HighLevel Updates: New Features for September 8-12, 2025

The second week of September 2025 spread its releases across course delivery, messaging automation, reputation tools and agency billing. A rebuilt certificate designer landed in Credentials, WhatsApp gained interactive buttons that branch inside workflows, and the Stripe Connect screen picked up stricter permissions. Here is what shipped between September 8 and September 12, 2025, and what each change means for agencies and small businesses.

A Rebuilt Certificate Builder

Credentials received a completely new certificate designer. The canvas is responsive, edits render in real time with instant previews, and page sizes cover A4, US Letter or fully custom dimensions. Editable lines, shapes, graphics and icons drag into place, modern templates provide a starting point, and an expanded set of frames and signature fields with pre-designed script fonts handles the formal details. Backgrounds accept gradients or uploaded images that can be zoomed, panned and cropped.

It runs on the same design engine as the badge builder. For anyone selling courses or certifications, this removes a recurring reason to pay for a separate certificate tool.

WhatsApp Buttons That Branch Inside Workflows

Interactive WhatsApp messages with call-to-action buttons can now be sent from workflows, and what the recipient does next drives the automation. Three branch conditions appear as labeled, drag-and-drop nodes: Link Opened for a follow-up on WhatsApp or another channel, Not Delivered for an SMS fallback, and Timeout for an alternative path when nobody responds in time.

These bill as business-initiated conversations under WhatsApp pricing, and taps or replies inside the 24-hour window cost nothing extra. Supported CTA types cover buttons and links. The result is a guided, chatbot-style journey with no free-text parsing. See our WhatsApp guide and the official WhatsApp features.

Dynamic Values Reach More Workflow Fields

The dynamic custom value picker, which lets one step reference data produced by an earlier step, now covers more field types in two places. If/Else conditions accept numeric fields such as scores and counts, dates such as appointments and renewals, dropdown selections (which expect option IDs, not display labels) and monetary fields such as invoice totals. The Update Contact Field action takes numeric, dropdown and monetary values, and dropdowns there need no option IDs.

That removes the helper fields and duplicated branches teams built just to compare against an upstream number. A workflow can read a proposal amount from a form or webhook and route anything at or above $25,000 to a senior closer for priority follow-up.

Reviews AI Adds Notifications, Delegation and HIPAA Coverage

Connecting a Google Business Profile now triggers a notification confirming Reviews AI is live for that location, with the option to switch it off or change the Reviews AI mode, so nobody discovers automated replies by surprise. Permissions also became granular: an agency can let individual locations create, edit and manage their own review agents, and the setting is off by default.

For locations with HIPAA enabled, every AI-generated response is now HIPAA compliant automatically, which makes medical and dental clients an easier sell. Everything sits under Reputation, then Settings, then Reviews AI. See our reputation software guide and the platform AI overview.

Stripe Connect Rebuilt With Tighter Access

The Stripe Connect screen in agency settings moved to the newer front-end framework and off the older backend service onto a module-federated app, and the disconnected state now explains the benefits of connecting instead of sitting empty. Access is the bigger change: only agency owners and admins can open the page, where previously every agency user could.

If platform access to a connected Stripe account is revoked from Stripe settings, the page shows a clear error and a reconnect button. Disconnect attempts were already blocked while clients were taking payments, and the page now lists every affected sub-account with an active subscription plus controls to switch those payments off.

QR Codes in the Builder and Smarter Digital Downloads

Funnels and websites gained a QR code element that sends scanners to any URL. Pick an existing code or create and edit one without leaving the builder, with type-ahead search, infinite scroll, a visible destination URL, a prompt when a selected code has been deleted, and a flag on codes owned by another location. Print and event signage become measurable funnel entry points.

In the store, the download button for a digital product appears only when at least one valid file has been uploaded. Thank you pages hide it when there is nothing to deliver, the customer access center lists only items with assets, and physical products never show it. Deleting assets removes the button instantly, and files uploaded after a purchase appear automatically.

Transactional Email Routing and Dedicated IP Checks

Agencies created after September 3, 2025 that use the built-in email system now have invoice, calendar and one-to-one conversion emails routed through a dedicated pool of shared sending domains, two per transactional type, assigned to whichever currently carries the lowest volume. Separating transactional mail this way reduces throttling and keeps booking confirmations landing while a campaign is in flight.

Dedicated IP purchases also gained clearer prerequisites. On top of existing checks on sending volume, contact count and agency age, the system now confirms an active payment setup on the sub-account and that the agency has enabled dedicated IPs.

Smaller Improvements Worth Noting

• WordPress hosting added a purge everything on all domains option in the CDN cache menu, with new domains included in future purges automatically (plugin 3.0.10.4).
• Social Planner onboarding no longer blocks new users, so CSV uploads, recurring posts, evergreen categories and RSS feeds can be explored before connecting a social account.
• Communities posts and comments support tagging a course by typing #, with courses, channels and events shown inline and clickable.
• Community fixes covered mobile notification limits, inactive group loading, contact merge emails, deleted parent events, trial day counts, doubled comment counts and editor pasting.
• The app marketplace supports custom payment providers in SaaS mode, and Stripe refund status reporting was fixed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do WhatsApp CTA buttons cost extra when someone taps them?

No. The outbound interactive message bills as a business-initiated conversation under WhatsApp pricing, and any tap or link open inside the 24-hour conversation window carries no extra charge.

Who can open the Stripe Connect page now?

Agency owners and admins only. Other agency users lose access, closing a gap where anyone on the team could view payment connection settings.

Which accounts get the new transactional email domains?

Agencies created after September 3, 2025 that send with the built-in email system. Existing agencies keep their current routing, with the same approach planned for them later.

Try These Features Yourself

Certificates, WhatsApp automation, review responses, payment connections and transactional email all live in one account, which is the case for consolidating a stack instead of paying five vendors. Start a free 30-day GoHighLevel trial and test the September releases on a real client project. Compare plans on the pricing page or browse our feature overview.