WhatsApp auto reply: greeting, away message and AI replies

A customer who writes to your store on WhatsApp expects a reply within minutes. When the team is busy, asleep or on a weekend break, a short automatic message tells them they were heard, and a smarter one answers the question itself. The words "auto reply" cover three different tools: fixed messages in the free Business app, rules that react to the customer's words, and AI that writes an answer. This guide explains each one, when to choose it, what to write in the message, and the Meta rules that limit what an automatic message may do. It is part of the complete WhatsApp Business guide.

Three kinds of WhatsApp auto reply

The kinds differ in how much of the customer's message they understand:

• Greeting and away messages: fixed text sent at set moments. They do not read the message.
• Keyword rules: the customer writes a word such as "shipping", and a rule sends a prepared answer.
• AI replies: an agent reads the message and writes an answer from the business's own information.

Choose by the questions you receive. If most messages are "are you open?", a fixed message is enough. If they are about shipping, sizes and returns in a hundred different wordings, you need the third kind.

Greeting and away messages in the Business app

The free WhatsApp Business app includes both messages under Business tools.

• Greeting message: sent to a customer who writes for the first time, or after a long silence. It works as a welcome.
• Away message: sent when you cannot reply, either always, outside business hours, or on a schedule you set.
• Quick replies: saved texts you insert by typing a slash. A person still sends them, so they are not automatic.

These messages are limited. The text is the same for every customer, and nothing happens after it is sent: the question waits until someone is back. They suit a small team that wants to say "we reply within a few hours" and nothing more.

Keyword rules on the API

Once the number runs on the WhatsApp Business API, software can react to each incoming message. In a StoreChart automation, the trigger "New message received" can send an approved template or switch on the AI agent. Conditions decide when the rule applies:

• The text: the message contains a word you chose.
• First contact: the sender has never written before.
• Existing customer: the sender's number already has orders.

Keyword rules are predictable and cheap, and they break on wording nobody expected. A customer who writes "when will my stuff get here" does not contain the word "shipping". Start with one rule for your most common question, read the run log for a week, and widen it only if the log looks clean.

AI replies that answer the question

An AI agent does not need a keyword. It reads the message, finds the answer in the knowledge you gave it, and replies in the customer's language. The StoreChart WhatsApp AI agent works inside the same shared inbox your team uses:

• Its knowledge: a scan of your site, answers taken from past chats that you approve, and content you add.
• Working hours: you can set hours, for example so it answers only when your team is away.
• Supervised mode: it replies on its own until someone from your team writes in that chat, then stops there.
• When it does not know: it sends your fallback message, or stays silent and leaves the chat to the team.
• Orders and stock: it does not read your orders, so a question about one parcel goes to your team.

The difference between menu bots and AI agents is covered in the guide to the WhatsApp bot.

What to write in an automatic message

A good automatic message is short and honest about what happens next:

• Say who you are: the store name, so the customer knows they reached the right place.
• Say when they get an answer: "Our team replies on weekdays from 9 to 18" is better than "soon".
• Offer one useful link: your shipping page or order-tracking page.
• Do not promise: avoid "we will reply within an hour" unless you can keep it.
• Say it is automatic when an agent or bot writes the reply.

Example: an away message

Hi, thanks for writing to Northwind Outdoors. The team is away until 9:00 tomorrow. For shipping times and returns, see northwind.example/help. We will reply to your message in the morning.

Example: the same store with an AI agent

Customer: Do you ship the 40 litre backpack to Canada, and how long does it take?

Agent: Yes, we ship to Canada. Delivery usually takes 7 to 12 business days, and the shipping page has the full details. If you tell us your order number we can also check it with the team.

The figures in this article's examples are illustrative only and do not reflect actual customer data.

Meta rules for automatic messages

Three rules apply to every automatic message on the API:

• The 24-hour window: free text is allowed only within 24 hours of the customer's last message. After that, only an approved template can be sent. Automations in StoreChart send only approved WhatsApp templates when they write first.
• Opt-in: a business that writes first needs the customer's agreement, and an approved template.
• A way to a person: Meta expects automated experiences to offer a clear path to a human, so tell the customer how to reach your team.

Pricing for the API and Meta's per-message charges are in the guide to opening an account and pricing.

Common auto reply mistakes

• Answering at the wrong time: an away message sent at noon on a working day tells the customer nobody is listening.
• One message for everything: a greeting that repeats on every chat feels like spam.
• No follow-up: the away message promised a reply, and nobody checked the unread chats the next morning.
• Hiding the bot: a customer who discovers halfway that a machine is answering feels misled.
• Forgetting to update: the message still mentions last season's opening hours.