Blog · WhatsApp rules
The WhatsApp 24-hour window, explained in plain words
On the WhatsApp Business Platform you can reply freely for 24 hours after a customer’s last message. After that, you need a Meta-approved template. Here’s what that means for your team day to day, and how to plan around it instead of fighting it.
What the rule actually says
Every time a customer messages your business, a 24-hour customer service window opens (or restarts). Inside it, your team can send any normal message: text, images, documents, voice notes, buttons. Once 24 hours pass without a new message from the customer, the window closes. From then on the business can only start the conversation again with a message template that Meta has approved in advance.
The rule exists to protect customers from unsolicited messages. It applies to everyone on the official API, whatever software they use — which is why it is worth designing your process around it.
What a template is
A template is a pre-written message you submit to Meta for review, with placeholders for things like a name or an order number. Templates fall into categories — broadly marketing (offers, announcements), utility (order updates, reminders, confirmations) and authentication (one-time codes). Meta reviews and prices each category differently, so name and categorise them honestly.
Where teams get caught out
- The slow quote. A lead asks for pricing on Friday evening; someone replies on Monday — and can’t, because the window closed.
- The forgotten follow-up. A salesperson promises to “check and get back”, and by the time they do, a template is required.
- The reactivation campaign. Messaging last year’s customers always needs a template — and their opt-in.
How to work with the window
- Reply fast. The best way to never need a template is to answer within the hour. Automated first replies help.
- Ask a question at the end. A reply from the customer reopens the window, so end messages with something easy to answer.
- Keep a small template set ready. A follow-up, a payment reminder, an appointment reminder and an order update cover most needs.
- Make the window visible. Your team should see at a glance whether a chat is open or needs a template.
How Clio handles it
Clio shows the service window on every conversation in the shared inbox, so nobody types a reply that can’t be sent. In the workflow builder, a condition can check whether the window is open and choose between a free-form reply and an approved template automatically. Template sending for groups of customers lives in campaigns.