> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.callkaro.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Follow-Ups

A follow-up is one message the agent sends on its own when the customer stops replying. It is off by default, and deliberately hard to abuse.

<Note>
  Follow-ups are a **WhatsApp** feature. Instagram agents have no follow-up path.
</Note>

## The limits, and why they exist

<Warning>
  **One follow-up, minimum 60 minutes.** Both are platform-safety limits, not preferences — the backend clamps to them when it reads the config, whatever is saved in the builder.

  Repeated unanswered outbound messages are the single most common reason a WhatsApp Business account gets restricted by Meta. The cap protects your sender number.
</Warning>

## Settings

| Setting                   | Description                                                                                                                                                                               |
| ------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Enable Follow-Ups**     | Off by default. Turning it on configures exactly one follow-up                                                                                                                            |
| **Send After (minutes)**  | How long to wait after the last message before following up. Minimum **60**. A single whole number — the old comma-separated form (`90,90`) is rejected, since only one follow-up is sent |
| **Follow-Up Action**      | What the follow-up is allowed to do — see below                                                                                                                                           |
| **When Not to Follow Up** | Conditions under which the follow-up is skipped                                                                                                                                           |
| **Follow-Up Prompt**      | The instruction injected when the follow-up runs                                                                                                                                          |
| **Follow-Up Functions**   | A separate, narrower function list available only during the follow-up                                                                                                                    |

### Follow-Up Action

| Value                        | Behaviour                                                                                                                     |
| ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Auto — let the AI choose** | The model picks between messaging and calling, using each follow-up function's description                                    |
| **Always send a message**    | Forces a message                                                                                                              |
| **Always schedule a call**   | Forces a call. Requires a [Send / Schedule Call](/chat-agents/functions/send-or-schedule-call) function in the follow-up list |

### When Not to Follow Up

A plain-English stop condition. The default covers the obvious cases:

> user said goodbye, issue resolved, deal closed, or any end condition described in your system prompt

This is evaluated **at the moment the follow-up is about to go out**, with the conversation in front of the model — so a conversation that quietly resolved itself stops being chased even though nobody marked it closed.

<Tip>
  Make this specific to your business. "Do not follow up if the customer has already placed the order, asked us to stop contacting them, or said they are buying elsewhere."
</Tip>

### Follow-Up Prompt

The instruction the agent receives when the follow-up fires. The default:

> This is the {{follow_up_index}} follow-up. The user hasn't replied in a while. Send a brief, natural follow-up to re-engage the conversation.

`{{follow_up_index}}` is replaced with 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on.

Write this as a brief to a colleague, not as the message itself — the agent still writes the wording, in context. "Remind them their cart is still saved and offer to answer any question about delivery" beats "Say: your cart is waiting!"

## Follow-Up Functions

A separate list from the agent's conversational functions, because a follow-up is **unattended** — nobody is reading the reply as it goes out.

Keep it narrow. A reminder template, or a call. Custom code functions in this list may run on every follow-up, so avoid anything with a side effect you would not want repeated.

Each function's description is what the model uses to decide whether it applies, exactly as in normal conversation.

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Send / Schedule Call" icon="phone" href="/chat-agents/functions/send-or-schedule-call">
    Needed for a call follow-up — and set its calling hours
  </Card>

  <Card title="Best practices" icon="star" href="/chat-agents/best-practices">
    Follow-up timing that does not read as nagging
  </Card>
</CardGroup>