Messaging automation for businesses in the UAE

Meta prices messages to +971 numbers on a standalone UAE line, and AED is one of the currencies Meta publishes rate cards in. Slide does not bill in dirhams: the workspace is in US dollars, per-message charges come out of the prepaid wallet, and the wallet shows the exact price per message for your account. Since 1 October 2026 service replies inside the 24-hour window are charged at the UAE utility rate once a number passes 1,000 in a month.

Two points are specific to the UAE. If your business is based outside the country and sends authentication templates, such as one-time passwords, to UAE numbers at high volume (750,000 outside the service window in a rolling 30 days), Meta applies a higher authentication-international rate. And although Slide includes WhatsApp business calling, TDRA says calling over third-party VoIP is illegal unless the provider is licensed or approved, and whether WhatsApp business calls connect to UAE consumers has not been verified, so plan UAE support around messages rather than calls.

TDRA's marketing rules (prior explicit consent, sending only between 07:00 and 21:00, an unsubscribe, and promotional sender IDs starting with "AD") are written for SMS, and the TDRA FAQ does not say whether they reach WhatsApp. Slide's SMS channel works for Indian numbers only, so SMS is not part of a UAE setup. On WhatsApp, Meta's policy applies regardless: opt-in that names your business before you message someone first, and every opt-out honoured.

Templates can be written in Arabic or English in Slide's editor and are approved by Meta. The AI agent replies in Arabic only when its instructions say so, and your team works in an English dashboard. Setup steps are on WhatsApp automation in the UAE, and a full support workflow is on WhatsApp customer service in the UAE.

No UAE rule aimed specifically at Instagram direct messages was verified for this page, and TDRA's marketing rules address SMS. An Instagram setup in the UAE is therefore governed by Meta's platform rules plus the PDPL for the contact data you collect, which is why Instagram in the UAE is answered here rather than on a page of its own.

In Slide you can reply to comments on chosen posts or on all posts with a public reply and one private DM within Meta's 7-day limit, answer DMs and story replies with keyword rules or an AI agent, and capture email addresses into contacts. Slide cannot send Instagram broadcasts or any message after the 24-hour window, and someone who only comments becomes a contact once they send a DM. Meta also requires automated chats to say they are automated where the law requires it. The Instagram automation page covers the rest.

No UAE rule specific to marketing email was verified either: the TDRA rules above are written for SMS. The PDPL still covers the email addresses you hold, including its consent requirement (with its exceptions) and its conditions for transferring data outside the UAE.

Send marketing email to UAE contacts as Slide campaigns or sequences, which carry an unsubscribe and skip unsubscribed, suppressed and bounced addresses. The automation "send email" step does not add an unsubscribe link or check those lists, so use it for transactional mail such as booking or order confirmations. Mail goes out from your own authenticated domain, and because Slide forms have no double opt-in, store where each address came from in a contact field. Setup is on email automation.

A UAE workspace pays for two things. The Slide plan, billed in US dollars for a workspace created with a +971 or other non-Indian number, decides the features: plans and prices are on the pricing page, paid plans start with a 14-day trial, and the payment method should be confirmed with the Slide team before you subscribe.

WhatsApp messages are charged by Meta, one by one, at the UAE rate for each +971 recipient and drawn from the Slide wallet; since 1 October 2026 that includes service replies beyond 1,000 a month per business number. Instagram replies carry no per-message charge from Meta, and email sends use the plan's email credits.