Scheduled Messages

Scheduled Messages are message templates that come with a timing rule built in — for example, “24 hours after the customer first messaged”, or “3 days after arrival”. You set them up once in your user settings, then apply them to any lead to queue the text for a future send.

They’re different from Quick Replies: a quick reply is just text you can reuse now, while a scheduled message is text plus when to send it.

Getting here

• Manage the library — your user settings.
• Apply one to a lead — open a lead in the Leads table and use the Pick a scheduled-message template option in the composer at the bottom of the Conversation view. See Messages.
• One-off delayed send — for a one-off scheduled send that doesn’t come from a template, use Send scheduled in the composer and pick a delay in minutes, hours, or days.

Applying a scheduled message to a lead

When you apply a scheduled message:

• The lead’s status is set to Scheduled Messages (purple). See Lead Statuses.
• The queued message appears inline in the conversation thread at its planned send time, shown with a timer icon and a Cancel button.

Cancelling a queued scheduled message

Find the queued message in the conversation thread (it has a timer icon next to it) and click Cancel. The message is removed from the queue before it sends. If it was the only scheduled message on the lead, the lead’s status will no longer be Scheduled Messages — change it to whatever fits the next action.

Managing your library

Scheduled Messages are per-user. You manage your own library in your user settings — add new templates, update timing rules, or remove templates you no longer use. Other teammates have their own libraries.

A template typically consists of:

• The message text to send.
• A timing rule — how long to wait before sending, relative to a trigger point.

Scheduled calls (not the same thing)

You may also see scheduled calls inline in the conversation — these are outbound phone calls queued for a future time, not scheduled text messages. A scheduled call shows the planned date and time with a timer icon and a Cancel Scheduled Call button as long as the time is still in the future. Click the button and confirm to cancel the queued call.

Scheduled calls are distinct from scheduled messages:

• A scheduled message is queued text that will be sent on the source platform at its planned send time.
• A scheduled call is a queued phone call, not a text message. Cancelling one doesn’t affect any scheduled messages on the lead, and vice versa.

If both exist on the same lead, each appears inline at its planned time with its own timer icon and its own Cancel control.

Scheduled messages vs. quick replies vs. send scheduled

There are three related ways to delay or reuse a reply; pick whichever fits:

• Quick Replies — reusable text you paste into the composer and send now (or schedule manually). No timing built in. See Quick Replies.
• Scheduled Messages (this page) — text plus timing. Applying one queues the send automatically.
• Send scheduled in the composer — a one-off delayed send. Pick a delay in minutes, hours, or days. No template is saved. See Messages.

What happens to the lead afterwards

• If the scheduled message sends successfully, it appears as a normal sent message in the thread. You should manually update the lead’s status from Scheduled Messages to whatever’s appropriate (often Answered).
• If the customer replies before the scheduled send, the queued message still goes out unless you cancel it — check the thread and cancel if the reply is no longer appropriate.

Questions? Email support@auto-respond.com.