Glossary · WhatsApp for business
What is the WhatsApp 24-hour window?
In short
The 24-hour window, which Meta calls the customer service window, opens when a customer messages your WhatsApp Business number. For the next 24 hours you can reply with normal messages. Once it closes, you can only send a template message approved in advance, until the customer writes again.
Reviewed 9 November 2026. How it works in Axonave: WhatsApp Business.
What you can send, and when
Every new message from the customer restarts the 24 hours. While the window is open you can send what Meta calls service messages: text, images, documents, videos, locations, lists and reply buttons.
Outside the window, the only way to start the conversation again is a template: a message you write in advance and submit for approval, with spaces for details such as a name or an order number. A reminder, a delivery update or a “we’ve solved your ticket” message after a quiet day all need one.
Meta charges per delivered message, by type of message and the customer’s country, and the rules change from time to time. Check Meta’s pricing page for the current rates.
- Opened, and restarted, by the customer’s message
- Normal replies while it’s open
- Approved templates only after it closes
How it works in Axonave
The window counted down on every WhatsApp chat.
Axonave shows what’s left of the window above each WhatsApp conversation, so the agent knows how long they have. After a chat is resolved, you can follow up in a new linked conversation with one of your approved templates, which you manage and send from Axonave, with an image or a document in the header if you like.
- Templates with media headers, managed in Axonave
- Surveys on WhatsApp only while the window is open
- Meeting reminders inside the window, or by your template
Mohd Irfan’s WhatsApp chat in our demo workspace: the banner above the conversation counts down what’s left of his window.
WhatsApp 24-hour window: common questions
Can I message a customer after 24 hours?
Yes, with a template message you’ve had approved. When the customer replies, the window opens again and you can go back to normal messages.
Does the window reset?
Yes. Every message from the customer restarts the 24 hours. Your own messages don’t.
What does Axonave do when the window has closed?
The agent can follow up after a resolved chat in a new conversation, linked to the old one, using one of your approved templates. Surveys wait for an open window, and reminders use your template once it’s closed.
See it working with your own customers.
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