netcore declares a winner, a crown icon appears beside the winning variant.

Campaign Status

The parent campaign status depends on the status of its variants.

Filter Campaigns

1. Select the WhatsApp channel on the listing page.
2. Open the Broadcast Type filter.
3. Select Regular campaign, A/B campaign, or Split campaign.

Editing a Campaign

What you can edit depends on the campaign state.

Duplicating a Campaign

You can duplicate an A/B or Split campaign. The copy keeps your setup.

• Netcore copies all variants and their template assignments.
• Netcore keeps the distribution percentages, the winning criteria, and the test window.
• Netcore does not apply your admin defaults again. The copy uses the settings of the source campaign.

Reporting

A/B and Split campaigns report each variant separately. All variants share the same campaign name. Each variant has its own Campaign ID.

Summary Report

The CSV download adds two columns.

The CSV has one row for each variant (A to E). Each row shows these metrics:

• Sent
• Delivered
• Read
• Clicked
• Conversions
• Revenue
• Failed, with a breakdown by reason: BSP error, template rejection, invalid number, and rate-limited

Detailed Report

• The Campaign details dropdown includes two extra fields: Campaign Type and Message Type.
• If you select these fields, they appear as columns in the CSV download.
• The CSV also includes a Variant Group column. It shows Variant A, B, C, D, or E.

Winner Declaration Logic (A/B Campaigns)

How It Works

1. The test window ends.
2. Netcore calculates the winning criteria metric (Click or Conversion) for each variant.
3. Netcore selects the variant with the highest value as the winner. It completes this step within 5 minutes of the test window end.
4. Netcore sends the winning template to the remaining audience in the Winner group.
5. The winning variant stays in the Running state. The other variants move to Completed.
6. The campaign stays in the Running state until both the campaign duration and the test window end. It then moves to Sent.

Tie-Breaker

If two or more variants have the same highest value, Netcore picks one of them at random. Netcore logs every tie for audit.

Pause and Resume

If you pause the campaign during the test window, the test window clock pauses too. When you resume, the clock continues from where it stopped. Netcore keeps the elapsed time.

Audience Behaviour for Split Campaigns

• Netcore divides your audience across the variants for the full campaign.
• Each user receives only one variant. This holds for A/B and Split campaigns.
• Netcore does not declare a winner. The crown icon does not appear.
• All variants keep running until the campaign ends.
• Use the variant-level reports to compare how each template performs over time.

Good to Know