A TikTok video can send a hundred people to your shop in an evening, and a handful of them will write to you before they buy. They ask about size, price, colour or delivery, usually in the DM and often under the video as a comment. TikTok business messaging is different from Instagram and WhatsApp in one way that surprises new sellers: you cannot start the conversation. The customer has to write first, and after that, TikTok limits how many messages you can send.
This guide explains those rules in plain terms, where TikTok business messaging is available, what you can do with comments, and a simple routine for answering fast without breaking limits. The examples use Karobar on TikTok, where TikTok chats sit in the same inbox as WhatsApp and Instagram. The rules themselves come from TikTok and apply to any tool.
The customer always writes first
A business cannot open a TikTok conversation. There is no "send a message to this follower" and no broadcast. A chat exists only after a customer sends your business account a message, and until then there is nothing to reply to.
That changes how you win TikTok customers. You cannot chase someone who liked a video. You make it easy for them to write: a clear line in the video, a pinned comment that says what to message, and a profile that says what you sell. Then you answer quickly, because the number of messages you may send afterwards is limited.
The 48-hour rules and message limits
Once a customer has written, TikTok lets you reply within limits that depend on how the conversation is going:
| Situation | What you can send | Until when |
|---|---|---|
| The customer has sent their first message | Up to 10 messages | For 48 hours after that first message |
| The customer replies to you | Messages without a limit | For 48 hours after each customer reply |
| The time above has passed and they have not written again | At most 3 more messages | Until the customer replies |
| The customer writes again | The window starts over | Back to 48 hours of unlimited messages |
The practical meaning: a customer who keeps talking keeps the conversation open. A customer who goes quiet leaves you with very few messages, so use each one well. Ask your questions together, such as size, city and whether cash on delivery works for them, instead of one question per message.
Karobar shows each TikTok chat with the time left and the number of messages you have left, so the limit does not surprise you in the middle of a sale. The same idea applies to other channels with different clocks, and one inbox for Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok sets them side by side.
Where TikTok business messaging is available
TikTok business messaging is not available in the European Economic Area, Switzerland or the United Kingdom. If your business account is registered in one of those places, you cannot receive or send TikTok business messages through a tool like Karobar, whatever the tool offers.
If you sell to customers in Europe from a business account registered elsewhere, check TikTok's current documentation before you rely on it, because availability depends on how the business account is set up. TikTok can change its list, so confirm it when you start.
Connecting TikTok and answering in one inbox
- Connect your TikTok business account from the channels settings in Karobar. Its messages then arrive in the unified inbox beside WhatsApp and Instagram.
- Read the chat header. It shows the time left and the messages left for that customer.
- Answer the question and ask for what you need. Put the answer first, then ask for the details you need in one message.
- Move the conversation when it makes sense. If the customer is ready to order and prefers WhatsApp, share your number if they ask, and carry on there.
- Assign the chat. If you have a team, give each chat to a person so two people do not answer the same customer.
Karobar AI can read your products, prices and business details and write a draft reply for a TikTok message. A person reads the draft, edits it if needed and presses send. Nothing goes to a customer until then, which also protects your limited message count from a reply you did not mean to send. AI reply drafts explains how drafts are made.
Turning a TikTok chat into an order
TikTok has no cart that arrives in your chat, so a TikTok order is written down by a person. Collect what you need in as few messages as possible: product, size or colour, quantity, name, phone number and full address. Create the order in Sales Desk and keep it linked to the chat, so you can find the conversation again.
Two points to keep in mind. An order created this way does not reduce your stock automatically, so update your numbers yourself. And automatic order updates by message are for WhatsApp only, and are off by default, so a TikTok customer will not hear about shipping unless you tell them in the chat while your message allowance lasts.
A simple daily routine
- Start with the clock. Open the chats that have the least time or the fewest messages left.
- Answer in one go. Reply with the answer, a price and one question that moves toward an order.
- Clear the comments. Reply to buyers, pin a "message us to order" comment and hide spam.
- Check after a new video. A video that is doing well brings a wave of messages within hours, so be online for it.
- Hand over what is ready. Move confirmed orders into Sales Desk so nothing lives only in a chat.
Sources
Facts about other companies and platforms come from their own pages, checked on the dates shown. Plans and prices change; check the source before you decide.
- TikTok: Business Messaging API sending limits and rules (checked 2026-10-03)
- TikTok: Business messaging availability by region (checked 2026-10-03)
TikTok comments: what you can do
Many TikTok buyers ask in the comments first, and comments are public. In Karobar, TikTok comments come into the comments view, where you can:
There are two things TikTok does not allow. There is no private reply to a comment, and there is no comment to DM on TikTok, which means you cannot send a DM to someone because they commented. Since a business also cannot start a conversation, the way to turn a commenter into a DM is a public reply that invites them to message you. On Instagram and Facebook the rules differ, as explained in comment to DM on Instagram. See also comments and engagement.