The WhatsApp 24-hour customer service window, explained

When the window opens and closes

• Opens when the customer messages you (or taps a quick-reply button, or calls).
• Resets each time they send another message.
• Closes 24 hours after their most recent message.

As of November 2026

Inside vs outside the window

The 72-hour free entry point

If a customer reaches you from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page call-to-action and you reply within 24 hours, Meta opens a free entry point window of 72 hours in which all messages, including templates, are free.

Designing bots around the window

• Answer fast: a reply within minutes keeps the conversation inside the window.
• Collect everything you need during the window instead of following up later with a template.
• If you will need to follow up later (for example after a delivery), get opt-in and use a utility template.
• When a human hands back to the bot after hours, the window may have closed; plan template fallbacks.

ChatRhino's flow engine prefers a free-form reply while the window is open and falls back to an approved template when it has closed.

Other channels have windows too

Messenger and Instagram have their own standard messaging window of 24 hours, with limited exceptions. SMS and email have no window but have their own rules — see DLT for SMS.