Reply buttons, typing indicators and reply speed
A reply can include a link button or a few suggested answers. It can arrive as soon as it is ready, or be paced more like a person typing. These are separate choices: turning buttons off does not make replies faster, and changing the pace does not change the answer’s content.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”Reply-button settings and reply pacing are shared across your workspace’s bot conversations. Channel support determines what is actually shown. Live replies is a separate setting for the website chat line.
A closed question is one with a few specific answers, rather than an open request such as “Tell me what happened”. The button settings allow buttons; they do not put buttons on every reply. The reply determines whether they are appropriate. An ordinary reply has one set: either a link button or answer buttons, not both together. For a reply sent in several parts, buttons belong to the last text part.
Customers can always type their own message instead of using an answer button. Pressing an answer button sends its label as their answer. Pressing a link button opens the linked page; it is not an answer to a question.
Live replies lets website visitors see the answer appear while it is being written. This is different from a typing bubble, which contains no answer text.
Where to find it
Section titled “Where to find it”- Reply buttons, Reply pacing and Progress note on slow replies: Bot → Handbook → Who [your bot’s name] is. These settings are under Show advanced options. See using the Handbook.
- Reply-button instructions: the built-in Reply buttons rule under What [your bot’s name] does when…. The two button switches are in Who, not in the rule editor.
- Live replies: Settings → Chat services → Website → Appearance. Appearance appears when website chat is enabled.
Set it up
Section titled “Set it up”Reply buttons
Section titled “Reply buttons”- Go to the reply-button location above.
- Choose Show advanced options.
- Find the Reply buttons line and click either current value to open the two switches.
- Change Send links as buttons and Offer answer buttons on closed questions separately. Switch changes save automatically.
Reply pacing
Section titled “Reply pacing”- Go to the reply-pacing location above.
- Choose Show advanced options if the reply-pacing line is hidden.
- Find the line about reply pacing and click its current value.
- Choose Instant or Human-like.
Progress note on slow replies
Section titled “Progress note on slow replies”- Choose Show advanced options in the Handbook.
- Open the identity section listed above if it is folded.
- Find the line about a short “checking” message before a slow reply.
- Change its on/off value.
Website live replies
Section titled “Website live replies”Website chat must be enabled on a plan that includes it. If you have not connected it yet, follow website chat setup first.
- Go to the website appearance location above.
- If Live replies is available, use Show replies as they are written to turn it on or off. It saves automatically.
If settings are read-only, ask a workspace owner or someone with the necessary editing permissions to make the change.
Settings
Section titled “Settings”Reply buttons
Section titled “Reply buttons”The two settings are independent. Both start on.
| Setting | When on | When off | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Send links as buttons | A supported link can appear as a labelled button instead of a pasted address. | Links in ordinary replies stay in the text. | On |
| Offer answer buttons on closed questions | A question with a small set of answers may offer two or three short buttons. For example, “Collection” and “Delivery”. | The question is sent without suggested-answer buttons. Customers type their answer. | On |
The built-in rule editor listed above keeps Instructions for this behaviour, separately from the switches. Its built-in guidance is to use short labels. Editing these instructions changes the guidance, not the channel’s supported button types. You do not need to change the instructions to use the switches.
Reply pacing
Section titled “Reply pacing”| Reply pacing option | What happens |
|---|---|
| Instant | Replies send as soon as they are ready, without the extra human-like pauses before sending or between text parts. Preparing the answer and sending it still take time. |
| Human-like | The timing imitates reading, thinking and typing. Longer incoming text and pictures can affect the pause before typing appears. Reply length affects when text arrives and the pauses between parts. This is the default. |
Pacing changes timing only. It does not make the answer more detailed or change the bot’s personality and language. There is no seconds-per-character control to configure.
This pacing is for ordinary bot text replies. It does not add the same delay to pictures, product cards, appointment reminders or WhatsApp template messages. Website chat has a further exception when live replies are enabled, explained below.
Progress note on slow replies
Section titled “Progress note on slow replies”Progress note on slow replies is off by default. When enabled, an eligible slow reply that involves looking something up may send one short message in the customer’s language to say the bot is checking. This is a real message, not a typing animation, but it is not the final answer.
It is not sent on every slow reply. A quick final answer or a visible live website draft can make it unnecessary. It is not a general waiting message for human takeovers or every kind of outgoing notification. Availability also depends on whether progress notes are enabled for your service.
After a note is sent, a short pause can separate it from the final answer. Instant pacing does not remove that separation. You do not set the note’s exact wording or its delay in this switch.
Website live replies
Section titled “Website live replies”| Website setting | Effect | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Show replies as they are written | On: permits a live preview of the answer in the website chat. Off: wait for completed messages instead. | On when the feature is available |
For the website’s other options, see website chat settings. A website built with its own chat interface has additional developer requirements; see headless website chat.
What happens when…
Section titled “What happens when…”A customer uses a different channel
Section titled “A customer uses a different channel”| Customer channel | Link button in an ordinary reply | Answer buttons |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | |
| Telegram | Yes | Yes |
| No; use the link in the message text | Yes, in supported Instagram clients | |
| Website chat | Yes, below the message | Yes, below the latest bot message |
Meta, the company behind Instagram, says Instagram answer buttons are not available on desktop. Check them in the Instagram mobile app rather than relying only on a desktop conversation.
In website chat, answer buttons stop being usable once the visitor sends another message. They are choices for the latest question, not a permanent menu.
A reply can still be plain text with both settings on. For example, the channel may not support that button type, the reply may be too long for the channel’s button format, or the question may have changed while the answer was being prepared. A link that cannot be presented as a button stays as a text link. Missing answer buttons do not prevent a customer from answering in their own words.
A message is a WhatsApp template or a product card
Section titled “A message is a WhatsApp template or a product card”- WhatsApp template buttons belong to the separate WhatsApp template editor. The ordinary reply-button switches do not edit or remove a template’s buttons.
- Product-card links belong to product cards. They can use their own link buttons, including on Instagram. Turning off links in ordinary replies does not turn off product-card links.
A typing or read indicator appears
Section titled “A typing or read indicator appears”A typing indicator says a reply is being prepared. It is not a completed message or proof that an answer was delivered.
A read indicator sent to the customer concerns the customer’s incoming message. It is not confirmation that the customer read your outgoing reply.
| Channel | Typing indication from omotto | Read indication from omotto for the customer’s message |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | |
| Telegram | Yes | No |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Website chat | A typing bubble in the chat panel | No separate read receipt |
These signals have no extra switches in these settings. Bot typing indicators are automatic when the bot is preparing an eligible reply. A team member typing in an enabled Inbox reply box can also trigger a customer-facing typing indicator, including during human takeover. Both depend on channel support.
Bot typing can start after a pause and can stop before a reply appears. A team member’s typing indication is refreshed as they type and fades when they stop. Neither is an unlimited promise to keep showing “typing”.
A team member takes over the conversation
Section titled “A team member takes over the conversation”During a human takeover, omotto does not automatically mark each new customer message read just because it arrived. Merely opening the conversation does not send a read receipt either.
On WhatsApp, a typing indicator also marks the latest incoming customer message read. This includes indicators triggered when a team member types in the Inbox, so the read indication can appear before they send their reply.
Returning control to the bot or sending an Inbox reply can also send a catch-up read indication. The catch-up indication from sending an Inbox reply only acknowledges messages the replying team member had displayed; on Instagram, a newer incoming message can postpone that indication. The WhatsApp typing side effect above is separate.
Website live replies are enabled
Section titled “Website live replies are enabled”While live replies are enabled for that website line, they replace Human-like pacing: omotto does not add the usual reading/typing delays or pauses between text parts. This exception applies even if a particular reply shows no live preview. It does not change pacing on WhatsApp, Telegram or Instagram.
Not every website reply produces a preview. A preview can pause during a lookup or disappear when the completed reply replaces it. The final message can differ from the preview. Buttons belong to the completed message, so a preview without buttons is not evidence that the button settings are off.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”Check presentation in a real channel
Section titled “Check presentation in a real channel”- Use a rehearsal to check the conversation and wording.
- Test presentation in each actual connected channel too. An on-screen rehearsal is not a substitute for checking what WhatsApp, Telegram or Instagram displays.
- Try a question with two clear answers and a reply containing a link.
Buttons are missing
Section titled “Buttons are missing”- Check the two switches independently.
- Check the channel table above. On Instagram, also check mobile versus desktop.
Replies feel too slow
Section titled “Replies feel too slow”- Compare Instant with Human-like.
- Allow for lookups, file processing and sending, which still take time. See customer attachments.
There is no reply, typing bubble or read receipt
Section titled “There is no reply, typing bubble or read receipt”Do not use a missing typing bubble or read receipt as proof that a message failed. Some channels do not provide a receipt at all.
- Inspect the conversation and message status in the Inbox, rather than judging by the typing animation alone.
- If there is no reply at all, check whether the bot is live and whether someone has taken over. These presentation settings do not turn the bot on.
Live replies is missing
Section titled “Live replies is missing”If Appearance is visible but Live replies is absent, live replies are not currently available in your service. The saved on preference alone does not enable an unavailable feature.
If the settings are saved but behaviour remains unexpected in a real channel, contact support. Include the channel, the approximate time and which of these settings you were testing.
Related
Section titled “Related”- Using the Handbook
- Taking over a conversation
- Website chat setup and settings
- Testing with a rehearsal
Official references: Instagram answer buttons, WhatsApp typing indicators, Telegram typing status.