Glossary
What is the human agent tag?
The human agent tag lets a business answer a customer through Meta’s messaging API up to 7 days after the customer’s last message, instead of the usual 24 hours, as long as a real person writes the reply. It exists for support that can’t be finished in a day, like a question that arrives just as the shop closes for the weekend.
Updated 6 October 2026
The human agent tag marks a message as written by a person, so a business can reply up to 7 days after a customer’s last message instead of 24 hours.
How the tag changes the reply window
Apps that send messages through Meta’s API normally have 24 hours to respond to a customer’s message, and every new message from the customer restarts that clock. The human agent tag stretches the limit to 7 days, but only for replies a person writes.
| Time since the customer’s last message | Automated reply | Person replying with the tag |
|---|---|---|
| Under 24 hours | Allowed | Allowed; the tag isn’t needed yet |
| 24 hours to 7 days | Not allowed | Allowed |
| More than 7 days | Not allowed | Not allowed; wait for the customer to write again |
In the request itself, the message goes out with its messaging type set to MESSAGE_TAG and its tag set to HUMAN_AGENT. Meta’s Instagram messaging documentation offers the same option for DMs: a human agent who needs more time can tag the response and send it outside the 24-hour window.
What it’s for, and what it isn’t
Meta’s own examples of fair use are a business that is closed for the weekend and an issue that takes more than 24 hours to resolve. Both involve a customer who asked something and a person who answers late.
- Fits: a refund that needed a manager’s sign-off, a repair quote that took three days, a Saturday question answered on Monday morning.
- Doesn’t fit: anything sent automatically, from a scheduled follow-up to an AI-written answer.
- Doesn’t fit: promotions, discount codes or “just checking in” messages the customer didn’t ask for. The tag is for support, not marketing.
- Doesn’t fit: reviving a chat that went quiet more than 7 days ago. Only a new message from the customer reopens it.
Who can use it
The tag belongs to the app, not the account. An app can only send it after Meta approves its Human Agent feature in App Review, and the feature is only available to apps whose business has passed business verification. In practice, whoever owns the app, usually a help desk or messaging tool, applies once and offers it to the businesses that use it.
If your inbox tool doesn’t have it, replies after 24 hours simply can’t go out through that tool, and a late answer has to wait until the customer writes again.
Working within the window
- Answer routine questions (prices, opening hours, delivery) automatically, so they’re handled long before the 24 hours run out.
- When something needs a person, send a short acknowledgement at once: “Thanks, someone from the team will check your order on Monday.” The tag can then carry the real answer.
- End the acknowledgement with a question when you can. If the customer replies, the 24-hour window opens again and the tag isn’t needed.
An example
A customer asks on Saturday night whether a damaged order can be replaced. The team checks stock on Monday and sends the answer about 40 hours after the message, using the human agent tag.
Questions people ask
How long does the human agent tag give you?
Up to 7 days from the customer’s most recent message, compared with 24 hours without it. If the customer writes again, both limits start counting from that new message.
Can a chatbot or auto-reply use the human agent tag?
No. The tag is for replies written by a person. Automated messages have to go out within 24 hours of the customer’s last message, and tagging them doesn’t change that.
Does the human agent tag work on Instagram?
Yes. Meta’s Instagram messaging API lets an app tag a reply from a human agent so it can be sent after the 24-hour window has closed, up to the same 7-day limit.
Can I use it to send an offer to past customers?
No. An offer isn’t support, and the tag only covers a person answering a customer’s own question. Share offers publicly, or send them while a customer’s 24-hour window is open because they’ve just messaged you.
How does an app get access to the tag?
Through Meta’s App Review, where the app’s owner requests the Human Agent feature. Meta also requires business verification for it, which is why it’s normally the messaging tool, rather than each business, that holds it.
Sources
Related terms
- Private replyA private reply is a single DM that an Instagram professional account or Facebook Page sends someone because of their comment, within 7 days of it.
- Response timeResponse time is how long a customer waits between messaging your business and getting your reply, usually measured to your first reply.
- Inbox automationInbox automation is a set of rules that act on incoming DMs by themselves: replying, asking follow-up questions, labelling chats or handing them to a person.
- ChatbotA chatbot is software that answers messages automatically, either by following rules you set, like keywords and buttons, or by writing replies with AI.
- Meta App ReviewMeta App Review is the check an app must pass, permission by permission, before it can use Meta’s APIs for people outside its own team.
- Business verificationBusiness verification is Meta’s check that a business is a real, registered company. Apps need a verified business behind them to get Advanced Access.
More terms
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