WhatsApp Business has three free auto-reply tools built into the app: a greeting message for new chats, an away message for when you're closed or busy, and quick replies, saved answers you send with a shortcut. You set them up in the app's Tools tab. They send the same fixed text every time.
That covers "hi" and "are you open?". It doesn't cover "is the blue dress in M?", which needs a reply that knows your stock. For that you need WhatsApp's Business Platform (the API) and an automation tool or AI agent. This guide covers both, step by step, with sample messages written for a clothing store, because fashion chats ("price?", "size?", "COD available?") are exactly the kind that pile up.
We make TailorTalk, an AI sales agent that answers WhatsApp chats for fashion brands, and say so where we mention it.
WhatsApp auto reply in one minute
- Greeting message: sent automatically the first time someone messages you, and again after 14 days with no messages in that chat. Free, in the WhatsApp Business app.
- Away message: sent automatically when someone messages you outside the hours you set, or always, while it's switched on. Free, in the app.
- Quick replies: saved messages you send yourself by typing "/" in a chat. They save typing; they don't send on their own.
- The regular WhatsApp app has no auto reply. You need the free WhatsApp Business app, or the Business Platform.
- Replies that answer the question (price, size, stock, order status) need the WhatsApp Business Platform and a tool or AI agent connected to it. Meta charges per message there.
How to set up a greeting message on WhatsApp Business
A greeting message welcomes people who message you for the first time, so nobody waits in silence. Steps in the WhatsApp Business app, on Android or iPhone:
- Open WhatsApp Business and go to the Tools tab.
- Tap Greeting message and turn on Send greeting message.
- Tap the message to edit it, write your greeting and tap OK (Save on iPhone).
- Under Recipients, choose who gets it: everyone, everyone not in your contacts, everyone except some contacts, or only some contacts. Then tap Save.
Keep it short and useful. Say who you are, when a person will reply and what they can send now: a screenshot of the product, their size, their city. A shopper who sends the details up front gets an answer in one reply instead of three.
How to set up an away message
An away message answers when you're closed, so a shopper who writes at midnight knows you saw it. Steps:
- In WhatsApp Business, go to the Tools tab and tap Away message.
- Turn on Send away message and edit the message.
- Under Schedule, choose Always send, Custom schedule, or Outside of business hours. The last option uses the hours in your business profile, so set those first.
- Under Recipients, choose who gets it, as for the greeting, and tap Save.
Turn it on for sale days and holidays too. During a big sale, an away message that says "we reply to every order question by 11 am" stops shoppers from messaging three other stores in the meantime.
How to use quick replies
Quick replies are for the questions you answer twenty times a day: size chart, delivery time, exchange policy, payment options. You save the answer once and send it with a shortcut.
- Go to the Tools tab, tap Quick replies, then tap Add (the + button).
- Write the message. You can add an image or video, such as your size chart (media isn't supported in quick replies on WhatsApp Web or Desktop).
- Set a shortcut, for example "size" or "cod": up to 25 characters, no spaces. Save it.
- In any chat, type "/" to see your quick replies, or "/size" to pick that one, then send.
You can store up to 50 quick replies. The app also adds a few of its own from your business profile, such as your hours and address.
Quick replies still need a person to send them. They make one person faster; they don't answer at 2 am.
WhatsApp Business auto reply message samples
Samples for a clothing store. Swap in your own hours, policies and links, and keep each one to a few lines: people read WhatsApp on a phone.
| When | Sample message |
| Greeting (new chat) | Hi! Thanks for messaging [Store name]. Send us a screenshot of the piece you like and your size, and we'll reply with price and stock within the hour (10 am to 8 pm). |
| Away (after hours) | Thanks for your message! We're closed now and reply from 10 am. Meanwhile, our new collection is here: [link]. Send your size and we'll check stock first thing. |
| Away (sale or festival rush) | Hi! The sale is busy, so replies may take a few hours. Every order question gets an answer today. Sizes run out fast, so send the product screenshot and your size now. |
| Away (holiday) | We're on a short break until Monday. Orders placed on our website still ship as usual. We'll reply to every message when we're back. |
| Quick reply: /size | Here's our size chart (attached). If you're between sizes, tell us your height and usual size and we'll suggest one. |
| Quick reply: /cod | Yes, cash on delivery is available on orders up to [amount]. Prepaid orders ship a day faster. |
| Quick reply: /exchange | You can exchange within 7 days of delivery if the tags are on. Reply with your order number and the size you need and we'll book a pickup. |
Ready-made, approved message templates for order updates and broadcasts are in our free WhatsApp template library. Those are for the Business Platform, where messages outside a 24-hour window must use a template.
WhatsApp Business auto reply not working? Check these
- The greeting only goes to a new chat or one with no messages for 14 days. Testing from a number that messaged you last week won't trigger it.
- The away message only sends inside its schedule. With "Outside of business hours", check the hours in your business profile.
- Check Recipients. If the tester is in your contacts and you chose to send only to people who aren't, they won't get it.
- Your phone must be online. The app sends greeting and away messages from the phone, so a phone that's off or without internet sends nothing.
- Meta Business Agent turns greeting messages off. If you connected Meta's AI agent in the app, greetings stop until you remove it.
- Update the app. Settings and menus move between versions, and older versions miss fixes.
- You must be on WhatsApp Business. The regular WhatsApp app has no greeting or away messages.
- If your number is connected to the Business Platform through a tool, auto replies are set in that tool instead.
What the free auto replies can't do
Greeting and away messages send one fixed text. They can't look up a product, so they can't answer the questions that decide a sale: price, size, stock, delivery to a postcode or a city, or "do you have this in green?". A shopper who gets "we'll reply soon" and no answer often buys from whoever answers first. In a study of online leads published in Harvard Business Review, firms that contacted a lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify it as firms that waited even an hour longer.
The app also runs on one phone number, so a growing team ends up sharing one inbox and one set of fixed replies.
How to automate WhatsApp messages with AI
To answer questions automatically, a business uses the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta's API, through a provider or a tool built on it. The tool reads each message and replies with the right answer from your catalogue and policies. Meta's rules in short:
- Customer service window: when a customer messages you, you can reply freely for 24 hours, and the window restarts each time they write. Outside it, you can only send an approved template.
- Cost: Meta charges per delivered message. Since 1 October 2026, each business number gets 1,000 free service messages (replies inside the window) a month, then pays the utility rate for each one, for example $0.0034 in the US and $0.022 in the UK. Marketing templates cost more: $0.025 in the US, $0.0635 in the UK.
- People who reach you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad can get free replies for up to 7 days.
There are three ways to get AI replies:
- Meta's own AI in the WhatsApp Business app. Meta Business Agent, available worldwide since June 2026, answers customers from your business information and catalogue. It's free to start; more replies come with Meta's paid Meta One plans, from $14.99 a month. Connecting it switches the app's greeting messages off.
- A WhatsApp automation platform with flows or an AI add-on. Our comparison of WhatsApp automation tools lists prices and what each includes.
- An AI sales agent built for selling in chat, such as TailorTalk, which answers from your live product catalogue, sends payment links and hands the chat to a person when needed.
Fixed auto reply vs AI reply: a clothing store example
| Shopper writes | Greeting or away message | AI agent |
| "Hi, price?" with a screenshot | "Thanks! We'll reply soon." | Finds the product from the photo and replies with price, sizes in stock and a link. |
| "Is this in M?" | Nothing new (greeting already sent) | Checks stock for M and offers L or a similar piece if M is gone. |
| "Delivery to Leeds by Friday?" | Nothing | Answers from your shipping rules and offers express if it won't make it. |
| "Where is my order?" | Nothing | Looks up the order and sends the status, or hands over to a person. |
| "I want to talk to someone" | Nothing | Passes the chat to your team with the conversation attached. |
The Mysore Saree Udyog case study shows this at scale: an AI agent on WhatsApp and Instagram handling more than 8,500 leads a month.
Setting up AI replies on WhatsApp with TailorTalk
- Start a 7-day free trial and create your agent. Add your catalogue, or connect Shopify so prices, sizes and stock stay in sync.
- Connect WhatsApp in Meta's signup window. Use a number that isn't registered on the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app: if your number is on the app today, you delete that WhatsApp account first or use a second number. You add your own payment method in Meta's signup, so Meta bills you directly for messages.
- Write what the agent should know: sizes, delivery, exchanges, payment, and when to hand over to a person.
- Test it in the test chat, then share the number: on your website, Instagram bio and ads. Our free WhatsApp link generator and website widget make that quick.
WhatsApp is included from the Growth plan, $112 a month or $89 billed yearly, for up to 1,600 conversations a month, with Meta's message fees paid to Meta. See pricing for all plans.
Selling on Instagram too? Our guide to automating Instagram DMs covers the same steps there, and our guide to WhatsApp sales for clothing brands follows a chat from first message to payment.
Auto replies are the first step of conversational commerce: selling through chat on WhatsApp, Instagram and your website.
FAQs
How do I set an auto reply on WhatsApp Business?
Open the WhatsApp Business app and go to the Tools tab. Choose Greeting message for new chats or Away message for when you're closed, turn it on, write the message, pick the schedule and recipients, and save.
Can I set an auto reply on normal WhatsApp?
No. The regular WhatsApp app has no auto reply. Use the free WhatsApp Business app, which has greeting and away messages, or the WhatsApp Business Platform through a tool.
Is WhatsApp Business auto reply free?
Yes. Greeting messages, away messages and quick replies are free in the WhatsApp Business app. Automated replies through the WhatsApp Business Platform are paid per message by Meta, plus the cost of the tool.
How do I turn off auto reply on WhatsApp Business?
Go to the Tools tab, open Greeting message or Away message, and switch off Send greeting message or Send away message.
Why is my WhatsApp greeting message not sending?
It only goes to someone messaging you for the first time or after 14 days without messages in that chat. Also check the Recipients setting, that your phone is online, and that Meta Business Agent isn't connected: WhatsApp switches greeting messages off while it is.
Can WhatsApp auto reply with AI?
Yes. Meta offers its own AI for businesses, and AI agents connected through the WhatsApp Business Platform can answer questions from your catalogue and policies, then hand the chat to a person when needed.
References
- WhatsApp Help Center: How to use greeting messages, How to use away messages and How to use quick replies.
- Meta for Developers, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing: the customer service window, service messages and rates by country.
- Meta, "Be There for Every Customer With Meta Business Agent", June 2026.
- Meta, "Introducing Meta One", September 2026: paid plans with more Meta Business Agent replies.
- Harvard Business Review, "The Short Life of Online Sales Leads", 2011.
- TailorTalk case study: Mysore Saree Udyog.
