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The frequency cap limits how many WhatsApp marketing messages your automations send to one contact. By default, automations send one WhatsApp marketing message to a contact every 3 hours at most. TextYess sets this limit when you publish your first automation. There is no frequency cap page in the dashboard. TextYess also holds a message at a bad moment, for example right after an order. This page explains each rule, what you can change, and how to see why a message was held. The rules apply to automations in Automations.

Default frequency cap: one WhatsApp marketing message every 3 hours

Before an automation sends a WhatsApp marketing message, TextYess counts the marketing messages that it sent to the same contact in the last 3 hours, from campaigns and from automations. If the contact already got one, TextYess holds the message. A held message is not sent later. The automation continues with the next step. On the canvas, the step shows the reason Weekly limit for these messages, also when the limit is 3 hours. Utility and Authentication messages do not count and are never held by the cap. Meta decides the final category of a Send Message template. See Template category.

Change the frequency cap of your automations

You cannot change the frequency cap in the dashboard. There is no Settings → Frequency cap page. To change the limit of your automations, or to turn it off, contact support from Help → Contact support. To control the hours when automation messages go out, use the Execution window of each automation. Read the section about the Execution window on this page.

One marketing limit across WhatsApp and email

TextYess support can also turn on one limit that covers WhatsApp and email together. This limit adds to the caps on this page. A message must be within all limits to go out. The limit counts the marketing messages that a contact received in a set number of hours. For example: no more than 3 marketing messages in 72 hours. It counts messages from campaigns, campaign follow-ups and automations, on WhatsApp and email together. Utility messages, such as order updates, and Product Back in Stock messages never count and are never held by it. When a contact is over the limit, an automation holds the message and continues with the next step. A campaign does not send to this contact, and the campaign results show the contact as held. A follow-up is never held because of its own campaign. It is held only if the contact received a different marketing message in the time window.

Automation messages that skip the frequency cap

Some automation messages do not count toward the frequency cap and are never held by it. Utility and Authentication messages skip it. A marketing message that comes right after the contact taps a button or replies, with no Time Delay between them, skips it, because the contact is waiting for the answer. This also applies to the first message of an automation that a campaign button starts. The message of a Product Back in Stock automation skips it, because the shopper asked for it. These messages are still held for a contact who opted out, and when your message credits are used up.

Email frequency cap: one marketing email every 16 hours

The Send Email step of an automation has its own limit. By default, TextYess sends one marketing email to a contact every 16 hours at most. If the contact got a marketing email from TextYess in the last 16 hours, TextYess holds the new one. The automation continues with the next step. You cannot change this limit in the dashboard. To change it, contact support from Help → Contact support.

Send automation messages only between set hours (Execution window)

The Execution window sets the hours when an automation sends messages. In Automations, open the automation and click the trigger. Under Flow Settings, turn on Execution window. Choose the hours in From and To, and the Timezone. The default is 8:00 to 21:00 in the timezone of your store. A message that is due outside these hours waits for the next opening. If the automation starts outside these hours, it waits before its first step. A reply to a button that the customer just tapped goes out at once.

See why an automation held a message

When TextYess holds a message, the step on the canvas shows a chip like “3 held”. In Automations, open the automation and click the chip. A window lists the contacts and the reason for each one. The Runs tab shows a Delivery outcome for each run: Delivered, Withheld (a rule held the message) or Failed to deliver (the message could not be sent). A held message is not an error. The automation continues with the next step. Read the next section for each reason.

Reasons why TextYess holds an automation message

These are the reasons that the held list shows. Opted out: the contact is blacklisted or blocked your number. Unsubscribed: the contact unsubscribed from marketing. Recent buyer: the contact ordered in the last 24 hours. Handled by AI: the contact wrote to you in the last 60 minutes. Handled by your team: your team handles the chat. Weekly limit: the frequency cap. Already sent recently: the same step sent the same message in the last 72 hours. Invalid number: the phone number does not match the message language. Out of credits: your message credits are used up. Send limit reached: the run already sent 10 WhatsApp messages. Recent buyer, Handled by AI, Handled by your team and Unsubscribed apply only to marketing messages.

The 72-hour rule: one message per step every 72 hours

An automation step does not send the same WhatsApp message to the same contact twice in 72 hours. This happens when a contact enters the same automation again. The held reason is Already sent recently. To keep a contact out of an abandoned checkout, cart or browse automation for longer, set a wait. See Let a contact enter an automation again only after a wait. The rule does not apply to these triggers: Order Created, Order Fulfilled, Message Received, Stop Message, Campaign Button Tapped, Purchase Intent and Product Back in Stock. It also does not apply to the template types Cash on Delivery, Tracking Link and Stop Message Response, or to tests.

Automations paused: out of message credits

WhatsApp messages from automations use the message credits of your plan. When the credits run out, the Automations page shows Automations paused and Your credits ran out. Runs still start, but their WhatsApp messages are held with the reason Out of credits and are not sent. Automations send again when your credits reset, or when you upgrade with Upgrade plan. If your plan allows it, owners and admins can click Keep them running: automations then keep sending and you pay for each extra message on your next invoice. See Plan and billing.

Limit of 10 WhatsApp messages in one automation run

One run of an automation sends 10 WhatsApp messages to the contact at most. Later WhatsApp messages in the same run are held with the reason Send limit reached. This limit protects your contacts from an automation that loops back to a message step.