The 24-hour customer service window
When you can send free-form messages and when WhatsApp requires an approved template — and how Vatli shows it.
Applies to: Every WhatsApp Business API account (a Meta rule, not a Vatli one)
The rule
- When a customer messages you, a 24-hour window opens.
- Inside the window you can send anything: text, images, documents, buttons, lists, voice notes.
- Every new message from the customer restarts the 24 hours.
- After 24 hours with no message from the customer, you can only send an approved template. When they reply to it, a new window opens.
How Vatli shows it
- In the inbox, an open window lets you type normally.
- When it has expired, the composer shows that the session has expired and offers Send template. See Send a template from the inbox.
- If you try a free-form message after 24 hours, Meta refuses it with error 131047.
What this means for each feature
| Feature | Inside the window | Outside the window |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox replies | Any message | Templates only |
| Automations (Send Message / Buttons / List) | Delivered | Fail — use Send Template |
| Chatbot flows | Run normally | Can’t run — start with a template |
| AI auto-reply | Replies | Doesn’t apply (it only answers new inbound messages) |
| Broadcasts | Templates only — always | Templates only |
Click-to-WhatsApp ads
When a customer messages you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page call-to-action button, Meta opens a 72-hour free entry point window. Messages you send in that window are free. See WhatsApp pricing.
Ask a question at the end of your template (“Reply YES to get the brochure”). A reply opens the window so your team or bot can continue the conversation without another template (the first 1,000 replies a month per number are free).