Utility Messages
Meta limits standard messaging to 24 hours from the customer’s last reply. Utility messages let you reach past that window with pre-approved templates — designed for updates customers expect, like appointment reminders and status notices.
On this page1/6 · What utility messages are
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.
- 2
Accounts & roles: You need an Admin or Owner role to create or delete templates and configure the automatic reminder rule.
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.
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. Because submitted templates cannot be edited in-place, you need to delete it and create a new one with the suggested fixes.
Tip: Click Sync from Meta any time to pull the latest review status from Meta, especially handy right after submitting a new one.
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.
Set a Template name and pick a Language.
Lowercase letters, numbers and underscores only (e.g. appointment_reminder); the name is just for you to recognise it. Meta stores one template per name + language pair.
Add a header image (optional).
A JPEG or PNG. Meta stores the image with the approved template, so it can’t be changed later.
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.
Turn on the action button to send the customer to a link.
For example, a page where they can review their appointment.
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 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.
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.
Each channel has exactly one reminder rule, shown at the top of the page. It starts Off. To activate it, simply select an approved template below — the rule turns on automatically and lets you set how far ahead to send it.
Pick an approved template below: hover its card and click the circular reminder icon.
Before a template is chosen, the reminder rule shows as Off. As soon as you select an approved template, its card displays a green checkmark and the Appointment reminder at the top turns On automatically. Note: Only one template can hold the reminder at a time — picking another hands it over.
Set how many hours or days before the appointment to send, then click Save.
For example, 1 day or 2 hours before the customer’s appointment.
Tip: Once active, you can pause or resume the reminder at any time using the toggle switch at the top without losing your template choice — switching it back on resumes with the same template and schedule.
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.
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.
