Human cadence (automated messages that look typed)
At a glance
| Location | Settings → WhatsApp → Health → Sending preferences card → Human cadence (shown while Expert mode is on) |
| Plan | All plans, including the free tier |
| Related features | 6 |
Five per-line behaviours that make automated WhatsApp messages (chatbot and auto-reply answers, autopilot, chat flows, campaigns, drips, notifications and scheduled messages) look the way a person's do. All five are ON by default for every line and need no setup. They change only the shape and timing of an automated send, never whether it goes out: if a step fails, the message is still sent. Messages you send by hand from the inbox get no added wait. The switches: "Show typing before automated messages" (the chat shows typing, or recording for a voice note, for a moment scaled to the message length, about 1 to 8 seconds; skipped for groups and statuses); "Mark a message read before replying to it" (a bot reply first marks the message it answers as read; only for reply-type automations, never for campaigns or notifications, and not when anyone in the organization has turned off sending read receipts); "Appear online while sending" (the line shows online while automated messages go out and returns to offline by itself when idle); "Vary the gap between automated messages" (a random pause of a few seconds between consecutive automated messages on the line, so they never leave at a machine-regular rhythm; it is a minimum, so a campaign whose pace already waits longer gets no extra pause); "Send scheduled messages a little late, never early" (a scheduled message leaves up to 3 minutes after its time, never before). The switches are in a "Human cadence" section of the "Sending preferences" card and are shown only while Expert mode is on for that line; only organization managers see them. Turning Expert mode on or off does not change them: Expert mode lifts the sending guards, and these are behaviours, not guards. The platform rate limit and the other sending preferences are unaffected.
How to use
- Open Settings > WhatsApp > Health and pick the line in the Sending Health card.
- In the "Sending preferences" card below it, turn on "Expert mode" (this also lifts the sending guards for the line).
- The "Human cadence" section appears under the guard switches.
- Switch off only the behaviour you need to turn off, for example "Send scheduled messages a little late, never early" if a scheduled message must leave on the exact minute.
- Click Save. To keep the cadence but restore the guards, turn Expert mode off again: the Human cadence switches stay as you saved them.
Related features
- Send preferences (per-line guards and Expert mode)
- Sending Health
- Scheduled Messages
- Campaigns / Broadcasts
- Auto-Replies
- Autopilot (Auto-Campaigns)
FAQ
- Why does my chatbot show typing before it answers?
- Why did my scheduled message go out a minute late?
- How do I make scheduled messages send on the exact minute?
- Why is my line shown online when a bot replies?
- Why did the bot mark the message as read?
- How do I turn off the typing indicator for automated messages?
- Why are there pauses between my automated messages?
- Does Expert mode turn off human cadence?