Many bookings are lost simply because the guest stopped replying. The automatic follow-up solves that: if after a reply from the assistant the guest doesn't write back, the assistant sends them a message to restart the conversation — without your team having to remember every chat.
How it works
- In standard mode, up to two follow-ups are sent per conversation: a first message and, if the guest still doesn't reply, a second closing one. The first picks the chat back up with a direct question; the second is more of a closer (asking whether something about the offer didn't convince them).
- The text isn't a fixed template: the AI writes it based on what was being discussed (picking up the inquiry, asking a direct question) and in the conversation's language.
- They're only sent during reasonable hours (9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., your business's local time): if the calculated time falls in the middle of the night, it's rescheduled for 9 a.m., with a few random minutes of variation so they don't all go out at once.
- If the guest replies first, the pending follow-up is discarded on its own — they never get an "old" message.
💡 In the contact panel, each conversation shows its status: 1st follow-up / 2nd follow-up (scheduled or sent) or No follow-up scheduled.
ℹ️ If less than ~5 hours have passed since the guest's last message, the follow-up skips the greeting ("good morning/afternoon") on purpose, so it doesn't sound like a "new conversation" so soon.
When it's scheduled (and when the clock resets)
The follow-up goes through two separate moments: first it gets scheduled and, when the time comes, everything is re-checked before it's sent. These are the scheduling rules:
- A follow-up is scheduled only when the assistant replies to a guest message. If the assistant didn't reply, nothing is scheduled.
- Each time the assistant replies again (and the first follow-up hasn't gone out yet), the follow-up is rescheduled: the clock resets from that last reply.
- The second follow-up is scheduled only once the first has been sent successfully. If the guest replies to the first, the second no longer goes out.
- Other actions don't schedule follow-ups on their own: reactivating the assistant, moving the conversation to another stage, or assigning an agent don't schedule anything — the assistant always needs to reply to a guest message.
💡 Golden rule: a follow-up being scheduled does not guarantee it will be sent. When the time comes, it's re-checked whether the guest replied, whether an agent stepped in, and whether the conversation is still open. Nearly all "why didn't it go out?" questions come down to something that changed between those two moments.
When it's sent: the timing table
The timings are set in Settings → Assistant, the Follow-up timing table section: the 1st Follow-up and 2nd Follow-up columns each have their own toggle (the 2nd can only be turned on if the 1st is on). The logic: the closer the date the guest asked about, the sooner it makes sense to follow up.
In total, for a guest to receive a follow-up, three levels have to line up: the table's toggles (account level), the "Enable follow-up message in this stage" checkbox on the funnel stage the conversation is in, and the follow-up not being disabled on that specific conversation.
| Date the guest asked about | 1st Follow-up (example) | 2nd Follow-up (example) |
|---|---|---|
| Same day | In 1 hour | In 24 hours |
| Between 1 and 3 days | In 4 hours | In 48 hours |
| Between 3 days and 1 week | In 6 hours | In 72 hours |
| More than a week | In 24 hours | In 72 hours |
| Not defined (gave no dates) | In 24 hours | In 24 hours |
Each cell can be changed (from 30 minutes up to 72 hours) — or set to "Don't send follow-up", for example to turn off the second message or to not follow up with someone asking about very distant dates.
ℹ️ There's a follow-up even with no travel date: the "Not defined" row exists precisely for that. Even if the guest never said when they're traveling, the follow-up goes out anyway (by default, at ~24 hours) — unless you set "Don't send follow-up" on that row.
⚠️ Important (WhatsApp API): because of WhatsApp's 24-hour rule, follow-ups over WhatsApp API must go out within 24 h of the guest's last message. In practice: the sum of the 1st + 2nd follow-up timings must not exceed 24 hours, or the second won't arrive. The table itself warns you and marks the configuration as invalid if you go over.
Why a follow-up sometimes doesn't go out
It's the most frequent question — and almost always it's on purpose. The follow-up isn't sent if, at the moment it would go out:
- The guest already replied (a new recalculated one is generated later on).
- An agent from your team replied or the assistant is paused in that chat (temporary or permanent pause) — the follow-up doesn't interfere with human support.
- The conversation was already marked as won, lost, or archived (only open conversations are followed up).
- The funnel stage the contact is in doesn't have the "Enable follow-up message in this stage" checkbox ticked (you can follow up with "quoted" leads and not "booked" ones).
- The follow-up is disabled on that specific conversation.
- The channel window expired (24 h on WhatsApp API, Instagram, and Facebook; on WhatsApp API you can pick it back up yourself with a template). On WhatsApp connected via QR there's no window.
- The two available follow-ups were already sent (or the only one, if the second is off).
- The channel is disconnected (for example, the Instagram or Facebook connection expired): the send fails and the platform notifies you to reconnect it.
⚠️ The #1 cause of "I'm not getting follow-ups": the "Enable follow-up message in this stage" checkbox comes disabled by default on every funnel stage. In addition to setting up the timing table, tick that checkbox (in the Funnel settings) on the stages you want to follow up.
💡 Snoozing doesn't stop the follow-up: it only takes the conversation out of your inbox for a while; the scheduled follow-up goes out anyway. To keep it from going out, disable it on that conversation or pause the assistant.
💡 If the send was halted for something temporary (assistant paused, account stopped), it isn't blocked forever: the next time the assistant replies to the guest, a new follow-up is scheduled from scratch.
AI Follow-up (optional)
If your account has AI Follow-up active, instead of the fixed table an AI agent decides whether, when, and what to send in each conversation — it can make several spaced-out attempts (not just two), always respecting WhatsApp's limits and without insisting when it adds nothing. It's set up right there:
- Sending hours — the allowed time window (From / To).
- Mention scarcity — allows phrases like "only a few units left" as a closing strategy.
ℹ️ This mode is enabled per account — ask your WeSpeak advisor if you'd like to try it.
How to measure the results
In Dashboard → Artificial Intelligence you have two cards:
- Follow-ups sent — how many went out in the period.
- Recovery from follow-ups — what percentage of guests replied again after receiving one.
ℹ️ The recovery metric only counts the assistant's automatic follow-ups. If your team reactivates a chat by hand with a template, that recovery doesn't go into this number.
Frequently asked questions
How many follow-up messages does a guest who never replies get?
At most two. After that, the assistant no longer insists in that conversation.
Can I turn off follow-ups?
Yes: in the timing table choose "Don't send follow-up" on the cells you want (or on all of them). You can also disable just the second message.
A follow-up went out in another language, why?
The text is written in the conversation's language. If the detected language wasn't correct, report it with the thumbs-down on that message so we can review it.
Does the follow-up use the date from the Conversations section or what was discussed?
What was discussed: it takes the travel date the guest mentioned in the chat to decide when to send and what to say.
Do follow-ups use up conversations from my plan?
No — they're part of the same conversation with the contact; they don't add extra usage.
The guest replied to the first follow-up. Do they still get the second?
No. If the guest replied, the goal is already met and the second is discarded. If the assistant later replies to them again and the guest goes silent once more, a new recalculated follow-up is scheduled.
I reactivated the assistant in a chat, does that schedule a follow-up?
Not on its own. The follow-up is scheduled only when the assistant replies to a guest message. Only when the guest writes and the assistant answers them is a new one scheduled.
I paused the assistant in a chat, does that guest still get the follow-up?
No — with the assistant paused (temporary or permanent), no follow-ups are sent in that conversation.
I snoozed a conversation and the follow-up went out anyway, is that a bug?
No: snoozing only takes it out of your inbox for a while, it doesn't cancel the follow-up. To keep it from going out, disable the follow-up on that conversation or pause the assistant.
A contact has several conversations, which one gets it?
The one that's open at that moment — won, lost, or archived ones don't receive follow-ups.