Utility messages
Utility messages let you reach a customer even after the 24-hour window since their last message has closed — for genuinely useful updates like appointment reminders, order confirmations or account notices. Because they go out beyond that window, each one must use a template Meta approved in advance, and must not be promotional.
Do these first
This only works once you have finished the following:
- 1
Connecting Facebook Pages: Utility messages run on a connected Facebook Page, and the Page needs permission to send utility messages.
Key terms
- Utility message
- : A specific, non-promotional update (reminder, confirmation, notice) you are allowed to send outside the 24-hour window using an approved template.
- 24-hour window
- : Meta only lets you message a customer freely within 24 hours of their last message. Utility templates are the approved exception that reaches past that limit.
- Variable
- : A placeholder like {{contact_name}} or {{appointment_date}}, filled automatically from the conversation at send time.
What utility messages are
Open it from Utility messages in the sidebar, then pick the Facebook Page you want to manage. Each template is a piece of Messenger content Meta approved ahead of time, and the page previews exactly what the customer will see. Templates are grouped by status so you can tell at a glance which ones are usable.
- Approved — ready to use: test-send it, or set it as the automatic appointment reminder.
- Awaiting Meta review — just created and waiting on Meta (usually seconds to minutes).
- Rejected — shown with Meta’s reason and hints on what to fix before resubmitting.
Tip: Click Sync from Meta any time to pull the latest statuses — handy right after a template is approved.
Creating a utility templateAdmin feature
Click New template and fill the form. As you type, the panel on the right rebuilds the exact card the customer receives, in both light and dark appearance.
- 1
Set a Template name and pick a Language.
Lowercase letters, numbers and underscores only; the name is just for you to recognise it. Meta stores one template per name + language pair.
- 2
Add a header image (optional).
A JPEG or PNG. Meta stores the image with the approved template, so it can’t be changed later.
- 3
Write the Title and Message body, inserting variables from the list.
Use Insert variable… to add placeholders like Customer name or Appointment date. The body can’t start or end with a variable.
- 4
Turn on the action button to send the customer to a link.
For example, a page where they can review their appointment.
- 5
Click Create template.
It’s submitted to Meta and usually approved within seconds; it starts in the Awaiting Meta review group.
Note: The content must be a specific update about an existing appointment, order or account — no invitations, promotions or marketing, or Meta will reject it. Need to run a promotion or an ad? Use Marketing Messages instead — the paid channel built for that.
Variables fill themselves in
Variables are the blanks in a template, swapped for each customer’s real details at send time, so one template serves everyone. Repio fills them from the customer’s profile and from the appointment data the AI extracted during the conversation. If a blank has no data, a safe fallback is used so a placeholder is never sent empty.
- Customer — Customer name, Phone number, Email.
- Appointment — Appointment date, Appointment time, Booked service, Branch.
- Page — Page name.
Test-send before you rely on it
On an approved template, click the Send test message icon on its card. Pick a conversation and the preview fills the variables with that customer’s real data — their actual name and appointment date. When it looks right, click Send now to deliver a test into that conversation.
The automatic appointment reminderAdmin feature
Each channel has exactly one reminder rule, shown at the top of the page. This is how a utility template runs on its own: you nominate one approved template as the reminder, and Repio sends it ahead of every appointment.
- 1
Turn on the Appointment reminder switch.
- 2
Pick an approved template to use: hover its card and click the reminder tick on it.
Only approved templates can be picked, and only one holds the reminder at a time — ticking another hands it over. The card that currently holds it is highlighted and already ticked.
- 3
Set how many hours or days before the appointment to send, then click Save.
Tip: You can pause the reminder without losing your template choice — switch it back on and it resumes with the same template.
Note: A reminder is only scheduled once the conversation holds a valid appointment date and time (extracted by the AI or noted by staff). No appointment details, nothing to remind.
Who can do what
Any workspace member can view the templates, sync from Meta and send a test. Creating or deleting templates and setting the reminder rule are reserved for admins.