How the AI replies — the 24-hour window and human takeover

When EezieLead's AI answers automatically, when it can't, and how to take over a conversation yourself.

Once your AI is switched on, EezieLead reads what a customer wrote, finds the answer in your FAQs and product directory, and replies in a natural, on-brand way — usually within seconds. Here's what decides when it answers, so nothing feels like a surprise.

Two things have to be true before the AI replies: the AI is switched on, and the customer messaged within the last 24 hours. A brand-new account starts switched off on purpose — see test before going live.

The 24-hour window

Once the AI is on, WhatsApp only lets businesses send free-form messages within 24 hours of the customer's last message. This is Meta's rule, not ours, and it shapes how the AI behaves.

SituationWhat the AI does
Customer messaged within the last 24 hoursReplies freely and automatically
More than 24 hours since their last messageCan't send a free-form reply; only an approved template can reach them

So if a customer went quiet for a day or two and you want to re-open the chat, you have two ways to do it: send a pre-approved follow-up template through EezieLead, or simply message them by hand from your WhatsApp Business App — which stays free and needs no template, because your number is still on the app too.

The 24-hour rule only limits automated messages sent through EezieLead. You keep your WhatsApp Business App, so you can always open it and message any customer one-to-one — free, anytime, no template.

Taking over a conversation

You're always in control, at two levels. Open any chat in your Inbox and pause the AI — from that point the AI stays silent in that chat and you reply yourself. Hand it back whenever you like, and the AI picks up again. The switch on your dashboard does the same thing for every conversation at once, which is how you take the AI off duty entirely.

Use takeover for anything sensitive, high-value, or that just needs a human touch. The AI won't talk over you.

The EezieLead inbox showing an AI reply and the pause/takeover control
Every conversation shows who replied — AI or you — with a one-tap takeover.