Wait block

Jonathan Goodfellow Updated by Jonathan Goodfellow

The Wait block pauses your agent's flow for a set time, from 15 minutes to 24 hours, and then carries on. When the time is up, the conversation follows the block's green output. When the visitor writes during the wait, the conversation follows the red output instead.

How to set up the Wait block

To set up the Wait block, add it to your flow where the agent should pause, choose how long to wait in Wait for, and connect both of its outputs.

Wait block panel with Wait for set to 24 hours, next to a flow where the green output asks if the books arrived and the red output thanks the customer for their message.

The Wait panel has one setting and the block has two outputs:

● Wait for: how long the agent waits before carrying on: 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours or 24 hours.

● Green output: the path the conversation follows when the time is up.

● Red output: the path the conversation follows when the visitor writes during the wait.

How does the Wait block work in a real flow?

The Wait block is useful for following up with someone later in the same conversation, without them having to come back and write first.

In this example, an online bookshop, Page & Pine, uses a WhatsApp agent to confirm orders. The agent says "Thanks for your Page & Pine order. Your books are on their way and should arrive tomorrow", the customer taps Great, thanks!, and a Wait block set to 24 hours follows. The Page & Pine conversation then goes one of two ways:

● The 24 hours pass: the green output runs, and the agent asks "Did your books arrive safely? πŸ“¦" with the buttons Yes, all good and Something's wrong.

● The customer writes during the 24 hours: the red output runs straight away, and the agent replies "Thanks for your message! A bookseller from Page & Pine will reply here shortly."

What happens when the time is up?

When the time set in Wait for is up, the Wait block sends the conversation down its green output and the agent carries on with the next block. The green output runs even when the visitor has closed the chat or left the page, because the timer runs on Landbot's side, not in the visitor's browser.

What interrupts the Wait block?

The Wait block is interrupted when someone writes in the conversation before the time is up:

● The visitor writes: the red output runs straight away, and the agent carries on down the red path.

● A team member writes from the Inbox: the team member takes over the chat, so the wait stops and neither the green nor the red output runs. The conversation stays with the team member, as with the Human takeover block.

Connect both outputs of the Wait block. With nothing connected to the green output, the agent says nothing more once the time is up; with nothing connected to the red output, a visitor who writes during the wait gets no answer.

FAQ

Can a visitor interrupt the Wait block on a Web chat?

No, a visitor can't interrupt the Wait block on a Web chat. During the wait, the Web chat shows no text box and no buttons, so the visitor has nothing to write in, and the conversation follows the green output when the time is up. A team member can still write from the Inbox, which stops the wait.

Does reloading the page restart the Wait block?

No, reloading the page doesn't restart the Wait block. Reloading the share page starts a new conversation, and the wait in the first conversation keeps running and follows its green output when the time is up.

For WhatsApp

The Wait block works on WhatsApp, and the contact can interrupt it: anything the contact writes during the wait sends the conversation down the red output straight away.

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