Messaging settings
The typing indicator, read receipts and handing a conversation back to automation after an agent has left it. All four settings explained one by one.
Last updated: September 30, 2026
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The typing indicator, read receipts and handing a conversation back to automation after an agent has left it. All four settings explained one by one.
Last updated: September 30, 2026
An automation that answers in a split second is not always a good thing: people notice they are talking to a robot. And there is a second question — once your agent takes over a conversation the automation goes quiet, but when does it come back? The Messaging screen answers both with four settings. This guide covers each one.
⚠️ The two settings in the first section (Typing indicator and Read receipts) work on Instagram accounts only. Open the screen on a WhatsApp account and the section starts with an info box: "These settings only work on Instagram accounts." The hand-back rule in the second section applies on every channel.
The description in the header sums it up: "How messaging runs on this account: the behaviours your customer sees in Instagram and handing the conversation back to automation. All of them are off by default."
All four default to off — meaning if you do nothing, your automation opens no typing indicator, sets no read receipt, and a conversation an agent took over never returns to automation until you hand it back by hand.
The page holds a single form. Even though you see two sections, the Save button writes all four at once; change one section and the other keeps its values.
The section is described as: "Making automations behave like a person: the typing indicator and read receipts."
A dropdown with two options:
The second option has an important condition: the indicator appears only when there is a wait. If the message step is set to "Without waiting", the indicator never shows. So this setting alone is not enough; your message steps need wait times too.
A concrete example: a hair salon sends a greeting with a three-second wait to anyone who writes "I'd like an appointment". With the typing indicator on, the customer sees the other side typing for those three seconds; when the message lands the conversation feels human.
A dropdown with three options:
The third option is the most "honest" but it creates an expectation: a customer who sees their message was read waits for an answer. If you are outside business hours or your response time is long, this option generates complaints. The second option is more balanced: the receipt appears only when an answer really went out.
💡 The two settings are independent. You can turn on read receipts and leave the typing indicator off, or the other way round.
This is the second section and it works on every channel. Its description: "When an agent writes in a conversation, automation stops in that conversation. Here you can let the conversation return to automation on its own once the agent is done."
First, the existing behaviour: the moment an agent writes in a conversation, automation stops there. That protection is permanent; unless you hand it back, automation never speaks in that conversation again. This section automates the hand-back.
A checkbox. Turn it on and this rule applies: if there is silence for the wait below after the agent's last message, the conversation returns to automation.
The details:
The dropdown has six options: 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes and 1 hour.
When picking, weigh this trade-off: a short wait returns conversations faster, but automation may cut in before the agent has finished a half-written answer. A long wait removes that risk, but the customer waits needlessly in a flow the automation was going to continue.
A concrete example: in an online shop an agent answers a shipping question and moves to another conversation. With a 5-minute wait, if the customer writes nothing for five minutes the conversation returns to automation and the flow's "anything else?" step carries on. If the agent adds more information after three minutes, the counter starts again.
⚠️ Handing back does not change the conversation's assignment. It stays assigned to the agent; only automation's permission to speak comes back.
After your changes, press Save at the bottom of the page. A "Messaging settings saved." notice appears.
Owner, Admin, Editor and Viewer can open the screen; Agents don't see it in the menu. Only Owner and Admin can change anything; the others see disabled fields and no Save button at all.
Turning the typing indicator on without adding a wait to the flow. The indicator runs for the duration of the wait; with no wait it never shows.
Looking for these settings on a WhatsApp account. The first section is Instagram only. The screen says so in an info box.
Leaving read receipts on the most aggressive option with no after-hours reply. The customer sees it was read, no answer comes, and complains. For an after-hours reply see the Business hours screen.
Dropping the hand-back wait to 1 minute. If the agent thinks for more than a minute between two messages, automation cuts in.
Assuming that changing one section resets the other. There is one form; Save writes all four together.
For when automation stops in a conversation and how to hand it back by hand, see the Inbox section. For after-hours behaviour see Business hours, and for the 24-hour rule see the 24-hour messaging window guide.
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