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How AI Replies Work

A behind-the-scenes look at what your AI assistant does on every channel — SMS, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM, and WhatsApp. This page explains the customer-facing behavior so you know what to expect, including how WhatsApp's 24-hour messaging rule affects your conversations.

For setup options (turning AI on/off, agent name, response delay), see the AI Assistant page.

What the AI does for you​

When a new lead messages your business, the AI:

  1. Picks up within seconds — usually under 60 seconds, faster than most human responses
  2. Reads the message in any language the lead writes in
  3. Pulls in your business context — your business name, your services, your prices, any rate sheets or service documents you've uploaded
  4. Asks 1–2 qualifying questions about what the lead needs (service type, urgency, address)
  5. Quotes real prices from your pricing table — never made-up numbers
  6. Marks the lead HOT or WARM when it has enough information to hand off
  7. Schedules follow-ups if the lead doesn't respond, then closes silent leads after a few attempts

The AI replies in the same language the lead used. If your lead writes in Spanish, the AI replies in Spanish. If they switch mid-conversation, the AI follows.

When the AI handles a lead vs pauses​

The AI is active for a lead while:

  • The lead is new (status NEW or CONTACTED)
  • The conversation is still in qualification (status AI or COLD)
  • No one from your team has replied to this specific conversation yet

The AI pauses for a lead when any of these happens:

  • A team member sends a message in that conversation (auto-pause — your reply takes ownership, without reassigning the lead)
  • A team member taps Assign to me / Assign to..., or Disable AI once it's already theirs
  • The lead has been marked as qualified (HOT or WARM) and is waiting for human pickup
  • The lead asks for a service you don't offer (the AI tells them and pauses for you to decide)
  • The lead has been closed (COMPLETED, LOST, NO REPLY)

When the AI pauses, follow-ups are also cancelled so the lead doesn't get nudged after you've taken over.

:::tip Handing it back Pausing the AI never reassigns the lead, and handing it back doesn't either — the assignee stays whoever it was the whole time, only whether the AI is the one replying changes. Swipe a lead and tap ✨ Enable AI, or pick AI from the chat header's status pill, to let the AI pick the conversation back up. See Taking over from the AI for every way to pause and resume it.

To tell at a glance whether the AI is currently active on a HOT or WARM lead, look for the small AI mark next to its temperature badge in the list — no mark means a human already has it.

One exception: a lead you added yourself (your own WhatsApp, a call, a walk-in) never goes to the AI — the AI option and the ✨ Enable AI swipe action aren't offered on it, even after the customer messages your business number. :::

:::tip "Customer replied" push If a lead is ASSIGNED to a team member and the customer messages back, you'll get a 💬 Customer replied push notification on your phone. The AI stays paused (you're handling it), but the alert ensures the message isn't missed. :::

Filtering out spam, sales pitches, and off-topic messages​

Not every message your AI gets is from a real customer. The AI recognizes a few other kinds of messages and handles each one differently, so it doesn't waste time chasing something that was never going to turn into a job:

Kind of messageWhat the AI does
Sales pitches — someone selling you something (SEO, ads, "free consultation," another lead-gen tool)Replies once, politely declining, then stops. The lead is closed so it doesn't clutter your pipeline.
Vendors and referral partners — an existing supplier, or someone passing you a referralReplies briefly and flags it for you — these are real business contacts, not junk, so a human should follow up.
Obvious spam — crypto schemes, "earn $X a month," junk linksCloses silently. No reply goes out at all.
Off-topic messages — flirting, inappropriate requests, or chit-chat with nothing to do with your servicesFlirting or inappropriate requests get a single polite decline and the lead is closed right away. Chat that just wanders off topic gets one friendly redirect; if the person keeps going, one short final line and then it goes quiet.

For off-topic messages specifically: if that same person messages again within 24 hours, the AI stays quiet instead of starting the conversation over. Their message is still saved on the lead and shows in your inbox, so you or a teammate can reply personally if it looks like a real request. After that window, the AI picks back up normally. A lead you close yourself as Not Interested isn't affected by this — those still work exactly as before.

None of this needs any setup on your part — it's built into how the AI reads every message, for every customer.

What "qualified" means​

When the AI marks a lead as HOT or WARM, it means:

  • The lead has confirmed they want a service you offer
  • The AI has collected the basic info (their name, contact, what they want, where)
  • The lead seems ready to move forward — to a quote, an estimate, or a booked job
BadgeWhat it tells you
🔥 HOTReady to book — strong intent, urgency mentioned, or already pricing-aware. Respond ASAP.
🌤️ WARMInterested but exploring — wants more info, comparing options, or in early planning.
❄️ COLDWas active but stopped responding. Follow-ups are running.
⏳ PENDINGConversation just started — AI hasn't formed a temperature yet.

When a lead becomes HOT or WARM, the AI removes itself from the conversation and you get a push notification. The lead waits for you to respond.

Follow-up sequences​

If a lead goes silent after the first AI message, the system automatically follows up:

WhenWhat happens
20 hours of silence (default; configurable)First nudge — a friendly check-in, or the closing "still interested?" question if it's the only follow-up scheduled
5 days of silence (only if the second follow-up is turned on — off by default)Final nudge with an explicit yes/no close
48 hours after the last scheduled follow-upLead auto-closes as NO REPLY if there's still no response

Follow-up timing is configurable in Setup → AI → Follow-Up Sequence — see the full breakdown, including the Facebook Messenger / Instagram DM 20-hour hard cap and why there's no second follow-up on those two channels.

If the lead replies at any point during this sequence, all pending follow-ups are cancelled and the AI picks the conversation right back up.

WhatsApp 24-hour rule (important to know)​

WhatsApp is different from SMS or Facebook in one specific way: Meta's policy limits when businesses can freely message customers.

What the rule says​

Once a customer messages your WhatsApp Business number, you have a 24-hour window during which you can send any kind of reply — questions, quotes, follow-ups, normal back-and-forth.

After 24 hours of silence from the customer, that free window closes. Until they message you again, you can only send pre-approved templates — not freeform text.

Why it exists​

This is Meta's rule, not ours. It's the same policy every business on WhatsApp lives under. Meta enforces it to protect users from spam and unwanted business outreach. If your business tried to send a freeform message after the 24-hour window, WhatsApp would reject it with an error.

How LeadHub handles it for you​

You don't have to think about this most of the time — the AI handles the difference automatically:

  • Within 24 hours: The AI sends normal replies, just like SMS or Facebook. Conversational, personalized, anything goes.
  • Outside 24 hours (e.g. a 48-hour follow-up): The AI sends an approved template — a pre-formatted message Meta has signed off on. The customer reads a polished message; you don't see any difference in the inbox.

This applies to both AI-generated follow-ups AND any manual messages you send. If you try to manually message a lead more than 24 hours after their last reply, the system uses a template format on your behalf.

What this means for you​

  • Reply quickly. Faster responses keep the freeform window open and let you have more natural conversations.
  • You can't send a fully custom WhatsApp message after 24 hours of silence. You'll need to fall back to one of our approved templates (the system picks the right one automatically).
  • Templates are limited but tasteful — they cover follow-ups, appointment reminders, status updates, and re-engagement. They preserve the lead's first name and your business name automatically.
  • The customer's reply re-opens the window. As soon as they message you back, you have another 24-hour freeform window.
  • Photos and voice messages follow the same rule. On WhatsApp you can only send them inside the 24-hour window — see Sending photos and voice messages.

The WhatsApp template requirement doesn't apply to SMS, Facebook Messenger, or Instagram DM. Messenger and Instagram have a similar 24-hour reply window set by Meta, but there are no templates there — a reply sent outside the window simply can't be delivered. SMS has no window at all.

Bilingual replies (English / Spanish)​

The AI auto-detects the language of every inbound message and replies in the same language. Your business doesn't need to be set up bilingually — it just works.

If you have the Bilingual Lead Response feature on (Pro plan), the inbox also translates the conversation so you can read every message in your preferred language regardless of what language the lead writes in.

The two work together:

  • The AI replies to the lead in their language
  • The inbox shows you the same conversation in your language

Each team member can pick their own reading language in Settings → About → 🌐 My language.

What the AI won't do​

A few important boundaries:

  • The AI never reveals it's an AI. If a lead asks "are you a person?", the AI will deflect naturally and stay in the conversation.
  • The AI never makes up prices. It only quotes from your service pricing table. If you haven't added pricing for a service, the AI says it'll have someone follow up with details.
  • The AI never books appointments without your approval. It collects the request and hands the lead off to you to schedule.
  • The AI never asks for credit cards, deposits, or sensitive personal info. All payment conversations happen with you, on your terms.
  • The AI hands off when in doubt. If a question is ambiguous, the AI marks the lead WARM and lets you take it from there.

What information the AI uses​

The AI only uses information you've added to the system:

  • Your business name and industry
  • Your service pricing (what you charge for what)
  • Any rate sheets or pricing documents you've uploaded
  • Your AI agent name (if you set one)
  • Your AI greeting and instructions (if you customized them)
  • The current conversation with this specific lead, plus any prior conversations with the same person

The AI does not use information from other customers, the public internet, or anywhere outside your account. Each customer's AI runs on their own data.