---
title: "Follow-ups - Auto-Respond Docs"
description: "Configure the automatic follow-up sequence sent when a lead doesn't reply"
source: https://auto-respond.com/docs/messaging-settings/follow-ups/
---

![Follow-ups documentation guide](https://auto-respond.com/assets/docs/messaging-settings-follow-ups.svg "Follow-ups Documentation")

A visual guide to the Follow-ups documentation, covering the setup, configuration, and workflow details explained on this page. Documentation illustration for Follow-ups.

# Follow-ups

The Follow-ups tab controls the messages sent to a lead who doesn’t reply after the welcome. You build an ordered sequence; each message has its own content and its own delay relative to the previous message.

## Getting here

In Auto-Respond, go to **Sources** → select a source → **Messaging Settings** → **Follow-ups** tab.

The tab has two sub-tabs:

- **“\[Source] Follow-ups”** (e.g. _Yelp Follow-ups_) - the follow-up sequence on the primary channel, described below.
- **“SMS Follow-ups”** - a separate sequence sent over text. See [SMS follow-ups](#sms-follow-ups).

ℹ️

Follow-ups don’t apply to **Facebook Lead Ads** sources (no two-way conversation).

## Options

### Continue follow-ups after you send a manual message

- **Label:** “Continue follow-ups after business sends a manual message” (checkbox)
- **Default:** on
- **When on:** if you or a teammate send a manual reply in the thread, scheduled follow-ups still go out until the lead replies or you change the lead’s status.
- **When off:** a manual reply from your side stops all future follow-ups for that lead.
- **Use this when:** leave it on if your team only replies to say “got it, will call you” and you want the nurture sequence to keep running. Turn it off if a manual reply always means “I’ve got this handled, stop messaging.”
- **Note:** this setting does not apply to Facebook Lead Ads sources.

### Follow-up sequence

The ordered list of follow-up messages. Each entry has the following fields.

#### Predefined or AI (per message)

- **Label:** a **Predefined** / **AI** toggle at the top of each follow-up entry.
- **Default:** Predefined.
- **Predefined:** a fixed message you write (the **Message body** below).
- **AI:** instead of a fixed message, the AI writes the follow-up when its scheduled time arrives, using the [Conversation Setup](https://auto-respond.com/docs/messaging-settings/conversation-setup/) AI instructions and the current lead conversation.
- **When AI isn’t available:** the **AI** option is greyed out and the entry shows _“Turn on AI Assistant in Conversation Setup to use AI follow-ups.”_ - turn on AI Assistant in Conversation Setup first.
- **Cap:** a sequence can hold only so many AI follow-ups. Past the limit you’ll see _“You reached the limit of N AI follow-ups. Use a predefined follow-up or change an existing AI follow-up to predefined.”_

#### Message body

- **Label:** rich-text editor for the message content (predefined messages only)
- **Default:** (empty on a new entry)
- **What it is:** what the lead receives. Supports basic formatting (bold, italics, links, line breaks).
- **Use this when:** write something that genuinely adds value - a new question, a photo, a testimonial, a reminder. Don’t send filler.

#### Delay

- **Label:** delay value (number) + unit (dropdown)
- **Units:** **Minutes**, **Hours**, or **Days**
- **Default:** (depends on the system default)
- **What it means:** the delay is counted from the **previous message**, not from when the lead first arrived. For example, if follow-up #1 has a 1-hour delay and follow-up #2 has a 2-day delay, follow-up #2 fires 2 days **after** follow-up #1 was sent, which is roughly 2 days and 1 hour after the lead arrived.
- **Use this when:** match the tempo to your sales cycle. Urgent services (emergencies, lockouts) use minutes to hours; project-based services use hours to days; long-cycle professional services can go multiple days between messages.

#### ”AI determines when this follow-up is sent” (AI messages only)

- **Label:** “AI determines when this follow-up is sent” (toggle, shown only on AI follow-up entries)
- **Default:** off
- **When on:** the AI chooses the timing of the follow-up instead of using the fixed delay above; the delay you set is kept as a fallback.
- **When off:** the AI follow-up fires on the fixed delay like a predefined one.

#### Reorder / Add / Remove

- **Reorder:** drag the row’s handle to change order. Messages fire in the order shown.
- **Add:** click the add button to insert a new message at the end of the list.
- **Remove:** delete any message. The remaining messages keep their own delays (counted from the new previous message).

## SMS follow-ups

The **SMS Follow-ups** sub-tab is a follow-up sequence sent over text, separate from the primary-channel sequence above. It has its own message list and its own timer, so a lead can be mid-sequence on both channels at the same time.

⚠️

SMS follow-ups only send when **SMS Messaging is enabled** for the source in [Conversation Setup](https://auto-respond.com/docs/messaging-settings/conversation-setup/sms-messaging/). If it isn’t, the tab shows: _“SMS is not enabled. Enable SMS in Conversation Setup before SMS follow-ups can be sent.”_

You build an ordered list the same way as the primary sequence (add, remove, drag to reorder), with the same per-message controls - the only differences are the SMS text constraints and that AI entries draw on the SMS AI settings:

- **Predefined or AI (per message):** each entry can be a fixed message you write, or an **AI**-generated one. AI SMS follow-ups use the SMS AI settings from Conversation Setup, and there’s a cap on how many AI follow-ups a sequence can hold - past the limit you’ll see _“You reached the limit of N AI SMS follow-ups.”_ (If SMS AI isn’t on, the entry shows _“Turn on SMS AI in Conversation Setup to use AI SMS follow-ups.”_)
- **Message text (predefined):** **ASCII only, maximum 160 characters** - one SMS segment.
- **Delay:** how long after the previous SMS this one sends.
- **“AI determines when this SMS follow-up is sent” (AI messages only):** let the AI choose the timing instead of the fixed delay; the delay you set is kept as a fallback.

When the lead replies on **either** channel - SMS or the primary channel - follow-ups stop on **both**. A customer reply ends the lead’s automated follow-ups everywhere, not just on the channel they replied on.

## How it behaves

- **Start:** the follow-up clock starts when the welcome message is sent.

- **Stopping automatically:**

  - The lead replies.
  - The AI conversation (if used) ends with the lead resolved.
  - You change the lead’s status in a way that ends automation.
  - A predefined message with **Prevent follow-ups** was the one that triggered - no follow-ups are scheduled in the first place.

- **Stopping on manual reply:** depends on the **Continue follow-ups after business sends a manual message** setting above.

- **Respecting the schedule:** follow-ups fire only during the hours configured on the [Timing tab](https://auto-respond.com/docs/messaging-settings/timing/). If a follow-up’s scheduled time falls outside allowed hours, it’s held until the next allowed window.

- **Grace period exception:** the Timing tab’s grace period lets follow-ups go out shortly after a lead’s initial message even outside the operating schedule - that’s the only exception to the schedule.

- **Edits to the sequence:** timing and content changes apply to **new leads only**. Leads already mid-sequence keep the timing they started with.

- **AI Follow-ups override:** if AI Assistant mode has **Enable AI Follow-ups** turned on, the AI writes its own follow-ups instead of running this sequence.

## Troubleshooting

- **Follow-up #2’s delay is measured from the wrong point:** delays are from the **previous message**, not from the lead’s start. To schedule “fire 2 days after the lead arrives,” set follow-up #1 at 2 days (from the welcome, which is effectively the lead’s start).

- **Follow-ups aren’t sending at all:**

  - Check the Timing tab - the schedule may be blocking them.
  - Check the lead didn’t already reply.
  - If AI Assistant is on with AI Follow-ups enabled, the standard sequence is replaced by AI-generated follow-ups.
  - Confirm Override Default Settings is configured as you expect at this level.

- **A manual reply stopped follow-ups and you didn’t want it to:** turn on **Continue follow-ups after business sends a manual message**.

- **Follow-ups went out at 2 AM:** review your Timing schedule and grace period - a long grace period can push messages into the middle of the night.

***

Questions? Email <support@auto-respond.com>.

Last updated: June 9, 2026