WhatsApp Business for enquiries: the 24-hour rule explained

Many customers would rather send a WhatsApp message than fill in a form or make a phone call. For businesses that take enquiries (tour operators, clinics, salons, restaurants, property agents), WhatsApp can become the busiest channel quickly. If you use WhatsApp through a business platform or software rather than just the phone app, one rule shapes everything: the 24-hour customer service window.

This guide explains what the rule is, when it applies, and how to work with it.

Two kinds of WhatsApp for business

It helps to know which one you're using, because the rule applies differently.

• The WhatsApp Business app. A free app for your phone, designed for small businesses. You get a business profile, quick replies, greeting and away messages, labels and a catalogue. You chat with customers much like normal WhatsApp.
• The WhatsApp Business Platform (also called the WhatsApp Cloud API). Used by software (CRMs, inbox tools, chatbots, booking systems) to send and receive WhatsApp messages on a business number. This is what lets a team share one inbox, automate answers and connect WhatsApp to other tools.

The 24-hour rule described here is a rule of the WhatsApp Business Platform.

What the 24-hour rule says

When a customer sends you a message, a 24-hour window opens. During that window, you can reply with any normal message: text, photos, documents, links, whatever the conversation needs.

Every new message from the customer restarts the 24 hours. So as long as the customer keeps replying, the conversation stays open.

When 24 hours pass without a message from the customer, the window closes. After that, you can only send a message template: a message written in advance and approved by Meta.

What message templates are

A template is a fixed message with optional placeholders, for example:

Hi {{1}}, your booking for {{2}} on {{3}} is confirmed. Reply to this message if you have any questions.

Templates are created in WhatsApp Manager (or through your software), and Meta reviews them before they can be used. They fall into categories:

• Utility: updates about something the customer has already asked for or bought, such as a booking confirmation, a reminder or a change of time.
• Marketing: offers, announcements, invitations and anything promotional.
• Authentication: one-time codes for signing in.

To send templates, especially marketing ones, the customer must have agreed to hear from you on WhatsApp. Keep a record of how and when they opted in.

What it costs

Meta's pricing for the WhatsApp Business Platform changes from time to time and depends on the country and the template category. In general, replying to customers inside the 24-hour window is not charged, while templates are. Check Meta's current WhatsApp Business Platform pricing page before you plan any campaign. Meta has also offered longer free windows for conversations that start from click-to-WhatsApp ads, so check the current terms if you advertise.

Why the rule exists

The rule protects people from being messaged by businesses they haven't spoken to recently. For you, it means conversations have a natural rhythm: answer while the customer is engaged, and use templates, sparingly, for everything else.

Working well within the window

Reply fast

The single most useful thing you can do. A customer who asks about availability is usually comparing options; the first clear answer often wins. And a fast reply keeps you well inside the window.

Agree who answers WhatsApp and when. Outside business hours, an automatic message that says when you'll reply sets expectations.

Ask the question that keeps the conversation going

Instead of ending with "Let us know!", end with a question the customer can answer easily:

We have space on Saturday at 15:00 or Sunday at 16:00. Which suits you better?

Every reply from them restarts the 24 hours.

Send everything the customer needs while the window is open

If they're likely to need the price list, the location pin, the cancellation policy or the payment link, send it while you can still send anything.

Prepare templates for the moments you'll need them

Write a small set of utility templates in advance and get them approved:

• Booking confirmation
• Reminder the day before
• Change of time or pickup details
• Follow-up after an enquiry went quiet (keep this one polite and optional)

Don't treat templates as a way around the rule

Sending marketing templates to people who didn't clearly agree to receive them is the fastest way to get your number reported or restricted. Keep promotional messages relevant and occasional.

What happens if you miss the window?

If a customer's last message was more than 24 hours ago, you have three options:

1. Send an approved template that invites them to reply, for example a short follow-up about their enquiry. When they reply, the window opens again.
2. Use another channel they gave you, such as email or a phone call.
3. Wait for them to write again.

What you can't do is send a normal free-form message. On the Platform, it will be refused.

A simple enquiry workflow

Putting it together, here's a routine that works for most small businesses:

1. Customer messages you. The window opens.
2. Reply within minutes during business hours with the answer and a simple question.
3. Send the key information (price, availability, policy, payment link) while the window is open.
4. If they book, send a utility template confirmation and reminder when needed.
5. If the conversation goes quiet, send at most one polite template follow-up, then leave it.
6. Record the outcome (booked, not interested, follow up later), so the team knows where each enquiry stands.

How Wirk helps

Wirk's inbox brings WhatsApp messages together with your Facebook and Instagram comments and messages and your Google reviews. The AI sorts each message, spots likely buyers and drafts a reply in your brand voice, and a person on your team approves it before it's sent. Before sending an approved WhatsApp reply, Wirk checks the 24-hour window. If the customer last wrote more than 24 hours ago, nothing is sent, and you're told to wait for them to write again or use an approved template from WhatsApp Manager.

You can also talk to the Wirk assistant itself over WhatsApp and other chat apps, for example to approve replies from your phone.

The short version

• The 24-hour window applies to the WhatsApp Business Platform, not the phone app.
• Each customer message restarts the 24 hours.
• Inside the window, reply freely. Outside it, only approved templates.
• Reply fast, keep the conversation going, and use templates for confirmations and reminders, not for spam.