How to Enable Typing Indicators in ZazzyAgent
A customer sends a message.
Then nothing happens for several seconds.
They may wonder:
Did the message go through?
A typing indicator can make that waiting period feel more natural by showing that a response is being prepared.
ZazzyAgent supports typing indicators in relevant bot, AI and shared-inbox configurations.
What is a typing indicator?
A typing indicator shows the customer that a response is being prepared.
The customer may see something similar to:
typing...
It does not mean that the customer has received the final response.
It simply indicates that the system or person is preparing one.
Why use a typing indicator?
It can be useful when:
AI needs a moment to generate a reply.
An external operation takes time.
A human agent is preparing a response.
A flow intentionally has a short pause.
It gives the customer feedback that the conversation is active.
Typing indicators in Flow Builder
The platform supports a typing-on-display setting for relevant message blocks.
This lets a flow show typing while preparing a response.
Configure typing for a bot reply
Open the relevant bot flow.
Open the message configuration where the typing option is available.
Enable:
Typing on display
Then configure the relevant delay according to the experience you want.
Use a small delay
A typing indicator works best with a sensible pause.
For example:
1–3 seconds
may make a response feel less abrupt.
Don't create long artificial waits just to make the bot look human.
Typing indicator vs Delay
These are different.
Delay
Controls when the next flow step executes.
Typing Indicator
Shows the customer that a response is being prepared.
You can use both together.
Example:
Customer
↓
Bot prepares response
↓
Typing indicator
↓
Short delay
↓
Message
Typing indicators with AI
Typing indicators are particularly useful for AI Agents.
AI responses can take a moment to generate.
Instead of showing nothing during that period, the customer can see that the system is processing the conversation.
Typing indicators with human agents
Typing indicators can also be used in the shared inbox.
When a human agent begins preparing a response, the customer can receive the typing signal.
This can be especially useful during human handoffs.
Human handoff example
AI
↓
"Let me connect you with our team."
↓
Human assigned
↓
Agent prepares response
↓
Typing indicator
↓
Human response
The customer gets visible feedback throughout the transition.
WhatsApp typing indicator behavior
For WhatsApp Cloud API, the typing indicator is temporary.
This means you shouldn't design a flow that depends on the indicator staying visible indefinitely.
Don't confuse typing with processing
A typing indicator doesn't mean:
The system is definitely still processing.
It is a user-experience signal.
Your automation still needs to complete its actual operation.
Typing indicator and external API calls
Suppose your Flow calls an API.
The architecture might look like:
Customer
↓
Typing
↓
HTTP API
↓
Response
↓
Customer Message
This can make a short processing period feel more natural.
But typing does not make the API faster.
Don't use it to hide broken integrations
If an API consistently takes 20 seconds because it's incorrectly configured, enabling typing isn't the solution.
Fix the integration.
Use typing to improve the customer experience around a legitimate processing delay.
Typing indicator and Delay
A common mistake is adding:
Typing
→ 30-second Delay
to every message.
That's likely to make the experience worse.
Use the smallest useful delay.
Enable it selectively
You don't necessarily need typing indicators on every message.
They're more useful for:
AI replies
Longer responses
API-driven responses
Human handoff
Conversations where the system needs a moment to process
Test it
Send a test message.
Observe:
Message arrives.
Typing appears.
Reply arrives.
Typing disappears.
Check the experience from an actual customer device where possible.
Common problems
Typing doesn't appear
Check whether the typing option is enabled for that message/AI configuration.
Typing disappears before response
Remember that WhatsApp's indicator is temporary.
Typing stays too long
Check your delay and processing path.
AI has no typing indicator
Check the AI configuration rather than only the flow message.
Human inbox setting
The shared inbox configuration has its own typing-indicator behavior.
This is separate from a bot flow's typing setting.
That's useful to remember when debugging:
The bot shows typing correctly, but human-agent typing doesn't.
Check the shared-inbox configuration.
The right way to use typing indicators
A good customer experience is:
Message received
→ Brief processing signal
→ Useful response
not:
Message received
→ Long artificial wait
→ Response
Use typing to reassure customers that something is happening, not to make a simple automation unnecessarily slow.