How your AI agent can nudge customers who went quiet, without nagging
A lot of business is lost not with a "no" but with silence. Someone asks about a booking, you offer two times, and they never answer. A parent asks about lessons, you ask which year their child is in, and the chat stops. Usually nothing is wrong. They got busy, the phone rang, the message slid down the list. One friendly nudge a day or two later brings many of them back. An AI agent can send that nudge for you, in the same chat, at a sensible hour, and stop the moment the customer replies. This guide covers who should get a nudge and who should not, how to time it, what to write, how to set it up with a scheduled message or a follow-up sequence, and the platform rules that limit it.
Who counts as "went quiet"
A nudge is for someone who wrote to you first, was in the middle of something with you, and stopped replying. That is the whole rule, and it matters. A nudge is a reminder to someone who is already talking to you. It is never a way to start conversations with people who have not.
| Situation | Nudge? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You offered times and they did not pick one | Yes, once | They wanted a booking and probably just forgot |
| You asked a question they did not answer | Yes, once | The chat is waiting on them |
| You sent a price and heard nothing | Yes, once | They may be deciding, and a gentle line helps |
| They said "thanks, I'll think about it" | Maybe, after a few days | They asked for time, so give it |
| They said no, or "not for now" | No | A nudge after a no feels like pressure |
| They asked you to stop messaging | Never | Respect it, and the platforms expect you to |
| They complained and went quiet | No, a person decides | A complaint needs a human reply, not an automatic nudge |
| Someone who never wrote to you | No | That is a cold message, not a nudge |
Timing: when and how many
One nudge is right for most chats. Two is the most a small business should send. After that, the silence is an answer. A good default is the next day for anything time-sensitive, such as a booking this week, and two or three days for everything else.
Send at a time people are likely to read it, such as late morning or early evening, never late at night. On WhatsApp, Spaces adds its own rule here. New chats and follow-ups go out between 8:00 and 21:00 local time. A reply to someone who wrote in the last two hours goes out at any time.
Instagram and Messenger have a rule of their own. Instagram only lets you message someone who has not replied inside its messaging window, so replies in existing chats work best. Like Instagram, Messenger limits messages to people who have not replied, so replies in existing chats work best. In practice, that means a nudge on those two works best soon after the customer's last message, and a nudge a week later may not be possible at all.
Two ways to set it up
| Way | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| A scheduled message | You or your agent schedule one message in the chat for a set local time, inside working hours you choose | A one-off nudge you decide on case by case |
| A follow-up sequence | A short series of steps with a delay between them, which stops as soon as the person replies | The same kind of nudge for many customers, such as every unanswered price |
Follow-up sequences work on WhatsApp, Instagram and LinkedIn, and every step uses the same safety limits as any other message. Whether they are included depends on your plan, which the pricing page sets out. Our explainer on follow-up sequences covers how many steps to use and how far apart.
With either way, ask the agent to check that the customer has not replied before anything goes out. A sequence stops on a reply by itself. With a scheduled message, the agent can cancel it if the customer writes back first.
Setting it up, step by step
- Decide which situations get a nudge, using the table above. Write them as two or three lines.
- Write the nudge itself for each situation, in your words. Keep it to one or two sentences with an easy way to answer.
- Add the rules to your business brief: who gets a nudge, when, how many and who never does.
- Ask your agent for a list of chats that are waiting on the customer, before it sends anything, and check it with your own eye.
- Hold nudges as drafts for the first week. Ask your AI agent to hold replies as drafts, and nothing goes out until you approve it.
- Once the drafts are right, let the agent schedule nudges on its own, or set up a follow-up sequence for the most common case.
If you use a chat app such as ChatGPT, Claude or Grok, it only acts when you ask it something in a chat, so it will not watch your messages on its own. An always-on agent such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw or Hermes can run continuously and pick up each message as it arrives.
A sample note for your AI agent
Nudges. Only for people who wrote to us first and stopped replying
while we were waiting on them (we offered times, asked a question
or sent a price).
Send ONE nudge, in the same chat:
- the next day at 11:00 if it is about a booking this week
- otherwise after two days at 11:00
Send no more than one, and never after they said no, not now or stop.
Never after a complaint: hand those to Amy instead.
Cancel the nudge if they reply before it goes out.
Wording, booking: "Hi [name], just checking whether one of those
times suits? Happy to suggest others if not."
Wording, price: "Hi [name], just checking you got the price OK. Any
questions, just ask."
Never add a discount or "last chance" to a nudge.Example: a florist on Instagram
Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Customer (Mon) | Do you deliver to Clifton on Friday? Want a bouquet for my mum's birthday |
| Agent (Mon) | We do, yes. Delivery to Clifton is £6, and our seasonal bouquets start at £35. Would you like a seasonal mix, or something with a particular colour? |
| Agent (Tue, 11:00) | Hi Sophie, just checking whether you'd still like a bouquet for Friday? Happy to help choose. |
| Customer (Tue) | Yes sorry! Pinks and whites please, £45 |
One nudge, the next day, because the delivery was that week. Without it, Sophie might well have ordered from somewhere else on Thursday night.
Example: a letting agent on WhatsApp
Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Applicant (Wed) | Is the 2 bed on Mill Lane still available? |
| Agent (Wed) | Yes, it is. Viewings are Saturday at 10:00 or 11:30. Would either suit? |
| Agent (Fri, 11:00) | Hi Tom, just checking whether one of the Saturday viewings suits? Happy to suggest another day if not. |
| Applicant (Fri) | Found somewhere else thanks |
| Agent (Fri) | Thanks for letting us know, and good luck with the move. |
The nudge got an answer, which is useful in itself. The agent closes politely and sends nothing more.
Stop words and opting out
Anyone who asks you to stop should never get another nudge. Tell the agent that in plain words, and know that Spaces also enforces it on WhatsApp. Anyone who says stop, unsubscribe or similar, in English, French or Spanish, is never messaged again from that number.
On other channels, write the rule in the brief and ask the agent to tag the chat "do not nudge", so nobody on your team sends one by hand either.
The honest limits
A nudge is a message the customer did not ask for, even if they started the chat. Used once, at a sensible time, most people find it helpful. Used repeatedly, it reads as pressure and can lead people to block or report your account, which is the last thing you want on a personal account. Platforms restrict automation on personal accounts, and Spaces keeps every nudge inside safe sending limits, which lowers the risk without removing it.
Spaces does not have per-account working hours for live replies, but scheduled messages and routines do have working hours, so nudges can be kept to the day. The agent also cannot know why someone went quiet. A nudge to someone who has just had bad news is unavoidable now and then, which is one more reason to keep it short and kind.
Common mistakes
- Nudging people who never wrote to you. That is outreach, not a nudge.
- Three or four nudges. One is usually enough, and two is the most.
- Adding a discount to get a reply. It teaches customers to go quiet.
- Sending at 22:00 because that is when the agent noticed.
- Nudging after a complaint instead of handing it to a person.
- Forgetting to cancel a scheduled nudge when the customer replied in the meantime.
Who you message
Summing up
Nudge only people who wrote to you first and went quiet while you were waiting on them. Send one short, friendly message the next day or two days later, at a sensible hour, in the same chat, and stop for good after a no, a stop or a complaint. Use a scheduled message for one-offs and a follow-up sequence for the common cases. Most silences are just busy people, and one kind line brings many of them back.
Pricing
FAQ
How many nudges should I send?
One for most chats, two at the very most. If the customer has not answered after that, take the silence as an answer and leave the chat open for them to come back.
Can I nudge people who never messaged me?
No. A nudge is for customers who wrote to you first and went quiet mid-conversation. Messaging people who never wrote to you is cold outreach, which carries far more risk on personal accounts and is not what this job is for.
Is a nudge the same as a quote follow-up?
They are close cousins. A quote follow-up chases a formal quote you sent. A nudge covers any chat that stopped while you were waiting on the customer, such as a booking time or a simple question. Our guide on following up after a quote covers the quote case in detail.
What happens if the customer replies before the nudge goes out?
A follow-up sequence stops by itself when the person replies. For a scheduled message, tell the agent to cancel it if the customer writes back first, and check this in your first week of drafts.
Why could my agent not nudge someone on Instagram?
Instagram and Messenger limit messages to people who have not replied, so a nudge a long time after their last message may be refused. Nudge soon after the chat goes quiet on those channels, and keep later nudges for WhatsApp, LinkedIn or email.
Do follow-up sequences come with every plan?
Check the pricing page, which sets out what each plan includes. A single scheduled message in a chat is another way to send a one-off nudge.
Should I add a discount to bring people back?
Usually not. A discount in a nudge teaches customers that going quiet pays. A friendly check-in and an easy way to answer work better for most small businesses.