Follow-ups: nudging quiet contacts

Follow-up sequences keep a contact warm when the conversation has stalled.
Unlike Triggers (which start conversations),
follow-ups continue them.

Trigger types

No reply — contact went silent. Fires after the delay on each step
from the contact's last message.

Keyword detected — contact said something that triggers the sequence.
follow up, call me back, not now — classic lay-low signals.

Agent decides — the agent itself calls the schedule_followup tool
when it judges it's time. Gives the agent full discretion.

After every exchange — starts a fresh sequence each time the contact
messages. Rare, but useful for aggressive re-engagement flows.

Sequence shape

Each sequence is a list of steps. Each step has:

• Step number — order
• Delay — how long after the previous step (or after the trigger, for
• Message — the text to send. Supports [merge

Example 3-step no-reply sequence:

| Step | Delay | Message |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 hrs | Hey {{contact.first_name|there}} — just checking back in. Still interested? |
| 2 | 72 hrs | Following up once more {{contact.first_name|—}} want me to send more info, or shall I close the loop? |
| 3 | 7 days | I'll stop the messages here. If the timing's better later, just reply. |

Working hours + follow-ups

Follow-ups respect working hours. If step 2 is
scheduled for 3am, we push it to 9am (or whenever your window opens).

What stops a sequence

• Contact replies. Any inbound cancels the remainder of the sequence —
• Stop condition fires. Agent paused → follow-ups paused.
• Contact marked DND. No more outbound.
• Sequence finishes. All steps sent.

Cancellation via AI

The agent can call cancel_scheduled_message if it decides a queued
follow-up no longer makes sense (e.g. the contact said "please stop
messaging me" but it doesn't quite match your sequence's stop keywords).

Tips

• Start with 2–3 steps. Long sequences feel spammy.
• Escalate urgency gently. Don't jump from "hi" to "last chance" on
• Use merge fields. A first-name + context line is much less
• Test from the Playground. The sequence UI lets you "fire now" for