WeChat Official Account features for business (2026)

If you want to sell or support customers on WeChat, a WeChat Official Account is where it starts. Each tool in it has its own rules, and some of those rules decide how you plan your week.

This guide covers 5 features businesses use most: customer chat, welcome replies, custom menus, mass messages and QR codes. It also covers WeChat Pay and what SleekFlow adds once you connect your account.

Setting up the account is a separate job, so we link to our setup and integration guides instead of repeating them.

Which WeChat Official Account features matter for business?

A business gets most of its work done with 5 features: customer service chat, welcome replies, custom menus, mass messages and QR codes. Each one has a limit set by Tencent, and SleekFlow adds its own limits on top. The table gives the job and the limit for each feature.

Tencent's customer service message rules set the chat, welcome reply and QR code limits. They allow Official Accounts and Service Accounts to use the feature only when the account is certified, so verification comes first. Our setup guide covers it.

How does customer service chat work?

Customer service chat lets your business reply to a customer who has messaged you. A customer's message opens a 48-hour window, and you can send at most 5 replies inside it. A new message from the customer resets the window. Your business can't start a conversation.

That rule shapes your staffing. A question sent late on a Friday can go cold by Monday if nobody answers in time.

SleekFlow's Help Center lists what you can send and receive in a chat:

• You can send: text, voice notes with a 16MB file limit, product messages, emojis and payment links.

• You can receive: text, voice notes and emojis.

• Not supported: locations, contacts, stickers and published articles. The Help Center says the list includes these but isn't limited to them.

Messages sent to a customer can't be edited or recalled in SleekFlow. Check each reply before you send it.

What can a welcome reply do?

A welcome reply greets a customer right after they follow your account. Tencent's rules let you send three customer service messages within one minute of a follow. That's enough to thank the person, say what the account offers and point to your menu.

Keep it short and give the customer one next step. A simple question such as "Are you shopping for yourself or a gift?" gives them a reason to write back, and that reply opens the 48-hour window.

SleekFlow's Help Center doesn't list automated replies for WeChat. If a feature isn't listed there, it's currently not supported, so plan on people sending replies.

How do custom menus work?

A custom menu is the row of buttons at the bottom of your account's chat. Tencent's menu rules allow three main buttons, each with 5 sub-buttons at most. Button names are short: a main button shows four Chinese characters at most and a sub-button seven.

Buttons can open a web page, send a message back to your server or scan a code. A button that opens a Mini Program needs a verified Official Account.

Set up your menu before you connect to SleekFlow. The connection guide warns that your WeChat custom menu can become inaccessible on the platform after you connect.

How do mass messages work?

A mass message is one message sent to many followers at once. A Service Account can send four mass messages a calendar month, and each follower can receive at most four a month, per Tencent's developer docs. A general Subscription Account can send one a day from the platform website, but SleekFlow can't connect to that type.

With four a month, each broadcast needs one clear job, such as a launch, an event or a member offer.

SleekFlow lets you create broadcast campaigns on a WeChat channel. A broadcast shows a single tick once sent, and you can't see delivery for each recipient. The Help Center doesn't say how Tencent's monthly cap applies to a SleekFlow broadcast, so check before you build a campaign calendar.

How do QR codes help?

A QR code connects a real-world moment to your account. Tencent's rules list a QR code scan as a trigger that opens a one-minute window for three replies, so a scan can start a conversation straight away.

Put codes where buyers decide:

• Product packaging and receipts

• Store shelves, posters and event booths

• Your website, emails and printed brochures

What about WeChat Pay?

WeChat Pay lets customers pay inside WeChat with a linked bank card. SleekFlow's Help Center lists payment links among the message types you can send, and says the payment feature must be turned on. It doesn't describe how to accept WeChat Pay as a merchant.

For overseas companies, Tencent's global WeChat Pay documentation says overseas merchants connect through an overseas institution. Requirements differ by country, so confirm eligibility with Tencent or your payment provider and ask local counsel about licensing and tax before you plan around WeChat Pay.

What does SleekFlow add to these features?

SleekFlow connects your verified WeChat Service Account to the same shared inbox as your other channels. Your team can reply to customers, send product messages and payment links, and run broadcast campaigns in one place.

The Help Center sets these limits:

• You can connect one Service Account to a SleekFlow account.

• Customers must message first.

• One-to-one messages show a double tick once WeChat confirms delivery.

• Sending and receiving WeChat messages is free.

The WeChat integration guide walks through the connection steps.

Book a demo and see WeChat in your team's shared inbox.

Tencent figure from its Q2 2026 results (30 Jun 2026). Customer service message, menu and mass message rules from Tencent's developer docs, and WeChat Pay institution mode from Tencent's global WeChat Pay documentation, read on 27 Oct 2026. SleekFlow limits from the Help Center WeChat articles, updated 13 Aug and 15 Oct 2026.

This article is for general information and is not legal advice. WeChat and WeChat Pay rules, fees and requirements change and differ by market, so check Tencent's current guidance and ask local counsel before you act.