What is Click-to-WhatsApp (CTWA) attribution?

Click-to-WhatsApp (CTWA) ads are Meta ads with a button that opens a WhatsApp chat with your business. Attribution means recording which ad, campaign and click each resulting conversation came from — so you can tell which ad actually produced a lead or sale, not just clicks.

How do I know which WhatsApp ad a Bitrix24 lead came from?

When a customer opens the chat from a Meta Click-to-WhatsApp ad, the webhook carries a referral object (ad headline, source URL, ad ID and ctwa_clid). WASync writes it onto the Bitrix24 lead automatically — into the native UTM fields, dedicated custom fields, and a timeline note — so the ad source sits right on the lead.

Does this work with the WhatsApp QR connection or only the Business API?

Only the official WhatsApp Business API (Meta Cloud) carries the CTWA referral object, so ad attribution needs a Business API connection. A QR (Linked Devices) connection can receive the messages but not the ad-source data.

Where does the attribution data appear in Bitrix24?

In three places: the native UTM fields (UTM_SOURCE=facebook, UTM_MEDIUM=ctwa, UTM_CAMPAIGN=ad ID, UTM_CONTENT=click ID) so it shows in Bitrix24's standard marketing reports; dedicated custom fields with the full ad data; and a timeline comment so the operator sees which ad the person came from.

Does WASync overwrite attribution if a lead clicks a second ad?

No. WASync applies first-touch attribution — the first ad that brought the customer is kept and never overwritten by a later conversation, so your reports reflect the ad that actually acquired the lead.

Click-to-WhatsApp Attribution in Bitrix24: Know Which Ad Each Lead Came From

You boost a Click-to-WhatsApp ad, conversations start landing in Bitrix24, and a week later someone asks the obvious question: which ad actually brought these people? If your WhatsApp integration only drops the message into the CRM, you can't answer — the ad that acquired the lead is invisible. This is the single most common blind spot for teams running WhatsApp ads into a CRM, and it's fixable.

WASync captures the ad source automatically. When a customer opens the chat from a Meta ad, the conversation arrives with a referral object, and WASync writes it straight onto the Bitrix24 lead — so "which ad?" is answered on the lead card, not in a spreadsheet you reconcile by hand.

What is Click-to-WhatsApp (CTWA)?

Click-to-WhatsApp is a Meta ad format — on Facebook and Instagram — where the call-to-action button opens a WhatsApp chat with your business instead of sending the person to a landing page. It's one of the highest-intent ad formats there is: the person doesn't fill a form, they start a real conversation.

The catch is measurement. Because the journey ends in a chat, not a tracked web session, the ad's identity usually gets lost at the door. You see WhatsApp conversations; you don't see which creative, campaign or audience produced them. That gap is what "CTWA attribution" closes.

The data a Click-to-WhatsApp ad actually sends

Every conversation opened from a CTWA ad arrives with a referral object from Meta, containing:

source_id — the ad's ID (maps to your campaign in Ads Manager)
headline — the ad's headline text, so you recognise the creative at a glance
source_url — the ad's link (e.g. an fb.me/... URL)
ctwa_clid — the click ID, a unique fingerprint for that specific click

That object is delivered once, on the first message of the conversation. If your integration ignores it, the data is gone — Meta doesn't resend it later. Capturing it at that moment is the whole game.

How WASync writes the ad source onto the Bitrix24 lead

WASync reads the referral on the inbound webhook and writes it to the CRM entity behind the sender's number — the lead in classic mode, or the deal and contact in simple-CRM mode. It lands in three places, each for a different job:

Native UTM fields. UTM_SOURCE=facebook, UTM_MEDIUM=ctwa, UTM_CAMPAIGN=<ad ID>, UTM_CONTENT=<click ID>. Because these are Bitrix24's own UTM fields, the ad source shows up in the standard Bitrix24 marketing and source reports with zero extra setup — the same reports you already use for web leads.
Dedicated custom fields. WASync creates CTWA Ad Headline, CTWA Ad ID, CTWA Source URL and CTWA Click ID on the entity and fills them with the full referral — ready for automation rules, filters and BI.
A timeline comment. A short note — "📣 Conversation started from a Meta Click-to-WhatsApp ad" with the headline — so the operator answering the chat instantly knows which ad the person responded to and can tailor the reply.

WASync applies first-touch attribution: the first ad that brought the customer is recorded and never overwritten if they later arrive from another ad. Your reports credit the ad that actually acquired the lead.

See it on a lead in Bitrix24

Once a CTWA conversation comes in, open the lead and you'll find the ad source on it. If the UTM fields aren't visible on your form, add them once:

Open the lead (or deal) created from the WhatsApp conversation.
In the fields section, click Select field and enable UTM Source / Medium / Campaign / Content and the CTWA custom fields.
The values are already populated — facebook / ctwa / <ad ID> / <click ID> plus the ad headline.

From then on, Bitrix24's built-in reports break your WhatsApp leads down by ad, exactly like web-form leads — which campaign produced the most conversations, which converted to deals, cost per real lead instead of cost per click.

Why this needs the WhatsApp Business API

The referral object is part of Meta's official WhatsApp Business API (Cloud API). A QR connection can receive the customer's messages, but it never sees the ad-source data — that only travels on the official channel. So if campaign attribution matters to you, connect the number that runs your ads through the Business API plan. It's also the plan built for proactive templates and scale, which is usually what ad-driven teams need next.

From clicks to closed deals

Click-to-WhatsApp ads are only as good as your ability to measure them. Once the ad source rides onto the lead, the whole funnel becomes legible: ad → conversation → lead → deal, attributable end to end inside Bitrix24. You stop optimising for clicks and start optimising for the ads that produce real customers.

If you're weighing WhatsApp integrations for Bitrix24, ad attribution is a concrete thing to test — most tools drop the message and lose the ad. See how WASync compares in our WASync vs Wazzup breakdown, or start a 7-day trial and run one Click-to-WhatsApp ad through it.