Follow Up Tool
The Follow Up Tool allows an Agent to schedule proactive messages based on the current conversation context, enabling timely re-engagement when the user stops responding — without breaking the conversational flow.
This tool is especially useful for sales, lead qualification, onboarding, reminders, and pending decision scenarios.
🔎 What the Follow Up Tool Does
Schedules one or more follow-up messages during a conversation.
Uses conversation context and conditions to decide if a follow-up should be scheduled.
Defines when the message should be sent and what it should say.
Automatically cancels follow-ups if the user re-engages before the scheduled time.
Allows operators to view, edit, or delete scheduled follow-ups directly from the conversation history.
⏱️ Channel Limitation (Important)
When the Agent is connected to WhatsApp Official or Instagram, follow-ups must respect the 24-hour messaging window:
The follow-up must be scheduled within 24 hours of the user’s last message.
If the window expires, the follow-up will not be delivered.
This behavior follows Meta’s official messaging policies.
🧠 How Follow Ups Are Evaluated
The key concept to understand:
The Agent evaluates follow-up conditions at the moment it sends a message — not in the future.
What this means in practice:
The Agent does not know whether the user will reply or not.
It predicts the need for a follow-up based on:
The current conversation state
The user’s intent
What information is still missing
Whether the conversation feels “open” or “pending”
If the condition matches, the Agent:
Decides that a follow-up may be needed
Reads the scheduling prompt
Schedules the message for a future time
⚙️ Tool Configuration
Each Follow Up entry contains:
1️⃣ Name
A short identifier for the follow-up scenario.
Example:
Waiting for car preference
2️⃣ Conversation Stage
Describes when this follow-up should be scheduled, based on the current state of the conversation.
This is not about future behavior. It’s about what is true right now.
✅ Good examples of conversation stages:
“The user asked about cars but hasn’t specified a model or brand yet.”
“The user showed interest in pricing but didn’t confirm the plan.”
“The user requested information but stopped responding before choosing an option.”
“The user asked for a proposal but hasn’t shared required details.”
❌ Avoid future assumptions like:
“If the user doesn’t reply…” (The Agent cannot know this yet.)
3️⃣ Scheduling Prompt
Defines when the follow-up should be sent and what message should be scheduled.
This prompt tells the Agent:
How long to wait
What tone to use
What question or reminder to send
✅ Good scheduling prompt examples:
“After 10 minutes, ask if I can send the complete list of available cars.”
“In 30 minutes, politely check if the user needs help choosing a plan.”
“After 1 hour, remind the user that support is available if they have questions.”
“Later today, follow up asking if the proposal should be adjusted.”
🔄 Runtime Behavior
Scheduling
Follow-ups are scheduled immediately after the Agent sends a message.
The scheduled message appears in the conversation history.
Automatic Cancellation
If the user sends any message before the follow-up time:
All pending follow-ups are automatically canceled.
The Agent may schedule new follow-ups, based on the updated context.
Manual Control
Operators can:
See scheduled follow-ups inside the conversation timeline
Edit:
Send date and time
Message content
Delete follow-ups if needed
This gives full operational visibility and control.
🔁 Fallback Follow Up (Optional)
You can define a Fallback Follow Up, used when:
None of the configured follow-up conditions match
The Agent still considers a re-engagement useful
This ensures the Agent always has a safe default behavior.
📌 Practical Example
Conversation User: “I want to know more about cars.”
Agent asks follow-up questions (brand, model, type).
Conversation Stage “The user showed interest in cars but hasn’t specified which one yet.”
Scheduling Prompt “After 10 minutes, ask if I can send the complete list of available cars.”
Result
Follow-up is scheduled
If the user replies before 10 minutes → follow-up is canceled
If not → message is sent automatically
🧠 Best Practices
Write conversation stages based on present context, not future outcomes.
Keep scheduling prompts clear and time-specific.
Use follow-ups to unblock decisions, not to spam users.
Always respect the 24-hour window on WhatsApp and Instagram.
Monitor and adjust follow-ups from conversation history when needed.
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