> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dialtu.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Follow-up, reminders and closing

> What happens when the customer stops replying, and how a conversation closes

The **Follow-up & Engagement** group bundles five behaviours. They're toggled separately, but
**some are mutually exclusive**, so it's worth reading them together.

<Info>
  **📷 Screenshot needed** — the Follow-up & Engagement group with its toggles.

  Save to `/images/en/whatsapp-agents/follow-up-group.png`
</Info>

<Warning>
  **Reminders and auto-closing are incompatible.** If you enable reminders, idle auto-close
  **stops working entirely**. The interface doesn't warn you.

  Pick one: either you chase, or you close.
</Warning>

## Reminders

These re-contact a customer who **didn't reply**.

### Simple mode

One message and cadence for the whole sequence: how many reminders (1–10, default 3) and how
often (default 60 minutes).

### Advanced mode

Up to **5 steps**, each with its own delay and message. A new step starts at 1 day.

<Note>
  In advanced mode the maximum reminder count is **ignored**: the cap is the number of steps.
</Note>

### The message

| Strategy                | What it does                                                               |
| ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Automatic** (default) | The AI writes a reminder from the chat history                             |
| **Guide the AI**        | You describe what to achieve — tone, offer, urgency — and the AI writes it |
| **Static text**         | The exact message, with insertable client variables                        |

<Note>
  Switching to **Automatic** clears any text you'd written.
</Note>

### Auto-resolve at the end

Optional: closes the conversation once all reminders are sent, with an AI-generated or static
message.

### How they actually behave

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="The clock runs from the last message, whoever sent it">
    Including the agent's own reminder. It does **not** count from the customer's last message.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Outside the 24-hour window nothing is sent">
    WhatsApp only allows free-form messages for 24 hours after the customer's last message. Past
    that, the reminder is **silently skipped** — there's no template fallback. An internal note
    is left on the thread that the customer never sees.

    This is the most common cause of "I set up reminders and they never arrive".
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A paused agent still sends reminders">
    The process that sends them **doesn't check whether the agent is active**. Pausing an agent
    doesn't stop its reminders.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Any customer reply resets the count">
    And cancels active follow-ups.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Every reminder is billed">
    Like any AI-generated message.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Follow-up sequence

Different from reminders: it fires **after the conversation is resolved**, and sends **approved
Meta templates**.

* Every step needs an **approved template** — there's no free-form follow-up.
* **Minimum 24-hour delay** per step. It's a validation: less than that won't save.
* A **cool-down period** prevents repeat follow-ups to the same customer.
* An **inbound agent can't send itself follow-ups**: you must pick an outbound or omnichannel
  agent on the same number.

<Warning>
  **A session that merely expires doesn't trigger the sequence.** It only fires on
  **resolution**: by the agent, by opt-out, by a manual close, by auto-close, or at the end of
  the reminders. If your conversations die from 24 h of inactivity without being resolved,
  there'll never be a follow-up.
</Warning>

<Note>
  **Variables are not substituted** in follow-up template values. A `{{client_name}}` would
  arrive written literally.
</Note>

<Warning>
  The **"Scheduled"** wait mode (a specific time and day) **does not work**: it's saved but never
  applied. Always use **Fixed Delay**.
</Warning>

<Check>
  Follow-up templates **don't consume Dialtu credits** — Meta bills your account directly. The
  interface's note about a "separate billing charge" refers to Meta's conversation window, not
  your credits.
</Check>

## Conversation closing

Closes sessions after a period of inactivity, with an **AI-generated** or **static** message.

<Warning>
  Remember: **if reminders are on, this never runs**.
</Warning>

<Note>
  This option's helper text renders **in English** even in the Spanish interface — a known
  translation bug.

  Variables are also **not substituted** in the closing message.
</Note>

<Check>
  Closing messages **are not billed**.
</Check>

## Opt-out

When a customer asks to stop receiving messages, the AI closes that conversation and **doesn't
write to them again**.

<Check>
  **Opt-out persists.** It isn't just for that conversation: it's recorded **per contact** and
  blocks AI replies, reminders, follow-ups and reconnect campaigns. Releasing it is done
  manually from settings.
</Check>

<Note>
  **WhatsApp does not automatically recognise the word "STOP".** Unlike SMS, there are no
  keywords here: the AI detects the intent and performs the opt-out. Make this explicit in your
  prompt so it recognises it reliably.
</Note>

## Human handling

When someone on your team steps into a chat, that customer's future conversations **stay with a
person** instead of restarting the AI.

**Resume AI after** sets how many hours that hold lasts. Default **48**; `0` means **never**.

<Warning>
  Steps in a **follow-up sequence** create new sessions that **bypass this hold**. A customer
  flagged for human handling can still receive a follow-up template.
</Warning>

## Next step

<Card title="Tools and testing" icon="screwdriver-wrench" href="/en/whatsapp-agents/tools">
  Give it real actions and test before going live.
</Card>