> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gallabox.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Auto Follow-up > Follow up automatically when a customer goes quiet after your agent's reply — with a canned message, or with short AI-written follow-ups that refer to the chat. > **Who can use this?** > > * Anyone whose team chats with customers on a WhatsApp channel. > * Roles: Owners and Admins, and custom roles with permission to manage channels, can turn it on. Agents don't need to do anything. > * Plans: **Canned response** mode follows your plan's channel configuration access. **AI follow-up** mode isn't available on every account; if you don't see it, only canned response settings appear. > [!NOTE] > > Auto follow-up nudges a customer who stopped replying after your agent messaged them. It was previously called **Re-engagement message**. It never changes who the chat is assigned to, so the customer's reply goes straight back to the same agent. ## When to use it Use auto follow-up when your agents ask customers for something and the chat stalls: * **Sales** — the agent asked for a budget, a preferred time for a demo, or a yes to a quote. * **Appointments** — the agent offered slots and the customer didn't pick one. * **Support** — the agent asked for an order number, a screenshot or another detail needed to fix the issue. It covers the case where **you** replied and the customer went quiet. For customers waiting on **you**, use [Auto reply](https://docs.gallabox.com/whatsapp/channel-configuration.md#auto-reply). ## Choose a mode | | **Canned response** | **AI follow-up** | | - | - | - | | What is sent | One message you pick from your canned responses | Up to 3 short messages written by AI from the chat | | Refers to the conversation | No — the same message every time | Yes — it reminds the customer of what the agent asked | | Skips chats that have ended | No | Yes — if the chat clearly ended, nothing is sent | | Log line in the chat | No | Yes — start, each follow-up, and why it stopped | | Cost | Normal WhatsApp conversation pricing | WhatsApp pricing plus [AI credits](https://docs.gallabox.com/pricing-and-billing/ai-wallet.md) per follow-up | **Pick AI follow-up** when agents handle varied conversations and a generic "Just checking in" feels robotic. **Pick canned response** when one standard message works for every chat, or you don't want to use AI credits. ## Set it up **1. Open the channel configuration** Go to **WhatsApp Channel → \[your channel]** and open the **Configuration** tab. Find the **Auto follow-up** card and switch it on. **2. Choose how to follow up** Under **How should we follow up?**, pick **Canned response** or **AI follow-up**. **3. Set when the first follow-up goes out** In **Send first follow-up after**, enter how many minutes (1–1439) to wait with no reply to the agent's last message. **4. Configure the mode** For **Canned response**, pick the **Canned Response** to send. You can preview it before saving. For **AI follow-up**, set: * **Number of follow-ups** — 1, 2 or 3. The default is 2. * **Wait between follow-ups** — how many minutes (1–1439) after one follow-up before the next. The default is 4. * **Instructions for AI** — optional, up to 300 characters. See [Write instructions for AI](#write-instructions-for-ai). **5. Save** Settings apply from the next message your team sends. Follow-ups already scheduled keep the settings they started with. > [!TIP] > > Set **Send first follow-up after** to roughly how long your customers usually take to reply. Too short and the customer gets nudged while they're still typing. Settings are per channel. If you run several WhatsApp numbers, set up each one. ## How AI follow-ups work 1. **The wait starts.** A team member sends a message from the Inbox in an open chat assigned to a team member. Each new message from your team restarts the wait from zero. 2. **The AI reads the chat.** It reads the most recent messages and what the agent asked. It sees the customer's first name, but not their phone number or email. It doesn't use a knowledge base. 3. **It decides whether to follow up.** If the chat has clearly ended — a goodbye, a confirmed booking, a closed issue — it sends nothing and stops. 4. **It sends a short follow-up.** The message appears in the chat as a message from your business. Each follow-up is different from the ones before it, and the last one is written as a final, gentle check-in. 5. **It waits and repeats** until it has sent the number of follow-ups you set, or something stops it. ### What stops follow-ups Follow-ups stop as soon as any of these happen: * The customer replies * The chat is resolved, unassigned, or handed to a bot or AI agent * WhatsApp's 24-hour customer service window closes * The contact opts out or is blocked * Your AI credits run out * Auto follow-up is turned off * A team member sends a new message — the wait starts again from that message * A message is sent through the API or an integration — this stops pending follow-ups but doesn't start new ones A log line in the chat records why follow-ups stopped. > [!NOTE] > > Follow-ups are sent only inside WhatsApp's 24-hour customer service window, and never as templates. If the customer's last message was more than 24 hours ago, nothing is sent. ## What agents see * **Each AI follow-up** appears in the chat like any other message from your business. * **A log line** shows when follow-ups started, each one sent, and when and why they stopped. * **The chat stays assigned** to the same team member throughout. When the customer replies, it lands with that agent as normal. * **Canned response** mode doesn't add log lines. The canned message appears in the chat when it's sent. ## Write instructions for AI **Instructions for AI** shape tone and content. They're optional — without them the AI writes a short, friendly reminder of what the agent asked. Keep instructions under 300 characters and focused on one goal: getting the customer to reply. What works well: * **Say how it should sound** — "a friendly person, not a bot." * **Point it at the one thing you need** from the customer. * **Ask for an easy answer** — something they can reply to in a word or two. * **Say what to avoid** — prices, promises, pressure. > **Sales** > > Sound like a friendly, confident person, not a bot. Tie the pending question to what they said they want and how it helps them. End with one easy next step they can answer in a word or two. Don't quote prices or discounts; say the team will share them once they reply. Never pressure them. > **Support** > > Sound like a calm, caring person, not a bot. Make it clear we're ready to fix their issue as soon as we get the one detail we asked for. Ask only for that detail, in a way they can answer in a word or two. Don't blame them for the delay or promise a timeline. Never pressure them. > **Appointments** > > Sound warm and helpful. Remind them of the slot options we shared and ask them to pick one, or suggest a time that suits them. Keep it to one short question. Don't push for a booking. **Avoid** instructions that ask the AI to: * Offer discounts or deals the agent hasn't mentioned — the AI can't check them * Say it's an automated reminder — it makes the message feel robotic * Write long messages or several questions at once — short follow-ups get more replies ## Auto follow-up and auto resolve If you also use [Auto resolve chat](https://docs.gallabox.com/whatsapp/channel-configuration.md#auto-resolve-chat): * **AI follow-up** — auto resolve never closes a chat while follow-ups are pending. Its countdown starts again after the last follow-up is sent or follow-ups stop on their own. * **Canned response** — if both are set to the same number of minutes, the auto resolve countdown starts when the follow-up is sent, not from the agent's reply. ## FAQs > **Where did the re-engagement message setting go?** > > It's now called **Auto follow-up**, in the same place. If you used re-engagement message before, your settings carry over as **Canned response** mode with the same message, minutes and on or off state. > **Why didn't an AI follow-up go out?** > > Open the chat and look for the auto follow-up log line. It shows why follow-ups stopped — for example the customer replied, the 24-hour window closed, the conversation had ended, or your AI credits ran out. Also check that the agent's message was sent from the Inbox and the chat was assigned to a team member. > **Does it work on chats handled by a bot or AI agent?** > > No. Auto follow-up only runs on open chats assigned to a team member. Handing a chat to a bot or AI agent stops pending follow-ups. > **Can the customer tell it's AI?** > > AI follow-ups are sent as messages from your business, like your agents' messages. Use **Instructions for AI** to match your team's tone. > **I don't see the AI follow-up option.** > > AI follow-up isn't available on every account. Contact your account manager to check whether it can be enabled for you. > **How much does it cost?** > > Follow-ups are normal messages inside the 24-hour window, charged at standard [WhatsApp pricing](https://docs.gallabox.com/pricing-and-billing/overview.md). AI follow-ups also use [AI credits](https://docs.gallabox.com/pricing-and-billing/ai-wallet.md) for each follow-up written. ## Related > **[Channel configuration](https://docs.gallabox.com/whatsapp/channel-configuration.md)** > > Every automation setting on a WhatsApp channel. > **[Canned responses](https://docs.gallabox.com/whatsapp/canned-responses.md)** > > Create the message canned response mode sends. > **[AI Wallet](https://docs.gallabox.com/pricing-and-billing/ai-wallet.md)** > > How AI credits work and what uses them. > **[AI and your data](https://docs.gallabox.com/privacy-and-security/ai-data-usage.md)** > > What data AI features send and where. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.