How fast should you reply?
Customers message a business and expect an answer the way they would from a friend. What recent research says about how fast that is, and how to keep up without hiring a night shift.
What customers expect now
- An answer within the hour. In Twilio’s 2024 survey of 3,900 consumers, 51% said they expect a reply within an hour.
- An answer at any hour. 74% now expect 24/7 service because of AI (Zendesk CX Trends 2026).
- No waiting on hold. 69% say waiting on hold is a waste of time, and 73% prefer to message a business (Meta and Kantar, 2026).
How most businesses do
Slowly, when they answer at all. In Mike DelPrete’s 2024 secret-shopper test of more than 25 US property brokerages, 47% of online enquiries about homes for sale were never answered. The average reply took 8 hours and 17 minutes, even though every enquiry was sent on a weekday in office hours.
Calls fare little better. In Invoca’s 2026 benchmarks for home-services firms, only 52% of calls were answered by a person.
Neither study is from the UAE, and we know of no public UAE equivalent. The quickest way to find your own number: message your business on WhatsApp at 11 pm tonight, and time the reply.
What slow replies cost
Customers don’t wait long before they leave. In the same Twilio survey, 46% said they had abandoned a brand in the past year because it was slow to respond. And 86% of consumers say responsiveness and accurate answers strongly influence what they buy (Zendesk).
Every unanswered enquiry is a booking someone else may take. On a free 30-minute call, we show you where your replies slip.
How fast is fast enough?
Our rule of thumb for 2026:
| Channel | Aim for |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp, Instagram and web chat | A useful answer in under a minute, day and night |
| New enquiries and booking requests | Booked or qualified in the same chat |
| Calls | Answered every time, including after hours |
| Complaints and refunds | A person within the hour, with the details passed on |
Speed alone isn’t the goal. A fast “we’ll get back to you” still leaves the customer waiting. The first reply should answer the question or move the booking forward.
How to get there without a night shift
- Measure your first reply on every channel, including evenings, weekends and holidays.
- Answer instantly with an AI front desk that uses only answers you’ve approved, in Arabic and English.
- Let it book. A reply that ends in a confirmed slot beats one that asks the customer to call back.
- Hand over fast. In Zbooni’s 2024 YouGov poll, 87% of UAE consumers said they want a real person rather than a chatbot or AI, so make the handover quick and pass the summary on.
- Follow up. A reminder before the appointment and a message to rebook keep the customer you won.
If you use WhatsApp for any of this, our guide to WhatsApp’s 2026 rules for AI covers opt-in, handover and prices.
Sources
- Twilio: Consumer Preferences Report: highlights, 21 October 2024; 3,900 consumers, surveyed June to July 2024.
- Zendesk: CX Trends 2026 (press release), 18 November 2025; 6,182 consumers and 5,115 business respondents in 22 countries.
- WhatsApp Business (Meta), research by Kantar: The State of Business Messaging: 2026 Consumer Report, 2026; 11,056 adults in 22 markets, including the UAE, surveyed April to September 2025.
- Mike DelPrete: Secret Shopping: 47% of Online Property Inquiries Are Ignored, 13 August 2024; more than 100 secret shops at over 25 US brokerages.
- Invoca: Home Services Lead Conversion Benchmarks Report 2026, July 2026.
- Communicate, on Zbooni’s 2024 MENA cCommerce Report: 85 Percent of UAE Residents Want Businesses to Use WhatsApp, February 2024; YouGov poll of 1,000 UAE residents.