WhatsApp Automatic Reply: How to Set It Up (2026 Guide)

Overview: WhatsApp automatic reply sends a pre-written message to customers automatically, without you needing to be available. The WhatsApp Business app gives you three tools for this: Away Messages, which trigger when you are unavailable; Greeting Messages, which go out to first-time contacts; and Quick Replies, which you trigger manually with a keyboard shortcut during live chats. This guide covers how to set up all three on Android and iPhone, with ready-to-use message templates and the key limitations to know before you rely on them for your business.

Automatic reply handles inbound messages -- customers who reach out to you. For outbound campaigns, sending offers, updates, or follow-ups to your contact list, a WhatsApp bulk message sender free tool handles that separately. Inbound automation and outbound campaigns are two different WhatsApp functions. This guide covers automatic reply only.

WhatsApp automatic reply is a feature in the WhatsApp Business app that sends a preset message to anyone who contacts you, without any manual action on your end. It is available only in the WhatsApp Business app, not the standard WhatsApp app. If you have not yet made the switch, setting up a WhatsApp Business account is the required first step -- it is free and does not need a separate phone number.

Once set up, automatic replies work in the background. A customer messages you at midnight outside your business hours and receives a reply within seconds. A new contact reaches out for the first time and gets a welcome message before you have seen the notification. These responses do not require you to be online.

WhatsApp Business gives you three tools. They work differently from each other and serve different purposes.

The Away Message is the most commonly needed automatic reply. It sends automatically when a customer messages you and you are either unavailable or it is outside your set business hours.

Android

• Open the WhatsApp Business app.
• Tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner.
• Select Business tools.
• Tap Away message.
• Toggle on Send away message.
• Tap the message field to edit the auto-reply text.
• Under Schedule, choose when to send it: Always, Custom schedule, or Outside business hours.
• Under Recipients, choose who receives it: Everyone, Everyone not in address book, or custom contacts.
• Tap Save.

iPhone

• Open the WhatsApp Business app.
• Tap Settings at the bottom right.
• Tap Business tools.
• Tap Away message.
• Toggle on Send away message.
• Tap the message text to edit it.
• Set your Schedule and Recipients.
• Tap Save.

The Away Message schedule controls when the auto-reply fires based on your availability settings. If you also need to send messages at a specific scheduled time to your contact list -- reminders, promotions, campaign sends -- scheduling WhatsApp messages works through a separate campaign setup rather than the Away Message trigger.

A Greeting Message fires automatically when a contact messages your business for the first time, or after 14 days of no conversation. It is your first automated impression for new enquiries.

Android

• Open the WhatsApp Business app.
• Tap the three-dot menu > Business tools.
• Tap Greeting message.
• Toggle on Send greeting message.
• Tap the message field to edit the greeting text.
• Under Recipients, select who receives it.
• Tap Save.

iPhone

• Open the WhatsApp Business app.
• Tap Settings > Business tools.
• Tap Greeting message.
• Toggle on Send greeting message.
• Edit the message text.
• Set recipients and tap Save.

Quick Replies are pre-written responses linked to keyboard shortcuts. You create them in settings, then trigger them during a live chat by typing / followed by the shortcut. They are not automatic -- you must be in the chat -- but they let you send a complete reply in two keystrokes instead of typing from scratch every time.

Android and iPhone:

• Open the WhatsApp Business app.
• Go to Settings (three-dot menu or Settings tab) > Business tools > Quick replies.
• Tap the + icon to add a new Quick Reply.
• Type your message in the Message field.
• Enter a shortcut keyword in the Shortcut field, starting with / (for example: /hours or /pricing).
• Tap Save.

To use a Quick Reply in a chat:

• Open any chat.
• Type / in the message field. A list of your saved shortcuts appears.
• Tap the shortcut you want. The full message appears in the field.
• Send it.

The same principles that make WhatsApp message templates for business effective apply to automatic replies: direct opening, no filler, one clear piece of information or expectation per message. Here are templates for all three types.

Away Messages:

/away1: Hi! We received your message and will get back to you within [X] hours during business hours (Mon-Sat, 9am to 6pm). For urgent help, call [number].

/away2: Thanks for reaching out to [Business Name]. We are away right now. Our team will respond as soon as we are back online. We appreciate your patience.

/away3: Hello! We are currently closed. Business hours: [days], [time]. We will reply to your message first thing when we open.

Greeting Messages:

/greet1: Hi there! Welcome to [Business Name]. How can we help you today? Let us know what you are looking for and we will get back to you shortly.

/greet2: Thanks for contacting [Business Name]! We are here to help. Please share your query and one of our team members will respond within [timeframe].

Quick Replies (with suggested shortcut):

/hours: Our business hours are Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm IST. We are closed on Sundays and public holidays.

/price: Pricing depends on the product or service you need. Could you share what you are looking for? We will send you the exact details.

/order: To check your order status, please share your order number and we will look it up immediately.

/thanks: Thank you for your message! We have noted your query and will get back to you as soon as possible.

1. Set a realistic response time and honour it. If your Away Message says "we will reply within 2 hours," make sure that is actually achievable. An auto-reply that sets an expectation you cannot meet is worse than no auto-reply.

2. Update your messages when your hours change. Public holidays, seasonal closures, and team absences all require your Away Message schedule and content to be updated. A message that references wrong hours creates confusion.

3. Include your business name in the Greeting Message. Not every customer saves your number before messaging. Identifying yourself in the Greeting Message removes any doubt about who they are talking to.

4. Build Quick Replies around frequency, not convenience. Save shortcuts for the questions you answer multiple times every day. One well-crafted /hours reply saves more time over a month than ten replies that rarely get used.

5. Sound like a person, not a system. "Your enquiry has been received" reads like a machine. "We got your message and will be in touch shortly" reads like a person. The automatic delivery does not mean the message needs to feel automated.

The best automatic reply is one that makes the customer feel acknowledged, not just processed.

Understanding what automatic reply cannot do saves you from relying on it for things it was not built for.

• No keyword recognition. Away Messages and Greeting Messages send the same response regardless of what the customer actually said. A customer asking about pricing gets the same Away Message as a customer asking about a complaint. The app cannot detect message content and respond accordingly.

• Greeting Message fires on inactivity, not just new contacts. If a customer who bought from you 15 days ago messages again, they receive the Greeting Message as if they were a stranger. Keep the Greeting Message tone general enough that this does not read as awkward.

• Quick Replies require you to be in the chat. They are a speed tool, not an automation tool. The shortcut still needs a human to trigger it. They do not fire on their own.

• One device only. The WhatsApp Business app supports a single primary account. You cannot assign incoming messages to team members from within the app or route chats to different departments.

• For businesses that need keyword-triggered responses, multi-agent routing, or chatbot-style conversation flows, the WhatsApp Business API provides that level of automation. It requires a separate setup, an approved business account, and typically a third-party platform to manage the conversations.

WhatsApp automatic reply covers the inbound side of your business communication: acknowledging customers when you are unavailable, welcoming new contacts, and speeding up responses to common questions. Set up correctly, the three tools -- Away Message, Greeting Message, and Quick Replies -- handle most of what a small or medium business needs without any cost or additional software.

The limitations are equally worth understanding. No keyword detection, no multi-agent routing, and no chatbot flows are available within the WhatsApp Business app itself. If your operation grows past those constraints, the WhatsApp Business API is the next step.

Auto reply handles the messages that come to you. For the messages you send out -- campaigns, promotions, appointment reminders, and follow-ups to your full contact list -- that is a different function. Roklo is a free bulk message sender that handles how to send bulk WhatsApp messages to your full contact list from your browser, without the API and without saving contacts individually.

Also Read: How to Highlight in WhatsApp: Words, Text, and Colour (2026)