# Automatic WhatsApp follow-ups

> Set up to 4 follow-up messages your agent sends when a prospect stops replying, in Smart or Fixed mode, with attachments, buttons and quiet hours.

Source: https://docs.watsi.ai/en/agent/follow-ups

**Follow-ups** are messages your agent sends on its own when a prospect stops replying, so no lead goes cold. You set up to **4 steps**, each between 1 minute and 30 days after the customer's last message, in **Smart** mode (the AI writes it from the conversation) or **Fixed** mode (your text as is, with an image, video or PDF and buttons). They live in your agent's **🔁 Follow-ups** tab and start switched off.

## Turn on follow-ups

### Open the "🔁 Follow-ups" tab
    In your agent's settings, inside the **⚙️ Rules** group.
### Switch on "Enable follow-ups"
    This is the master switch. While it is off, no follow-up goes out.
### Set up your "Follow-up steps"
    You get "Up to 4 steps". Switch on each "Follow-up" you want to use and choose how long to wait
    (in minutes, hours or days) "after the customer's last message".
### Choose each step's mode
### Save and publish
    Save a version and publish it on your channel so the change reaches your customers. See
    [Versions and publishing](/agent/versions).

## Step modes

**Smart**
    The AI writes the message from the conversation, so every follow-up sounds like the chat you
    were already having. This is the default mode.
**Fixed**
    Sends exactly the text you write in "Configure message", with no AI generation. You can add:

    - **Message**: up to 1,024 characters.
    - **Attachment** ("Attach an image, video or PDF"): a PNG, JPEG, WebP or GIF image up to 5 MB,
      an MP4 or MOV video up to 16 MB, or a PDF up to 100 MB.
    - **Buttons (WhatsApp)**: "Quick replies" (up to 3) or a "Link" (label + URL). You cannot mix the
      two types, each button holds up to 20 characters, and buttons need message text.

> **Note**
  A fixed attachment is sent **once per contact**. If that contact goes quiet again later, that step
  is sent in Smart mode.

## Quiet hours

On the "Quiet hours" card you can pause follow-ups at certain times (at night, for example). Switch on "Enable quiet hours" and set "Start time", "End time" and "Timezone"; the first time, 21:00 to 09:00 is suggested.

A step that falls inside the window is **not cancelled**: it is postponed to the end time. If several steps are released together, they go out 15 minutes apart.

## Schedule sends the customer asks for

Separate from the sequence, the "Schedule sends the customer asks for" switch lets the agent schedule a message when the customer asks for one ("contact me on Friday"). It works even with follow-ups switched off and is **WhatsApp only**. That send keeps the time the customer asked for: quiet hours do not move it and it is not cancelled if the customer writes again.

## When a follow-up is cancelled or skipped

- **The customer replies**: pending steps are cancelled and the sequence starts again from their message.
- **The customer says no** ("No thanks", "stop contacting me"): it is cancelled and does not start again.
- **Someone on your team writes in the chat** (from the watsi inbox, from the phone with WhatsApp Business, or from Instagram or Messenger): pending steps are cancelled. Templates and campaigns do not count.
- **The chat is escalated** to a person: pending steps are cancelled.
- **An advisor marks a reminder as done**: steps scheduled before that moment are cancelled.
- **The agent never spoke in that chat**: the step is cancelled.

Each step is sent once per silence; once all 4 are used, the sequence ends.

## Follow-ups after 24 hours

WhatsApp only allows free-form messages within 24 hours of the customer's last message. If a step goes out later, it is sent as a **WhatsApp template** with the generated text.

> **Outside the 24-hour window**
  - The attachment and buttons cannot travel in a template and are left out. - Meta bills that send
  as a **marketing** conversation. - A short step can also end up past 24 hours if quiet hours, the
  overnight blackout (20:00–09:00 in your company's time zone) or an agent pause postpones it.

## Limits

| Item                | Limit                         |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Steps per sequence  | 4                             |
| Wait for each step  | 1 minute to 30 days           |
| Fixed message text  | 1,024 characters              |
| Quick replies       | 3 buttons, 20 characters each |
| Image / video / PDF | 5 MB / 16 MB / 100 MB         |

## Related

- [Escalation to a human](/agent/escalation)
    When the agent hands the chat to your team.
- [Sales funnel](/agent/funnel)
    Stages for tracking your prospects.

## FAQ

### How many follow-ups can the agent send?

Up to 4 steps per conversation. Each step is scheduled between 1 minute and 30 days after the customer's last message, and is sent once per silence.

### What happens if the customer replies before the follow-up?

Pending follow-ups are cancelled and the sequence starts again from their new message. If the customer says they no longer want to be contacted, the sequence is cancelled and does not restart.

### Can a follow-up be sent after 24 hours?

Yes. More than 24 hours after the customer's last message, WhatsApp only allows templates, so the follow-up goes out as a template with the generated text and without its attachment or buttons. Meta bills it as a marketing conversation.

### Is the follow-up sent if an advisor is already handling the chat?

No. When someone on your team writes in the chat, or the chat is escalated, pending follow-ups are cancelled.