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Playbook · 5 steps

Auto-Reply

Also called: Auto reply · Automated reply · Away message · Greeting message · Keyword reply

5steps

Level
Foundation
Reading time
About 5 min

Reviewed

Definition
An instant, rule-triggered WhatsApp response — a greeting, an away or out-of-hours message, or a keyword reply — sent without a human or a full chatbot.

01 · How it works, in 5 steps

How does an auto-reply work?

  1. 1

    Pick the triggers

    Decide which events get an automatic answer: the first message from a new contact, any message outside business hours, specific keywords, or a quick-reply button payload.

  2. 2

    Write the replies

    Keep each reply short, honest and useful: what happens next, when a person will answer, and one or two buttons for the most common requests.

  3. 3

    Evaluate rules in a fixed order

    For every inbound message, check rules by priority — opt-out keywords first, then business hours, then keywords, then the first-contact greeting — and stop at the first match.

  4. 4

    Send inside the window

    Reply with free-form text or interactive buttons through the Cloud API. The customer's message has opened the 24-hour window, so no template is required — but each reply is a billed service message.

  5. 5

    Throttle and hand over

    Send each away or greeting message at most once per customer per period, and route anything no rule matches to a human or a chatbot instead of guessing.

02Try it

Hands-on: use the controls to work through it yourself.

Which rule answers each message?

8 / 8
Skills-based

Only agents with the required skill are eligible; the least busy of them wins.

Incoming · 0 left

  1. All 8 conversations have been routed.

Conversation 8 of 8 · Skills-based

Nikhil: order 4471 status?(needs order)goes toHuman agent

Skills: needs order, and only Human agent has it.

  • Away message

    1 of 3 open

    • after-hours
    1. Arjun: still open? (11:40 pm)needs after-hours

  • Keyword: HOURS

    1 of 3 open

    • hours
    1. Meera: HOURSneeds hours

  • Keyword: PRICE

    2 of 3 open

    • price
    1. Kabir: PRICEneeds price
    2. Isha: priceneeds price

  • Greeting

    1 of 3 open

    • first-contact
    1. Riya: Hi!needs first-contact

  • Human agent

    2 of 2 open

    Full
    • complaint
    • order
    1. Sana: wrong size deliveredneeds complaint
    2. Nikhil: order 4471 status?needs order

Waiting · 1

  1. Dev: do you ship to Goa?needs shipping
Inbound messages are matched to auto-reply rules by trigger. Step through them: a complaint goes to a person, and a question no rule covers waits instead of getting the wrong reply.

Conversation 8 of 8, Nikhil: order 4471 status?: Skills: needs order, and only Human agent has it.

03What is an auto-reply?

An auto-reply is a fixed response sent automatically when an incoming WhatsApp message matches a simple rule. The common types are a welcome or greeting message for a customer's first contact, an away or out-of-hours message outside business hours, and keyword replies — send "PRICE" and get the price list, send "HOURS" and get the store timings. There is no conversation logic beyond the rule: one trigger, one reply.

The WhatsApp Business app has greeting and away messages built in. On the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API) there is no such setting: your webhook handler — or the inbox or bot platform on top of it — receives each messages webhook, checks the rules (time of day, first contact, keyword, button payload) and sends the reply with POST /{PHONE_NUMBER_ID}/messages. Because the customer has just written, the reply goes out inside the 24-hour customer service window as a free-form message, so no template is needed.

Auto-replies are the simplest tier of automation. A chatbot adds multi-step flows, menus, memory of earlier answers and handoff; an AI agent adds language understanding and actions. Conversational components such as ice breakers and slash commands are different again: they are entry points configured on the phone number, while an auto-reply is a message your system sends in response.

Key takeaways

  • An auto-reply is a fixed message sent automatically when an inbound WhatsApp message matches one rule: first contact, outside hours or a keyword.
  • The WhatsApp Business API has no auto-reply switch; your webhook handler or inbox platform evaluates the rules and sends the reply.
  • Auto-replies answer a customer who just wrote, so they go out inside the 24-hour window and need no template.
  • Each delivered auto-reply is a service message, charged in India at ₹0.145 since 1 October 2026.
  • Check opt-out keywords first and send away messages once per customer per closed period, never on every message.

04Example: A Coimbatore textile shop after closing time

At 9:40 pm a customer sends a photo and asks whether that saree is still available. The shop's rules see that the store closed at 8 pm and send: "Thanks for your message! We're closed now and will reply by 10:30 am. Tap below for timings or our catalogue." with two buttons. When she taps "Store timings", a keyword rule answers instantly. Her original question waits in the inbox, and the first agent in the morning replies — still inside the 24-hour window, which runs until 9:40 pm the next day.

05 · In code

An auto-reply in code

// Auto-reply rules, evaluated in priority order for each inbound message.
const OPEN_HOUR = 10;   // 10 am IST
const CLOSE_HOUR = 20;  // 8 pm IST
 
const KEYWORDS = {
  hours: "We're open 10 am-8 pm, Monday to Saturday.",
  price: "Here is our latest price list: https://example.com/prices",
};
 
function hourInIndia(tsSeconds) {
  const fmt = new Intl.DateTimeFormat("en-GB", {
    hour: "2-digit", hourCycle: "h23", timeZone: "Asia/Kolkata",
  });
  return Number(fmt.format(new Date(tsSeconds * 1000)));
}
 
export async function autoReply(msg, contact) {
  const text = (msg.text?.body ?? "").trim().toLowerCase();
 
  if (["stop", "unsubscribe"].includes(text)) return optOut(contact);           // 1. opt-out wins
 
  const hour = hourInIndia(Number(msg.timestamp));
  const closed = hour < OPEN_HOUR || hour >= CLOSE_HOUR;
  if (closed && !(await sentWithin(contact, "away", 12 * 3600))) {
    return send(contact, "Thanks! We're closed now and will reply after 10 am."); // 2. away, once
  }
 
  if (KEYWORDS[text]) return send(contact, KEYWORDS[text]);                      // 3. whole-message keyword
 
  if (await isFirstContact(contact)) {
    return send(contact, "Hi! How can we help today?");                          // 4. greeting
  }
  return routeToInbox(contact, msg);                                             // no rule matched
}

Opt-out first, the away message at most once per 12 hours, whole-message keywords, then the greeting. Anything else goes to a person.

06 · Mistakes to avoid

Common mistakes with an auto-reply

  • Replying to every message

    An away message on each of a customer's five messages reads as spam. Send it once per customer per closed period and suppress it while an agent is active in the chat.

  • Vague promises

    "We'll get back to you soon" sets no expectation. Give a real time, and make sure the team actually meets it.

  • Keyword rules that misfire

    Matching "price" anywhere means "your price is too high" gets a price list. Match whole messages or button payloads, and keep complaint words out of auto-reply rules.

  • Letting another rule beat STOP

    An opt-out request must win over every other rule. Check opt-out keywords first and update your suppression list before any reply goes out.

  • Forgetting the cost

    Every delivered auto-reply is a service message, billed in India at ₹0.145 since 1 October 2026. Chains of rules that answer each other add up quickly.

07 · Pro tips

Best practices for an auto-reply

  • Offer buttons for the two or three most common follow-ups so customers never have to guess keywords.
  • Keep business hours and holidays in one config and check them in India Standard Time.
  • Tell customers how to reach a person, even in the away message.
  • Review unmatched messages weekly — they show which keyword or chatbot flow to add next.

08 · Key facts

An auto-reply: key facts and limits

Triggers
First contact, outside hours, keyword, button payload
Where it runs (API)
Your webhook handler or inbox platform — no built-in setting
Message type
Free-form session message inside the 24-hour window
Cost (India)
Service message, ₹0.145 each since 1 October 2026
Reply buttons
Up to 3 per message, titles up to 20 characters
Text limit
4,096 characters per text message

09 · Why it matters

Why does an auto-reply matter?

Customers on WhatsApp expect a response in minutes, not hours. A well-written auto-reply sets that expectation honestly — "we're closed, we'll reply by 10 am" — answers the handful of questions that make up a large share of inbound volume, and stops customers sending the same message three times because they think they have been ignored. It takes an hour to set up, needs no AI, and is often the first automation a support or marketing team ships.

10Auto-Reply FAQs

How do I set an auto-reply on the WhatsApp Business API?+
There is no switch in the API; your webhook or inbox platform sends it. When a `messages` webhook arrives, your code checks the rules and replies through the Cloud API messages endpoint, or you configure the rules in your provider's inbox.
Do WhatsApp auto-replies need an approved template?+
No, as long as you are replying to a message the customer has just sent. That message opens the 24-hour customer service window, so a free-form text or button reply is allowed.
Are WhatsApp auto-replies charged?+
Yes. A delivered auto-reply is a service message, and Meta has charged for service messages since 1 October 2026 — in India at ₹0.145 each. Replies like these were not charged until 30 September 2026, and they still cost nothing inside a 72-hour free entry point window opened by a Click-to-WhatsApp ad.
What is the difference between an auto-reply and a chatbot?+
An auto-reply is one rule and one message; a chatbot holds a conversation. A chatbot remembers where the customer is, asks follow-up questions, uses menus and hands off, while an auto-reply simply answers a trigger.
Can I send the away message only once?+
Yes, if your rules track it. Record when each customer last received the away message and skip it until the business has reopened, or for a fixed period such as 12 hours.

See InfiQ pricing

* Per-message rates for India, ex-GST: marketing, utility and authentication effective 1 July 2026; service messages ₹0.145 since 1 October 2026 (they were ₹0 until 30 September 2026). Volume commitments earn discounts — final rate is confirmed on your account; applicable GST extra. Rates for other countries differ (see the international rate table on /pricing).

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