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The 24-hour service window

WhatsApp lets you reply freely for 24 hours after a customer's last message. After that you can only send an approved template. This is Meta's rule and it applies to every provider on the WhatsApp Business Platform.

Who can do this

  • Agent
  • Admin
  • Owner

How to tell which state you are in​

Two places show it:

The details panel has a Message window row:

  • Open in green: you can send anything.
  • Closed in amber: templates only.

The composer changes shape:

  • Open: the toolbar (attach, quick messages, template, interactive) and a Type a message... box.
  • Closed: the box is disabled and reads Window closed — use a template, with a bar above saying Messaging window closed. Send a template to re-engage. and a Send Template button.

What resets the clock​

Only the customer messaging you. Every inbound message from them starts a fresh 24 hours. Nothing you send extends it.

Tapping a button on a message you sent counts as the customer messaging you, so a button tap reopens the window.

Inside the window​

You can send anything WhatsApp supports and there is no per-message template charge from Meta:

  • Text, emoji
  • Images, video, audio, documents
  • Replies quoting an earlier message
  • Interactive messages with buttons or a list

Outside the window​

Only an approved template. That is what the Send Template button is for. Meta charges for template messages at its published rates, billed to the payment method on your WhatsApp Business Account.

Once the customer replies to your template, the window opens again and you are back to free-form messages.

Planning around it​

  • Answer inside the window. A reply at hour 23 is free-form; the same reply at hour 25 costs a template send.
  • Keep utility templates ready for the conversations you know will run long: order updates, appointment reminders, document requests.
  • Ask a question that invites a reply in your template. A reply reopens the window and everything after it is free-form.
  • Buttons help. An interactive message with buttons makes it easy for the customer to respond with one tap, which reopens the window.

A trap worth knowing​

In an automation, the If no reply branch of a Wait for reply step runs precisely because the customer never messaged. So the window is closed on that branch, and a plain text message there will be rejected by Meta. Use a template. The automation builder shows a hint on that branch. See automation steps.

Message templates
Create and submit the templates you need for re-engaging.
Replying to customers
Everything the composer can do while the window is open.
Delivery troubleshooting
Messages failing, not delivering or not being read.
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