> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.ciarem.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # WhatsApp forms > What WhatsApp forms are, the three ways a form reaches a customer (AI agent, Inbox, template button), and where the answers end up. A WhatsApp form is a short form that opens **inside the WhatsApp chat**. The customer taps a button on your message, fills in typed fields (text, email, phone, number, date, choices, yes/no, a consent checkbox, or a meeting time), and sends it. WhatsApp checks the format on the phone, so you get a real email address and a real date instead of "next Tuesday". Use a form when you need **several answers in a clean format**: qualifying a lead, collecting contact details, a quote request, consent to your terms, or booking a meeting. For a single question, a normal message or buttons is simpler. Forms work on **WhatsApp only**. ## Turn on WhatsApp forms on a number Each WhatsApp number has a **WhatsApp forms** switch. An admin turns it on in **Channels**, then **WhatsApp**: click the number and open the **WhatsApp forms** tab. Ciarem then registers a security key on that number with Meta, which every form needs. * Numbers you connect now start with forms **on**. * If forms aren't on for a number you use, Ciarem asks wherever you work with forms (Manage forms, the agent's **Forms** step, the Inbox form picker, a template's form button): **WhatsApp forms aren't enabled on +1 … · Enable**. Admins enable it right there; other team members are asked to tell an admin. * **Needs attention** means Meta didn't accept the key or no longer has it. The reason Meta gave is shown next to it; fix that (for example the WhatsApp account's payment method) and turn it on again. * Once on, it can't be turned off: Meta keeps the key, and forms already sent from the number would stop working. ## Three ways to send a form | Who sends it | How | Details | | - | - | - | | **Your AI agent** | A qualifier or appointment agent can build its own form, and any agent can send forms you made | [WhatsApp forms in your AI agents](https://help.ciarem.ai/ai-agent/whatsapp-forms-for-agents.md) | | **Your team, from the Inbox** | The **WhatsApp form** button in the composer | [below](#send-a-form-from-the-inbox) | | **A template** | An **Open a form** button on a message template, also in broadcasts | [Building WhatsApp forms](https://help.ciarem.ai/channels/whatsapp-forms-builder.md#add-a-form-to-a-template) | Forms you build yourself live in **Channels**, then **WhatsApp**, then **Manage forms**. See [Building WhatsApp forms](https://help.ciarem.ai/channels/whatsapp-forms-builder.md). ## Send a form from the Inbox **1. Open the form picker** In a WhatsApp conversation, click the **WhatsApp form** button in the composer. **2. Pick a form and write the message** Choose a published form, check the preview, and write the **Message** that goes with it (for example "Please fill in your details to get your quote"). A header and a footer are optional. **3. Send** Press **Send form**. The customer gets your message with the form's button. From the Inbox you can send the same form again when you need to. Like any free message, it can only go out while the [24-hour window](https://help.ciarem.ai/using-ciarem/inbox.md) is open. When it is closed, use a template with an **Open a form** button instead. The conversation must have a contact, because that is where the answers are saved. ## Where the answers go * **On the contact.** Each field that is set to save to a property writes the answer to the contact as soon as the form is sent, whether the AI or a person is handling the conversation. An empty answer never erases what the contact already had. * **In the conversation.** The submission shows as a card with the form's name, **Form submitted**, how many answers came in and how many were saved to the contact. **View responses** opens every question with its answer; answers saved to the contact are marked **Saved to contact** with the property's name. Photos and documents show as thumbnails and download cards, and the card says if a file couldn't be saved. In the mobile app the submission shows as a text summary. * **For the AI agent.** The agent reads the answers in the conversation and does not ask those questions again. * **For your systems.** The **WhatsApp form submitted** [webhook event](https://help.ciarem.ai/webhooks/events.md) fires on every submission. Fields that save to a property are **prefilled** with what the contact already has (you can turn this off per field in forms you build), so the customer only confirms or corrects it. ## Good to know * **Meta limits the text.** A field label holds up to 20 characters (choice fields 30, date fields 40). Longer labels are cut in agent forms, so write short property names. * **A form is published to Meta, and a published form can't change.** Ciarem handles it for you: every change publishes a new version. Messages already sent keep opening the version they were sent with. * **Forms belong to your WhatsApp Business account**, and every number in it can send them. * **A form is valid for 30 days.** After that, answers sent with it are shown in the conversation but not saved to the contact, and a booking form says it has expired. Send a new one. * **The AI agent sends each form once per conversation.** If the customer closes it, the message stays in the chat and they can tap its button again. Something not working? See [WhatsApp forms troubleshooting](https://help.ciarem.ai/channels/whatsapp-forms-troubleshooting.md). This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.