To set a WhatsApp Business auto reply, open the Tools tab in the WhatsApp Business app, tap Away message or Greeting message, turn it on, edit the text and tap Save. Both are free, and both send the same fixed text whatever the customer asked. To answer the actual question, you need an AI agent connected through the WhatsApp Business Platform.
The three app features
Away message. An automatic reply for when you're busy or away from your phone. You pick when it goes out and who gets it.
Greeting message. WhatsApp describes it as “a customizable message that's automatically sent to your customers when they first message you.” It's also sent when a customer writes after 14 days of inactivity in their chat with you.
Quick replies. Shortcuts for messages you send often, which can include images and videos. They aren't automatic: you still choose to send them. The app stores up to 50.
How to set them up
These steps follow WhatsApp's away message, greeting message and quick replies help articles, written here for Android. All three start from the Tools tab on Android and iPhone; the iPhone differences are noted under each.
Away message
1
Open the away message
From the Tools tab, tap Away message, then turn on Send away message.
2
Write the text
Under Away message, tap the message to edit it, then tap OK.
3
Choose when it sends
Tap Schedule: Always send, Custom schedule (only during the period you set) or Outside of business hours. The last one is only available if you've set business hours in your business profile.
4
Choose who gets it, then save
Tap Recipients: Everyone, Everyone not in address book, Everyone except… or Only send to…. Tap Save (on Android). The phone needs an internet connection for the message to send.
On iPhone: under Message, tap the message to edit it, then tap Save instead of OK. There's no Save step after Recipients.
Greeting message
1
Open the greeting message
From the Tools tab, tap Greeting message and turn on Send greeting message.
2
Write the text
Tap Greeting message to edit it, then tap OK.
3
Choose recipients and save
Tap Recipients and pick Everyone, Everyone not in address book, Everyone except… or Only send to…, then tap Save. WhatsApp's steps have no schedule option; it says greeting messages only go to customers who message you for the first time or after 14 days of inactivity.
On iPhone: under Message, tap the message to edit it, then tap Save, and the second recipients option is called Exclude my contacts.
Quick replies
1
Create one
From the Tools tab, tap Quick replies, tap the add button, then tap Message to write it.
2
Give it a shortcut
Tap Shortcut to set the keyboard shortcut, then tap Save.
3
Send it in a chat
In any chat, type “/” to list your quick replies, pick one, edit it if you like and send. The app also makes default replies from your business profile, such as your hours and address.
On iPhone: tap Enter message instead of Message to write it, and type “/” in the text field to list your quick replies.
What fixed auto replies can't do
They're good at one job: telling someone their message arrived and when to expect an answer. For a business that gets a handful of messages a day, that can be enough. Past that, the limits show.
They don't read the message, so a question about price, dates or availability gets the same text as “hi”.
They can't ask a follow-up question or collect details.
They don't remember the customer or anything said before.
Neither continues the conversation. The customer gets one message, and the next reply has to come from you.
The API has no away messages
The Platform (the API) doesn't have the app's Tools tab. In Meta's feature comparison for app users, messaging tools including “greeting message, away message, quick replies” are listed as not supported on the Cloud API. The API sends what the software connected to it tells it to send, so whether you get an away message, a team inbox or an AI agent depends on that software.
What an AI agent adds
Here is the same late-night message handled both ways: first by the app's away message, then by the agent. The away message says the office is closed. The agent answers Maya and starts asking the qualifying questions you wrote.
Horizon Holidays · away message in the app
Hi, do you have any family trips for 4 people in July?
Maya · 10:47 PM
Thanks for your message. We're away right now and will reply during business hours.
Away message · 10:47 PM
Horizon Holidays · Alex, the AI agent
Hi, do you have any family trips for 4 people in July?
Maya · 10:47 PM
Hi Maya, yes, we have family packages for July. To point you to the right one: how many days are you thinking of?
Alex · AI · 10:47 PM
About a week
Maya · 10:48 PM
Got it. Are any of the four children? Some packages have child pricing.
Alex · AI · 10:48 PM
Yes, two: 6 and 9. Can I speak to someone about your refund policy?
Maya · 10:49 PM
Of course. I've passed this to the team with a note about the refund question and your trip details, so you won't need to repeat them. Someone from the team will reply here.
Alex · AI · 10:49 PM
Zymbler's agent replies in seconds and can reply in each customer's own language; you choose this when you set up the agent. It asks your questions one at a time and doesn't ask again for what it already knows. It keeps notes on each customer and hands the chat to the team with a one-line reason; a person such as Priya can then take over from the shared inbox and hand the chat back. The agent states only the prices and policies you've written down and is told never to invent a discount.
Keeping the WhatsApp Business app
Where Meta allows it, the number can stay on the WhatsApp Business app while the agent answers (see WhatsApp coexistence for who can use it), and a reply you send from the phone pauses the agent in that chat. Turn off the away and greeting messages in the app once the agent is answering. We don't know whether Meta passes the app's automatic messages on to connected software. If it does, Zymbler treats one as a reply from your phone and pauses the agent in that chat. Either way, check with a test message.
Note
What it costs
The app's away messages, greeting messages and quick replies are part of the free WhatsApp Business app, and Meta doesn't charge for chats sent from it (only the app's optional marketing messages are paid). An agent's replies on the Platform are service messages: Meta gives each business phone number 1,000 free a month, then charges per delivered message, and bills your own WhatsApp Business account directly. Estimate yours with the pricing calculator.
What the agent can't do
It can't open photos, voice notes or documents. When a customer sends one, it thanks them and hands the chat to your team, who open the file in Zymbler's inbox.
It doesn't follow up on its own. It replies when customers message.
It doesn't book appointments or take payments. It collects the details and hands the lead to your team.
In the WhatsApp Business app, open the Tools tab and tap Away message or Greeting message, turn it on, edit the text and tap Save. An away message can be scheduled; a greeting message goes to people who message you for the first time or after 14 days of inactivity.
Can I set an auto reply on regular WhatsApp?
Not as far as WhatsApp's Help Center shows. It describes away messages, greeting messages and quick replies only as features of the WhatsApp Business app.
Why is my WhatsApp auto reply not sending?
From WhatsApp's help articles: the phone needs an active internet connection to send away and greeting messages, and the Outside of business hours schedule is only available once you've set business hours in your business profile. WhatsApp's checklist for greeting messages adds: a greeting only goes to first-time messages or after 14 days of inactivity; your Recipients setting may exclude the customer; greeting messages are disabled when Meta Business Agent is connected; and try turning the feature off and on, updating the app and restarting the phone.
Can I schedule an away message?
Yes. Under Schedule you can choose Always send, Custom schedule (only during the period you set) or Outside of business hours, which needs business hours saved in your business profile.
Do WhatsApp auto replies cost money?
They're features of the WhatsApp Business app, which is free to download and use; some optional extras from Meta, such as marketing messages, cost money. Replies sent through the WhatsApp Business Platform, which is what an AI agent uses, are billed by Meta per delivered message after the first 1,000 free service messages a month for each business phone number.
Can WhatsApp auto reply with AI?
The app's away and greeting messages send one fixed text. An AI agent connected through the WhatsApp Business Platform reads what the customer wrote and answers it from what you've told it. Meta also has its own agent, Meta Business Agent; it's a separate product, and WhatsApp says greeting messages are switched off when it's connected.
Does the API have away messages?
Meta's feature table for WhatsApp Business app users who connect to the Cloud API lists messaging tools such as greeting message, away message and quick replies as not supported on the Cloud API. What the API sends is whatever the software connected to it tells it to send.
WhatsApp, Meta, Meta Business Agent, Meta One, Messenger and Instagram are trademarks of Meta Platforms, Inc. or its affiliates. Zymbler is independent and not endorsed by Meta.
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