The right method depends on what you mean by “schedule.” WhatsApp Business has three different in-app automations: Away messages reply when customers contact you outside your availability, Greeting messages reply when someone starts or resumes a chat, and the newer Marketing messages feature (called Business broadcasts in some countries) lets eligible accounts choose an audience and schedule an outbound message for a specific date and time. If you need a follow-up triggered by a CRM event, a purchase, or a customer not replying, the WhatsApp Business Platform API is the appropriate route rather than a regular app broadcast.
This guide shows the exact setup path for each option, the connectivity and payment requirements, what happens when a scheduled send fails, and where WhatsApp’s 24-hour messaging and template rules apply.
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Choose the scheduling method that matches your follow-up
These features are not interchangeable. Start with the event that should cause the message to be sent.
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| Option | What triggers it | Best use | Important limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Away message | A customer messages while you are unavailable, or during a defined schedule | After-hours acknowledgement and expected-response-time notice | It is a reply to an incoming message, not a one-off outbound follow-up. The device needs an internet connection; “Outside of business hours” requires business hours in your profile. |
| Greeting message | A customer messages for the first time or after 14 days without activity in that chat | Welcome, re-engagement and first-response messages | It cannot be set for a particular future date or time. An active Meta Business Agent can disable it automatically. |
| Marketing message / Business broadcast | You select an audience and a future date and time | Campaigns, reminders, birthday greetings, feedback requests and other planned outbound messages | Availability varies by country and account. Payment setup and available funds are required, and the device must be connected when sending is due. |
| WhatsApp Business Platform API | Your software, CRM or webhook-driven workflow | Event-based follow-ups, larger-scale operations and integrations | It requires separate technical setup. Approved templates are required for business-initiated messages outside the 24-hour customer-service window. |
If you simply want customers to know that you are closed, use an away message. If you want a welcome when they return, use a greeting message. If you want the app to send to a chosen group tomorrow at 10:00, look for Marketing messages or Business broadcasts. If the timing depends on a payment, order status, appointment or lack of reply, plan for the Platform API.
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Set an after-hours reply with an Away message
An away message is an availability response. It sends after a customer contacts your business while the rule is active; it does not initiate a conversation with someone who has not written to you.
Configure the message
- Open WhatsApp Business and go to Tools.
- Tap Away message.
- Turn on Send away message.
- Edit the text. State when you will respond and, if useful, direct urgent requests to an alternative channel.
- Choose a schedule: Always send, Custom schedule, or Outside of business hours.
- Select the recipients covered by the rule.
- Tap Save.
Outside of business hours uses the hours saved in your business profile. Set or check those hours before selecting that option; otherwise the schedule cannot reflect your actual availability.
What an away message can and cannot do
- Always send keeps the automatic reply active whenever the rule applies.
- Custom schedule lets you define a specific time range, such as a holiday closure.
- Outside of business hours follows the business hours in your profile.
- The device must have an active internet connection in order to send away messages, according to the WhatsApp Help Center.
- The feature does not schedule a separate reminder for a customer who has not contacted you.
A practical message is specific without promising an exact response you cannot meet: “Thanks for your message. We are currently closed and will reply during our posted business hours.” If you offer a next step, make sure the recipient can actually use it while you are away.
Use a Greeting message for first contact or re-engagement
Greeting messages are behavior-triggered. WhatsApp sends one when a customer messages your business for the first time or when the chat has been inactive for 14 days. That 14-day rule is inactivity in the conversation, not a date you can choose in a calendar.
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Turn on the greeting
- Open WhatsApp Business and choose Tools.
- Tap Greeting message.
- Turn the feature on.
- Edit your welcome text.
- Choose the recipients covered by the greeting.
- Tap Save.
The device needs an active internet connection for the message to be sent. The Help Center also warns that a connected Meta Business Agent disables greeting messages automatically, so check that integration if the option appears enabled but customers are not receiving the greeting.
When a greeting is the better follow-up
Use this option when the customer has already returned to WhatsApp and you want an immediate welcome, such as “Welcome back—tell us what you need help with.” It is not suitable for “send this customer a message next Tuesday” or “remind everyone who bought last month.” Those are calendar- or event-based jobs.
Schedule a dated outbound message with Marketing messages or Business broadcasts
For a true future send inside the WhatsApp Business app, check whether your account shows Marketing messages or Business broadcasts. WhatsApp uses different labels in some countries, and the feature is not available to every account.
Check eligibility and prepare payment
The scheduled marketing-message workflow requires a payment method and sufficient available funds. The app should show pricing and audience details during review. Do not assume that a normal free broadcast list has the same scheduling capability; look specifically for the marketing-message or business-broadcast option.
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Schedule the message
- Open the marketing-message or business-broadcast entry in WhatsApp Business.
- Draft the message, including any media or details the interface permits.
- Choose the audience. Review who will receive the message rather than relying on an old list.
- Review the message, audience and displayed pricing.
- Choose Schedule.
- Set the date and time shown by the app.
- Confirm the scheduled send and keep a record of the selected audience and time.
WhatsApp describes reminders, birthday greetings, feedback requests, announcements and promotions as possible uses. Your account may show different labels, limits or eligibility notices because rollout and availability vary by country and account.
Connectivity, retries and processing time
The device must be connected to the internet when the message is scheduled to send. If it is offline at that point, WhatsApp retries after one minute and then every 10 minutes, for up to 10 attempts. Processing can take up to three hours, so a scheduled time should not be treated as an exact delivery guarantee. Keep the device powered, connected and logged into the correct business account around the send window.
What this feature does not establish
A scheduled marketing message is an audience-and-time operation. The native-app instructions do not establish that it can cancel itself when an individual replies, evaluate a CRM condition, or send a different message when someone fails to respond. Do not promise those conditional behaviors to customers based solely on the app’s scheduler.
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Use the WhatsApp Business Platform API for event-triggered follow-ups
The Platform is separate from the WhatsApp Business mobile app. It is intended for programmatic sending and integrations with CRM, support and marketing systems. A typical workflow is: an event occurs in your system, your application decides whether a message is permitted, it sends the appropriate message through the Platform, and webhooks report status back to your system.
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Events the app scheduler cannot reliably model
- Send a reminder a set time after an appointment is created.
- Send a delivery update when an order changes status.
- Follow up only with customers who have not replied to a previous message.
- Stop a planned sequence as soon as a customer completes a purchase.
- Synchronize message status with a CRM record.
These require business logic and data outside the mobile app. The Platform documentation describes message-sending endpoints, templates and webhook-based status tracking, but the exact implementation depends on your systems and compliance requirements.
Understand the 24-hour customer-service window
When a customer messages your business, a 24-hour customer-service window applies to the Platform conversation. Outside that window, business-initiated messages require an approved template. Templates also apply when you initiate a conversation rather than responding to a recent customer message. Build the timing and template selection into your workflow instead of attempting to send unrestricted free-form text after the window closes.
Plan the technical workflow
- Define the business event and the data needed to personalize the follow-up.
- Capture and store the customer’s permission and opt-out status.
- Determine whether the send occurs inside the 24-hour customer-service window.
- Select an approved template when a template is required.
- Send through the Platform integration.
- Receive delivery and failure updates through webhooks.
- Stop or alter future messages when the customer replies, opts out or completes the intended action.
The sources do not establish one particular provider or implementation. Evaluate any integration on whether it supports the event logic, template management, webhook status handling, permission records and opt-out controls your business needs.
Get permission and handle opt-outs correctly
Marketing automation does not remove your responsibility for consent. WhatsApp’s marketing-message guidance says businesses must obtain necessary permissions such as opt-in, provide required notices and honor opt-out requests. Platform policy likewise places responsibility for notices, permissions and compliance on the business.
Before scheduling
- Identify why each recipient should receive the message.
- Collect an opt-in that covers the type of communication you plan to send.
- Explain what the customer is agreeing to and how often messages may arrive.
- Keep a record of the permission and the source or time it was collected.
- Exclude people who have opted out, requested no marketing or become ineligible under your local rules.
In every campaign or follow-up system
- Make the business identity clear.
- Use an easy, recognizable way to stop future messages.
- Apply an opt-out immediately across scheduled sends and API workflows.
- Do not treat a reply such as “stop” as a reason to send another automated promotion.
- Review the current WhatsApp policy and the rules in the customer’s region before launching marketing automation.
Design follow-ups that customers can act on
Scheduling solves timing, not message quality. A useful follow-up identifies the context and gives one clear next step.
Reminder
Include the appointment or deadline, the relevant date and time, and the action required. Avoid sending a reminder so early that the customer cannot connect it to the event.
Feedback request
Ask after the customer has had a reasonable opportunity to use the product or service. Link the request to the completed interaction rather than sending it to every contact in a broad audience.
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Unanswered enquiry
If the customer has not replied, an API workflow can potentially enforce a single follow-up and stop after a response. The mobile app’s scheduled marketing feature should not be represented as having that conditional logic.
Birthday or milestone greeting
Use only dates the customer knowingly provided and permitted you to use. Verify the audience before scheduling because a mistaken date or recipient list can create an intrusive message.
Troubleshoot a message that did not send
The away message did not appear
- Confirm Send away message is enabled.
- Check that the current time falls within the selected schedule.
- If using Outside of business hours, verify the business hours in the profile.
- Confirm the device has an active internet connection.
- Check the recipient settings and whether the customer’s message qualifies for the rule.
The greeting did not appear
- Confirm the customer is messaging for the first time or after 14 days of chat inactivity.
- Check the internet connection.
- Look for a connected Meta Business Agent, which can disable greeting messages automatically.
- Verify that the customer is included in the selected recipients.
The scheduled marketing message is pending or failed
- Confirm that a payment method is set up and that sufficient funds are available.
- Keep the device connected at the scheduled time. WhatsApp may retry after one minute and then every 10 minutes, up to 10 attempts.
- Allow for processing that may take up to three hours before treating the send as failed.
- Check whether the feature is available to your country and account and whether the app uses the label Marketing messages or Business broadcasts.
- Review the audience and any notice shown during message review.
The API follow-up was rejected
- Check whether the 24-hour customer-service window has expired.
- Use the required approved template for a business-initiated message.
- Confirm that the recipient has not opted out and that permission records are present.
- Inspect webhook status and error details rather than assuming that an accepted API request was delivered.
A practical decision checklist
- Is the customer contacting you while you are unavailable? Configure an Away message.
- Is this the customer’s first message or a return after 14 days? Configure a Greeting message.
- Do you need a chosen audience to receive a message at a future date and time? Check Marketing messages or Business broadcasts, then review payment, availability and connectivity requirements.
- Does timing depend on an order, appointment, CRM field or lack of reply? Use a Platform/API workflow with templates, permission controls and status webhooks.
- Have recipients opted in and can they opt out? Confirm this before scheduling or triggering any marketing follow-up.
Using the smallest feature that matches the trigger keeps the setup predictable: availability replies stay in the Business app, dated audience sends use the eligible marketing scheduler, and conditional or integrated follow-ups belong in the Platform.
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