Documentation / WhatsApp channel
The 24-hour window
In short: Meta only allows free-form WhatsApp messages to a customer within 24 hours of that customer’s last message. Once that window has closed, the composer in aishaa switches to template mode: you choose a template approved by Meta, fill in the variables and send it. As soon as the customer replies, the window opens again and you can type freely once more.
Where to find this
Open a WhatsApp ticket via Tickets. Template mode appears automatically in the composer at the bottom of the ticket as soon as the 24-hour window has closed. There is no setting for this.
Who: from the Agent role upwards. The window applies per customer number on the organisation’s connected WhatsApp number. Templates are managed by an Account admin under Account > WhatsApp templates (see WhatsApp templates).
When the window is open and closed
- The window opens when the customer sends a WhatsApp message to the organisation’s number and closes exactly 24 hours later. Every new message from the customer restarts the 24 hours.
- The window belongs to the customer’s phone number, not to the ticket. If the customer sent a message within the last 24 hours in another ticket on the same number, the window is open in this ticket too.
- Messages that you or a colleague send do not extend the window. Only messages from the customer count.
- If you create a new WhatsApp ticket yourself for a customer who has not written recently (see Create a ticket yourself), the window is closed and you start with a template.
While the window is open, the composer works as described in WhatsApp in the inbox: free text, attachments and voice messages.
Template mode in the composer
When the window is closed, the composer changes. At the top it says 24-hour window closed, followed by Choose an approved template to restart the conversation. The text field and the microphone are not available; you can only send a template.
If Meta refused templates from this number at the last check, a warning appears in red, even before you choose a template: At the last check at Meta ((moment)) Meta refused templates from this number. with the explanation that a template you send now will probably be refused as well. If it concerns the payment method of the WhatsApp Business account, the warning says so. Sending remains possible, because the check can be a few hours old. How to resolve such a block is explained in WhatsApp settings.
The composer of a WhatsApp ticket in template mode with the heading 24-hour window closed, a chosen template with preview text, the fields for the variables and the View full message button.
Choosing a template
- Click Choose template. While loading, it says Loading approved templates…
- The Choose template dialog shows all approved templates of the WhatsApp Business account of this number, split across the sections Recently used and All templates. For each template you see the name, the category and the message text, and the choice buttons if there are any. The language code is shown if the templates differ in language.
- If you like, search with Search templates by name, text, language code or category. If nothing matches, it says No matching templates found.
- Click a template to choose it.
The chosen template appears in the composer with its name, its language code and the text as it is currently being built. Use Change to choose a different template; clicking the chosen template also reopens the list.
The Choose template dialog with the Search templates field and the Recently used and All templates sections, each card showing the name, the category and a preview of the text.
Filling in variables
If the template contains variables, an input field appears for each variable:
- Numbered variables are called Variable 1, Variable 2 and so on. Named variables carry their own name.
- Below each field you see Example: with the example value from the template and In message: with the piece of text that contains the variable, so you can see what you are filling in.
- aishaa fills in some variables automatically when the value is known: the customer’s name, the ticket number and the name of the organisation. You do not need to fill in those fields yourself.
The send button stays disabled until all variables have been filled in.
Viewing the full message
Click View full message to open the Review message dialog. It shows the template as a speech bubble, the way the customer will receive it, with the values you filled in. If values are still missing, it says Complete these fields to see the final message: followed by the names of the empty fields. Close the dialog with Done.
Sending
Click the send button. The template goes to the customer and appears in the conversation. When the customer replies, the window is open again for 24 hours and you simply type a reply.
aishaa proposes a template
If the AI agent has the skill Send a WhatsApp template (Proposes an approved WhatsApp template: to the customer when the 24-hour window is closed, or to an outside contact.), aishaa can choose a suitable approved template itself when the window is closed and fill in the variables. Within the window aishaa does not do this: an ordinary reply is the way then.
Such a proposal appears as an action card with To the customer, on WhatsApp, the name and language of the Template, the text as the customer reads it and the values filled in. With it is You can only change the values; WhatsApp approved the text. Send template sends the template. Which skills an agent has and how its proposals are handled is explained in Skills and To do.
A template to an outside contact (a party from External parties with a WhatsApp number) always waits for a colleague, whatever has been set. The card then says To (name), on WhatsApp and First contact: their answer comes in as a new WhatsApp conversation.
Replying via WhatsApp to a ticket from another channel
You can reply via WhatsApp to a ticket that came in via another channel, for example email, if the customer also has a WhatsApp number. Above the composer it then says that you are replying via WhatsApp instead of via the ticket’s channel. The 24-hour window applies then too: if the customer has not written on WhatsApp in the past 24 hours, it says The 24-hour window is closed: only a template reaches the customer. The templates then come from the WhatsApp Business account of the number you send from. The customer’s reply comes back in the same ticket. See Replying to a ticket.
No approved templates
If there are no approved templates for this number, it says No approved templates available, followed by Check the Meta connection or try again. The Try again button makes aishaa fetch the templates from Meta again. Sending is not possible in that case.
Possible causes:
- No templates have been created yet, or none of the templates has been approved by Meta. Ask an Account admin to create a template under Account > WhatsApp templates.
- A template has been edited and is waiting for approval again; until then it cannot be used.
- The organisation’s WhatsApp connection is not working. An Organisation admin can check this under Organisation > Channels > WhatsApp > Settings.
Good to know
- You cannot change the template text itself in the composer; you only fill in the variables. If you want a different text, you need a different approved template.
- The Recently used section and the order within it are stored per browser. On another computer you will see different recent templates.
- The 24-hour window is not the same as the WhatsApp reopen window (hours) in the account settings. The 24-hour window is a Meta rule about what you are allowed to send; the reopen window determines whether a new customer message reopens a closed ticket or starts a new ticket (see WhatsApp in the inbox).
- In template mode you do not see a reply proposal from aishaa in the composer. A reply proposal is intended for free-form replies within the window; when the window is closed, aishaa can propose a template (see above).