Wait for the client’s reply, and pick a path by the answer The Wait for a reply step pauses the run until the client replies in the chat, then chooses a path for each answer, for any other reply, or for no reply within the time limit.
Before you start · for owners and managers
Permission to edit workflows
You need: Permission to edit workflowsSteps 1 After a step that sends a message or a template, press Add a step and choose Wait for a reply .
2 Under Which chat , choose the chat.
The message sent in step … , or
The chat that started it , with a message trigger.
3 Under How long to wait , set the time limit in minutes, hours or days.
4 Under Answers that get their own path , press Add an answer for each named answer.
For each answer: buttons from the sending step, or keywords, and the step it goes to.
5 Connect the Replied (anything else) path and the No reply path.
How is the reply understood? Order
Matches
1
A button or list option the client pressed
2
A number from 1 to 10, in Western or Arabic digits, matching the sending step’s options
3
A keyword the reply contains, ignoring upper and lower case
4
Any other reply → the Replied (anything else) path
—
No reply before the time limit → the No reply path
A reply that is exactly the button’s text is treated as pressing the button.
A reply that arrives just before the wait starts is caught too.
After the reply Variables: {{reply_body}} is the reply’s text, and {{reply_choice}} is the chosen answer. The same two are available as conditions in a branch.
The run log writes “Replied — took the Confirm path” or “No reply within the time limit”, and doesn’t save the client’s text.
Limits It doesn’t work on WhatsApp groups.
You can’t turn off this step, because the answer belongs to the client.
The sending step must come before the wait on every path, and it can’t be turned off.
A practice run skips it.
If something goes wrong What you see
Why
What to do
“Wait from 5 minutes to 30 days”
Less than 5 minutes or more than 30 days.
Change the time limit.
“The answer doesn’t match anything”
An answer with no buttons and no keywords.
Add a keyword or a button.
“Needs a chat”
The chat comes from the trigger, and the automation doesn’t start with a message.
Choose a sending step’s chat.
“The step isn’t a sending step”
The chosen chat isn’t from a sending step that comes before the wait on every path.
Put the sending step before the wait.
“Unknown button”
A button the sending step doesn’t show.
Choose from its buttons.
A “No chat” failure
The message wasn’t sent, or it’s a group chat.
Check the sending step.
A real example The situation
Confirming appointments meant calling every patient.
What they did
A Send a WhatsApp message step with two buttons, “Confirm” and “Cancel”. A 3-hour Wait for a reply . Confirm → the status “Confirmed”. Cancel → the status “Canceled” and a notification to reception. No reply → a call task. The result
Reception only calls the patients who didn’t reply.
A made-up company, to show the idea. The numbers are rounded.
Good to know The time limit is from 5 minutes to 30 days. The reply text saved for the next steps is up to 2,000 characters. Did this guide solve it?
If not, we’ll ask what was missing.
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