diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3c5321870..3f3f50a70 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.molt.bot
 Status: beta.
 
 ### Changes
+- WhatsApp: normalize literal `\n` escape sequences to actual newlines in outbound messages. (#3082)
 - Rebrand: rename the npm package/CLI to `moltbot`, add a `moltbot` compatibility shim, and move extensions to the `@moltbot/*` scope.
 - Commands: group /help and /commands output with Telegram paging. (#2504) Thanks @hougangdev.
 - macOS: limit project-local `node_modules/.bin` PATH preference to debug builds (reduce PATH hijacking risk).
diff --git a/src/auto-reply/inbound.test.ts b/src/auto-reply/inbound.test.ts
index b50113c05..75c7cfb2f 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/inbound.test.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/inbound.test.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,10 @@ import {
   shouldSkipDuplicateInbound,
 } from "./reply/inbound-dedupe.js";
 import { formatInboundBodyWithSenderMeta } from "./reply/inbound-sender-meta.js";
-import { normalizeInboundTextNewlines } from "./reply/inbound-text.js";
+import {
+  normalizeInboundTextNewlines,
+  normalizeOutboundTextNewlines,
+} from "./reply/inbound-text.js";
 import { resolveGroupRequireMention } from "./reply/groups.js";
 import {
   buildMentionRegexes,
@@ -69,6 +72,40 @@ describe("normalizeInboundTextNewlines", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("normalizeOutboundTextNewlines", () => {
+  it("keeps real newlines", () => {
+    expect(normalizeOutboundTextNewlines("a\nb")).toBe("a\nb");
+  });
+
+  it("converts literal \\n to real newlines", () => {
+    expect(normalizeOutboundTextNewlines("Hello\\nWorld")).toBe("Hello\nWorld");
+  });
+
+  it("converts multiple literal \\n sequences", () => {
+    expect(normalizeOutboundTextNewlines("Line1\\n\\nLine2")).toBe("Line1\n\nLine2");
+  });
+
+  it("converts literal \\r\\n to real newlines", () => {
+    expect(normalizeOutboundTextNewlines("a\\r\\nb")).toBe("a\nb");
+  });
+
+  it("converts literal \\r to real newlines", () => {
+    expect(normalizeOutboundTextNewlines("a\\rb")).toBe("a\nb");
+  });
+
+  it("handles empty string", () => {
+    expect(normalizeOutboundTextNewlines("")).toBe("");
+  });
+
+  it("handles text without escape sequences", () => {
+    expect(normalizeOutboundTextNewlines("Hello World")).toBe("Hello World");
+  });
+
+  it("handles mixed real and literal newlines", () => {
+    expect(normalizeOutboundTextNewlines("Real\nand\\nliteral")).toBe("Real\nand\nliteral");
+  });
+});
+
 describe("finalizeInboundContext", () => {
   it("fills BodyForAgent/BodyForCommands and normalizes newlines", () => {
     const ctx: MsgContext = {
diff --git a/src/auto-reply/reply/inbound-text.ts b/src/auto-reply/reply/inbound-text.ts
index dd17752b4..84f83cac8 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/reply/inbound-text.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/reply/inbound-text.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,17 @@
 export function normalizeInboundTextNewlines(input: string): string {
   return input.replaceAll("\r\n", "\n").replaceAll("\r", "\n").replaceAll("\\n", "\n");
 }
+
+/**
+ * Normalize outbound text newlines before sending to channels.
+ * Converts literal `\n` escape sequences to actual newlines.
+ * Some LLM providers may output literal `\n` in their responses,
+ * which causes WhatsApp (and potentially other channels) to display
+ * the escape sequence as text instead of rendering a line break.
+ */
+export function normalizeOutboundTextNewlines(input: string): string {
+  if (!input) return input;
+  // Convert literal \n (backslash-n) sequences to actual newlines.
+  // Also handle \r\n and \r for consistency.
+  return input.replaceAll("\\r\\n", "\n").replaceAll("\\r", "\n").replaceAll("\\n", "\n");
+}
diff --git a/src/channels/plugins/outbound/whatsapp.ts b/src/channels/plugins/outbound/whatsapp.ts
index 303a015da..101298043 100644
--- a/src/channels/plugins/outbound/whatsapp.ts
+++ b/src/channels/plugins/outbound/whatsapp.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { chunkText } from "../../../auto-reply/chunk.js";
+import { normalizeOutboundTextNewlines } from "../../../auto-reply/reply/inbound-text.js";
 import { shouldLogVerbose } from "../../../globals.js";
 import { sendPollWhatsApp } from "../../../web/outbound.js";
 import { isWhatsAppGroupJid, normalizeWhatsAppTarget } from "../../../whatsapp/normalize.js";
@@ -60,7 +61,8 @@ export const whatsappOutbound: ChannelOutboundAdapter = {
   sendText: async ({ to, text, accountId, deps, gifPlayback }) => {
     const send =
       deps?.sendWhatsApp ?? (await import("../../../web/outbound.js")).sendMessageWhatsApp;
-    const result = await send(to, text, {
+    const normalizedText = normalizeOutboundTextNewlines(text);
+    const result = await send(to, normalizedText, {
       verbose: false,
       accountId: accountId ?? undefined,
       gifPlayback,
@@ -70,7 +72,8 @@ export const whatsappOutbound: ChannelOutboundAdapter = {
   sendMedia: async ({ to, text, mediaUrl, accountId, deps, gifPlayback }) => {
     const send =
       deps?.sendWhatsApp ?? (await import("../../../web/outbound.js")).sendMessageWhatsApp;
-    const result = await send(to, text, {
+    const normalizedText = normalizeOutboundTextNewlines(text);
+    const result = await send(to, normalizedText, {
       verbose: false,
       mediaUrl,
       accountId: accountId ?? undefined,