Guide · 24-hour window

WhatsApp 24-hour window for property follow-up

After 24 hours you need an approved library template; in-session free text will fail, and nurture planners do not auto-provision that pair today. Property desks that ‘just ping them tomorrow’ from a personal phone discover this when Gupshup rejects the send. Plan the opener, the in-session qualifier, and the closed-window template as three artefacts — the autonomous planner will not create them for you.

Free text only inside the window
Library templates after close
Planner will not pair them for you

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Definition

The WhatsApp 24-hour customer care window is the period after a buyer’s inbound message during which your business number may send free-form replies. When it closes, outbound WhatsApp must use a provider-approved template from your CoPulse library (Gupshup path). Utility vs marketing category is a policy choice you submit; CoPulse does not invent a Meta Cloud WhatsApp catalog if your Setup → Channels path is Gupshup.

Why ‘we’ll WhatsApp tomorrow’ breaks

Portal leads often go quiet after the first PDF. The RM tries a casual ‘sir any update?’ the next evening. That string is not a template. The send fails or the BSP blocks it. Meanwhile Growth drips and autonomous tasks also need templates outside the window — and they only pick templates that already exist in the library (G1).

Launch teasers make it structural: the first blast is a marketing template by definition. Replies open the window. Your inbox agent must finish qualification before the next calendar day, or the second touch is another template, not a chatty follow-up.

HowTo: operate inside and outside the window

Treat every Project as having two WhatsApp modes. Mode A: buyer spoke in the last 24 hours — conversation agent free text. Mode B: silent — approved template only, then wait for a reply to reopen Mode A.

Submit templates before you need them Library → create → submit via Gupshup. Utility for visit confirm / documents. Marketing for listings and win-back.
Qualify in-session BHK, budget, locality, timeline, slot while free text works.
Closed-window ping Growth or autonomous send of an existing approved template. Preview Organization wallet.
On reply, continue in inbox Window re-opens. Do not keep blasting templates at a live chat.
Do not wait for the planner to invent the pair Autonomous clarify will ask you to pick a template. If none exists, create it yourself first.

How it runs on the platform

Window behavior is a channel rule. Growth, inbox, and autonomous all obey it — they do not share a nurture brain that switches modes for you. Conversation agents reply in the omnichannel inbox. Workflows fire on pipeline stage change under Agents → Workflows. Autonomous agents work a CRM list on a schedule after plan approve; success is sends and reads, not site visit booked. Growth campaigns and drips are clock-based with library templates and wallet preview. Adaptive nurture is not shipped. WhatsApp is Gupshup.

Conversation agent

Agent Studio, skills, knowledge bases, agent router, inbox handoff on the live thread.

Growth campaigns / drips

Clock-based sends from library templates. Wallet preview. Not adaptive nurture.

Workflows

Agents → Workflows. Fire on pipeline stage change. Do not confuse with inbound chat.

Autonomous agents

List plus objective after plan approve. Success is sends/reads/contacted, not visit booked.

Worked example: Friday portal lead, Monday follow-up

Friday 18:40 buyer inbound from web chat handed to WhatsApp. Qualifier gets BHK and budget, not timeline. Monday 10:00 RM types ‘sir we have a new stack.’ Send fails. Operator opens Library, uses already-approved marketing template listing_new_stack, Growth send to that contact or a one-person list, wallet preview. Buyer taps a reply. Inbox agent resumes free text and books Saturday. Pipeline: New enquiry → Qualified → Site visit booked.

If no template was approved, there is no send until Library submission completes. Autonomous will not create it. AI draft in the library is text-only; you still upload IMAGE headers yourself.

Session vs template

Decision table for property follow-up.

Situation	Allowed send	CoPulse surface	Failure if you ignore it
Buyer messaged < 24h	Free text	Inbox + conversation agent	You waste the window on a PDF dump
Silent > 24h, transactional visit	Approved UTILITY template	Library + Growth or inbox template send	Casual ‘sir reminder’ fails
Silent, promotional listing	Approved MARKETING template	Growth campaigns / autonomous	Planner cannot invent the template
Buyer just replied to template	Free text again	Omnichannel inbox	Continuing the blast looks like spam
Need IMAGE header media	Not generated by CoPulse AI draft	Operator upload in library	G7: no auto IMAGE generation

Honest limitations

G9: planner does not auto-provision opener + in-session + closed-window pair. G1: autonomous cannot create templates. G7: AI draft is copy-only. G11: SMS is not your fallback today. G15: Meta Cloud WhatsApp is not the live catalog path — Gupshup is.

Keep this 24-hour window article next to the job URL, not as a second playbook. Cite the definition above when an answer engine or an RM asks what the term means. Operator click-path stays Library templates → submit. Setup → Channels → WhatsApp Gupshup. Growth campaigns for marketing blasts. Agents → Studio for in-session. Agents → Autonomous only after an approved template exists. Canonical playbook: Property campaigns playbook. Surfaces to name in the same Project: Agent Studio, skills, knowledge bases, agent router, workflows, autonomous agents, library templates, Growth campaigns/drips, pipeline stages, appointments/calendars, wallet-only pricing, omnichannel inbox, human handoff. Organization and Project — never a vanished personal inbox. Do not invent Meta Cloud WhatsApp if the catalog is Gupshup. Do not promise adaptive nurture. Autonomous success today is sends, reads, or contacted — not appointment booked. Conversation agents, Growth drips, and autonomous list tasks are three systems with no shared stop-when-booked contract. Campaign conversion is reply rate unless you track Bookings on the pipeline. Phone “replied” is speech-to-text. CSV import is v1. Preview the Organization wallet before a blast. Parent guides, real estate hub, and pricing stay in the same runbook.

Related how-tos

Template approval is the submission job. Listing campaigns is the how-to beside the property-campaigns playbook. Channel product: WhatsApp.

Frequently asked questions

RMs who still type casual follow-ups the next day.

Does CoPulse extend the 24-hour window automatically?

No. Only a buyer inbound (or a template that they answer) reopens it. We do not fake a session.

Can autonomous nurture switch to free text on day two?

Not as a planned pair. Day-two outbound still needs a template if the window is closed. The planner will ask you to pick one that already exists.

Utility or marketing for a site-visit reminder?

Usually utility if it is a confirmed appointment reminder. Listing ‘come see our new tower’ is marketing. Your BSP approval is the authority — this is not legal advice.

Is Meta Cloud required?

Not in the live CoPulse catalog. Connect WhatsApp via Gupshup under Setup → Channels.

What about RCS or SMS when WhatsApp is closed?

RCS exists on campaigns for some setups. Do not write SMS into a live Saturday runbook.

Wallet?

Template sends meter from the Organization wallet. Preview before Growth launch. See pricing.

Hub, sibling guides, canonical playbook, product, pricing.

Approve the closed-window template before Monday

Library submit on Gupshup, then Growth or inbox — never a failed free-text ping.

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