Ion Rotaru
A WhatsApp poll is the quickest way to ask people what they think. You type a question, add a few options, and everyone votes with one tap. In August 2026 WhatsApp made polls even more useful: you can now set an end time, hide voter names and fix the question after you send it.
For a business, native polls have one big limit. They live in the WhatsApp app: you post each poll by hand in a chat, a group or a channel, and the WhatsApp Business Platform has no poll message at all. To ask hundreds of customers the same question in their own chats and act on the answers, you need a different setup.
In this guide you'll learn:
- how to poll your customers with Chatfuel, with every answer saved to the contact;
- how to make a poll on Android, iPhone and WhatsApp Web;
- which poll settings WhatsApp has in 2026;
- how polls work in groups, communities and channels;
- how to see the results and who voted;
- poll ideas and tips for business.
What are WhatsApp polls?
A WhatsApp poll is a message with a question and up to 12 answer options. People tap an option to vote, and everyone in the chat sees the results update in real time. WhatsApp launched polls in groups in November 2022, added single-answer polls and vote notifications in May 2023, and brought polls to channels in 2024.
Here's what polls can do today, according to the WhatsApp Help Center:
- Where: chats, groups, community announcement groups and channels.
- Size: a question of up to 255 characters and up to 12 options of up to 100 characters each.
- Settings: one or multiple answers, hidden voter names and an end time.
- Edits: you can edit the question within 15 minutes of sending. The settings can't be changed later.
- Results: live vote counts under each option and a View votes screen with who voted for what.
End times, hidden voter names and question edits arrived in the August 2026 update. Channels also support photo polls and quizzes.
How to run a poll with your customers using Chatfuel
A native poll works when you post it yourself in a group or a channel. Your customers, though, usually talk to you one on one. The WhatsApp Business Platform that business tools use has no poll message type, so no tool can send a native poll to your customer list.
Chatfuel runs the poll as a conversation instead. You send the question as a broadcast, customers answer in their own words, and AI Agent replies and saves each answer to the contact. Then you count the answers and send a follow-up to the people who picked each option.
1. Ask the question with a broadcast
First, create a Marketing template in WhatsApp Manager with your question and the options in the text, for example: "Which treatment should we add next month: LED light therapy, lash lift or microneedling? Just reply with your pick." Meta reviews every template before you can send it.
Then send it:
- Go to AI Agent → Broadcasts and click New mass message.
- Pick your poll template and fill in the variables, like the contact's first name. Click Continue to schedule.
- Choose Send now or a time that suits your customers, then click Continue to audience.
- Choose All WhatsApp contacts or From segment, click Send broadcast and then Confirm and send.
Keep the template to text, plus a photo if you like. You don't need tap buttons or numbered menus: Broadcasts don't send templates with quick-reply buttons, and AI Agent understands a one-word answer and a long reply with reasons just as well. Send Marketing templates only to customers who agreed to get messages from you.
See also: WhatsApp Broadcast: Complete Guide for Business
2. Let AI Agent answer and save each vote
When a customer replies, a new 24-hour window opens and AI Agent answers right away, using your knowledge base. To keep the vote, add a capture in Lead Qualification:
- Go to AI Agent → Automations → Default and open Lead Qualification.
- Select Collect contact info and click + next to the captures.
- In Search messages for, describe what to look for, for example "Which treatment the client picked in the poll: LED light therapy, lash lift or microneedling".
- In Save to property, enter a property name such as
next treatment, then click Save.
AI Agent fills the property from the chat whatever words the customer uses, and you see it on the contact card in Chats. You can also ask the question in everyday chats, without a broadcast: add it to the AI instructions, for example "After a booking is confirmed, ask which treatment the client would like us to add next". To collect ratings and reviews this way, see how AI Agent gathers customer feedback.
3. Count the votes and follow up
Every saved answer is a contact property, so a segment counts the votes for you. Start a new broadcast, choose From segment and add the filter next treatment is Lash lift. Chatfuel shows how many contacts match. Change the value to see the count for each option.
Then close the loop. Send the winners' news, "You voted, we listened: lash lift is on the menu", to exactly the people who asked for it, and AI Agent books whoever replies. Build more segments from other answers the same way.
4. Keep native polls in your groups and channel
Already using the WhatsApp Business app? You don't have to give it up. With Coexistence, your number works in the app and in Chatfuel at the same time. According to Meta, groups and channels keep working in the app as before, so you can post native polls there while AI Agent answers your customer chats.
See how Chatfuel Broadcasts work
How to make a poll on WhatsApp
The steps are the same in a one-on-one chat and in a group. Labels below are the ones from the WhatsApp Help Center.
On Android
- Open a chat or a group.
- Tap Attach (the paper clip) → Poll.
- Choose your settings: Allow multiple answers, Hide voter names and Set an end time for your poll.
- Under Question, type your question.
- Under Options, add up to 12 answers. To change the order, tap and hold the four lines next to an option and drag it.
- Tap Send (the paper airplane).
On iPhone
- Open a chat or a group.
- Tap Attach (the plus sign) → Poll.
- Choose your settings: Allow multiple answers, Hide voter names and Set an end time for your poll.
- Under Question, type your question.
- Under Options, add up to 12 answers. Tap and hold the three lines next to an option to drag it up or down.
- Tap Send.
On WhatsApp Web and desktop
- Open a chat or a group.
- Click the plus icon → Poll.
- Type the question and the options, and turn Allow multiple answers on or off.
- Click Send.
The Help Center documents hidden voter names and end times for the phone apps. If you need them, create the poll on your phone.
WhatsApp poll settings in 2026
- Allow multiple answers. On by default. Turn it off to give each person one vote. With it off, tapping a new option removes the earlier vote.
- Hide voter names. Everyone, including you, sees the vote counts but not who voted for what. This only changes the results screen.
- Set an end time for your poll. Voting closes at the time you choose, which is handy for deadlines like "Pick a date by Friday".
You can't change these settings after you send the poll: delete it and create a new one. You can edit the question within 15 minutes: tap and hold the poll and tap Edit.
How to make a poll in a WhatsApp group or community
A group poll works exactly like a poll in a chat. Use one answer for decisions ("Which date works for the workshop?") and multiple answers for preferences ("Which classes would you join?").
In a community, only admins can send polls to the announcement group. Keep an eye on its size: once an announcement group passes 1,024 members, nobody can vote in polls or react to announcements there.
See also: WhatsApp Group vs Broadcast: Business Guide
How to post a poll or quiz in a WhatsApp channel
Channels are one-way updates for followers, and polls there are public: anyone who follows the channel can vote. To post one, go to Updates, open your channel, tap Attach → Poll and write the question and options. The limits are the same as in chats.
Channel polls have a few extras and rules of their own:
- Photo polls. You can add a photo to each option. Photo polls can't be forwarded.
- Quizzes. Tap Attach → Quiz, write the question and tap the circle next to the right answer. Check the answers with View responses.
- No edits. You can't edit a channel poll, but you can delete it for up to 30 days.
- Counts only. Followers see how many people voted for each option. Channel insights include your poll results.
How to see poll results and who voted
- In the chat. Each option shows its vote count, updated as people vote.
- View votes. Tap View votes under the poll for the full list of who voted for what, unless you turned on Hide voter names.
- Notifications. Turn on push notifications for WhatsApp to hear about new votes.
- Find old polls. Tap the search bar on the Chats tab and choose Polls.
- Delete a poll. Tap and hold it, tap Delete and choose Delete for everyone or Delete for me.
With Chatfuel, results live on your contacts instead of in one chat: each answer is a property you can filter, count and message.
WhatsApp polls vs Chatfuel polls
| Chatfuel: broadcast + AI Agent | Native WhatsApp poll | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you ask | All WhatsApp contacts or a segment, each in their own chat | People in one chat, group or channel |
| How people answer | In their own words, and AI Agent replies | One tap on an option |
| Where answers go | A property on each contact card | Vote counts inside the chat |
| Follow-up | A broadcast to everyone who picked an option | A new message posted by hand |
| Cost | Meta's fee for the template plus your Chatfuel plan | Free in the app |
| Best for | Product decisions, feedback, launch waitlists | Quick group decisions, community engagement |
WhatsApp poll ideas for business
Product and launch decisions
Ask which product to bring back, which service to add or which flavor to launch next. Everyone who votes for the winner is your first launch audience.
Dates and times
"Which evening suits you for the workshop?" A single-answer poll with an end time settles it fast in a group. For customers in one-on-one chats, AI Agent can book the time right away.
Feedback after a visit or an order
Ask how it went and what to improve. A one-tap poll gives you a number, while open answers through AI Agent tell you the reasons and land on the contact card.
Quizzes in your channel
Test what followers know about your product: "Which of these serums is fragrance-free?" Share the answer in your next update to bring people back.
Community plans
Let members choose the next meetup topic, the venue or the date. It's faster than a long thread and everyone sees where the group is heading.
See also: Instagram Polls: How to Make Them and Get DMs
Tips for better WhatsApp polls
- Ask one clear question. Two to four short options are easier to answer than twelve.
- Match the setting to the goal. One answer for decisions, multiple answers for preferences.
- Add an end time to decisions. People vote faster when they know when it closes.
- Hide voter names for sensitive topics. People answer more freely when nobody sees their name.
- Share the result. Tell people what won and what you'll do about it.
- Turn votes into a next step. With Chatfuel, send a follow-up broadcast to the people who picked each option, and let AI Agent take the conversation from there.
Summary
WhatsApp polls are a quick, free way to get a decision from a group, a community or your channel, and the 2026 update added end times, hidden voter names and question edits. They stay inside the app, though: you can't send a native poll to your customer list or keep the answers anywhere.
To poll customers at scale, send the question as a broadcast with Chatfuel. AI Agent answers each reply, Lead Qualification saves the pick to the contact, and a segment gives you the count and the audience for your follow-up. With Coexistence, you can keep native polls in your groups and channel at the same time.
FAQs
Can a business send WhatsApp polls through the API?
No. The WhatsApp Business Platform has no poll message type, and polls that customers send to a business number arrive as unsupported messages. With Chatfuel, you send the question as a template broadcast, AI Agent reads the answers in any wording, and each answer is saved to the contact so you can count it and follow up.
How many options can a WhatsApp poll have?
Up to 12 options of up to 100 characters each. The question can be up to 255 characters long.
Can I edit a WhatsApp poll after sending it?
You can edit the question within 15 minutes in chats and groups. The options and the settings can't be changed, so delete the poll and create a new one. Channel polls can't be edited at all.
Are WhatsApp polls anonymous?
Not by default: people in the chat can see who voted for what. Turn on Hide voter names when you create the poll, and everyone, including you, sees only the counts. In channels, followers only see how many people voted for each option.
How do I see who voted in a WhatsApp poll?
Tap View votes under the poll. You'll see each option with the people who picked it, unless the poll hides voter names.
Can I add a poll to a WhatsApp broadcast list?
The WhatsApp Help Center doesn't document polls in broadcast lists, and business broadcasts in the WhatsApp Business app support text, media and one action button, not polls. To ask many customers at once, send the question as a Chatfuel broadcast and let AI Agent collect the answers.
Can I make a quiz on WhatsApp?
Yes, in channels. Tap Attach → Quiz, write the question and the options, and mark the right answer. In chats and groups, use a regular poll and reveal the answer afterwards.
