What is WhatsApp auto reply?
WhatsApp auto reply is a message the WhatsApp Business app sends for you when a customer writes in. There are two built-in types: a greeting message for first contact (or after 14 days of silence) and an away message for when you're closed or busy. Personal WhatsApp has no auto reply feature.
| Feature | When it sends | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting message | A customer's first message, or their first after 14 days without messages | Tools › Greeting message |
| Away message | Always, on a custom schedule, or outside business hours | Tools › Away message |
| Quick replies | Only when you insert one with a shortcut | Tools › Quick replies |
All three are free and live in the Tools tab of the WhatsApp Business app on Android and iPhone. The automatic ones come with two conditions: your phone needs an internet connection for them to send, and they switch off if you connect Meta's AI agent, covered below.
How to set a greeting message in WhatsApp Business
- Open the Tools tab and tap Greeting message.
- Turn on Send greeting message.
- Tap the message to edit it, then save.
- Tap Recipients and choose Everyone, everyone not in your address book (shown as Exclude my contacts on iPhone), Everyone except… or Only send to….
- Tap Save.
The greeting goes out when someone messages you for the first time, or when they write after 14 days without a message in that chat. If it isn't sending, check your recipient setting, the 14-day rule, and whether Meta Business Agent is connected, since it disables greeting messages.
How to set a WhatsApp away message
- Open Tools and tap Away message.
- Turn on Send away message and edit the text.
- Tap Schedule and pick Always send, Custom schedule for a set period, or Outside of business hours.
- Tap Recipients and choose who gets it, with the same options as the greeting message.
- Tap Save.
Outside of business hours only appears once you've added opening hours to your business profile, so set those first. It's the most useful option: the away message covers every night and weekend without you touching it. Use Custom schedule for vacations and public holidays.
Quick replies: saved answers, not automation
Quick replies don't send by themselves. They're saved messages you insert with a shortcut, which makes answering the same questions much faster:
- Go to Tools › Quick replies and tap the + button.
- Write the message. It can include an image or a video.
- Set a short keyword as the Shortcut, such as hours or shipping, and save.
In a chat, type / to see your quick replies, pick one, edit it if needed and send. You can store up to 50, and the app also creates default replies from your business profile, such as your hours and address. Media in quick replies doesn't work on WhatsApp Web or Desktop.
Can you set an auto reply on personal WhatsApp?
No. WhatsApp Messenger, the personal app, has no greeting messages, away messages or quick replies. You have three options:
- Switch to WhatsApp Business. It's free, it works like the personal app, and your chat history can come with you. Our WhatsApp vs WhatsApp Business guide explains the switch.
- Use a third-party auto-reply app on Android. These read your notifications and reply through them. They need access to all your notifications, can misfire in groups, and automated messaging through unofficial tools can get an account restricted. Use them with care, if at all.
- Update your About text. A line such as “On vacation until Monday” tells people you're unavailable without replying at all.
iPhone's Driving Focus can auto-reply to texts in Apple's Messages app, but not in WhatsApp.
The limits of WhatsApp Business auto replies
The built-in tools are a good start and a poor finish. Here is what they can't do:
- No conditions. Every customer gets the same greeting, whether they're asking about an order, a price or a booking.
- No real answers. An away message can say you'll reply later. It can't tell a customer whether a product is in stock.
- No follow-ups. Nothing nudges a customer who went quiet or confirms an appointment the day before.
- No business triggers. Orders, bookings and form submissions can't start a message.
- One phone. Auto replies depend on your phone being online, and the app supports one phone plus up to four linked devices.
- No reporting. You can't see how many chats the away message handled or what they led to.
Meta has started adding AI to the Business app. Meta Business Agent, set up from Tools › AI agent, answers questions about products, prices, hours and shipping using your catalog, website and past chats. It's only available to select businesses in limited countries. Turning it on disables greeting and away messages, can block broadcast lists and disappearing messages, and disconnects your linked devices, though most can be re-linked.
12 WhatsApp auto reply message samples
Short beats clever. A good auto reply confirms you got the message, sets an expectation and offers a next step. Copy these auto reply message samples and adjust the details:
1. Greeting, any business
2. Greeting, online store
3. Greeting, service business
4. Away, after hours
5. Away, weekend
6. Away, holiday
7. Busy day
8. Restaurant
9. Clinic
10. Salon
11. Real estate
12. Order status
Keep each one under three lines, don't promise a reply time you can't meet, and update your away message before every holiday.
AI auto replies and conditional automations with the API
The WhatsApp Business Platform (API) removes the ceiling. Instead of one fixed reply, your auto responder can read the question, answer it, route the conversation and follow up:
- AI answers around the clock from your FAQs, policies and product data, in the customer's language.
- Conditional flows: buttons such as Track order or Book, keyword replies, and different answers by time of day.
- Follow-ups that wait, check whether the customer replied or ordered, and stop when the goal is reached. That's WhatsApp automation.
- Human handover to a shared inbox when the AI isn't sure or the customer asks for a person.
| Business app | API with Recoverly | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers questions | No, fixed text | Yes, AI grounded in your data |
| Conditions and follow-ups | No | Yes, with waits and stop rules |
| Works with your phone off | No | Yes |
| Team access | One phone plus four linked devices | Shared inbox |
| Cost | Free | $19 a month plus Meta's per-message fees |
Recoverly's AI chatbot runs on Anthropic's Claude and is grounded in your guidelines, FAQs and synced product or service data, with instructions to defer rather than invent. You set working hours and a fallback message for questions it can't answer, and it steps back when someone on your team replies. It only answers inside WhatsApp's 24-hour service window and never answers an opt-out with a pitch. Conversations land in a shared inbox, and with coexistence you can keep replying from the WhatsApp Business app on your phone. If you do, turn off the app's greeting and away messages so customers don't get two automatic replies.
What AI replies cost: from October 1, 2026, each business phone number gets 1,000 free replies a month inside the 24-hour customer service window, and Meta charges for every reply after that, at the same per-message rate as utility messages in the customer's country. An assistant that answers in one complete message instead of three short ones costs less, which is why Recoverly's smart reply timing waits a moment and batches a customer's rapid-fire messages into one answer. See the WhatsApp API pricing guide.