WhatsApp Auto Reply: Set Up an Autoresponder, Away and Greeting Messages
Every message that waits for an answer is a customer deciding whether to wait or leave. WaBulkSend turns on instant WhatsApp auto replies: a greeting when someone first writes, an away message after hours, and keyword autoresponders that answer the common questions before a human ever picks up.
Free for your first 500 messages a month. No card required.
Auto reply preview
Replies in secondsThe short answer: A WhatsApp auto reply is a message that sends itself the moment a customer writes to you, with no one at the keyboard. The free WhatsApp Business app gives you two built-in kinds: a greeting message for a first-time or returning contact, and an away message for outside business hours. On the WhatsApp Business API you go further with a full autoresponder: keyword replies, menus, and routing that run 24/7. Because a reply to an inbound message sends inside WhatsApp's free 24-hour customer service window, US businesses can answer automatically without paying per message or waiting on template approval.
Why WhatsApp auto replies win you customers
People message a business the way they text a friend, and they expect a fast answer. When a question sits unanswered for hours, most of them move on to whoever replies first. An auto reply closes that gap. The customer gets an instant acknowledgment, knows you received them, and often gets their answer on the spot from a keyword reply or a short menu.
There are three jobs an auto reply does. A greeting message welcomes someone the first time they write, sets expectations, and can point them to a menu. An away message covers the hours you are closed so no one feels ignored overnight or on weekends. A keyword autoresponder handles the repeat questions, hours, pricing, order status, so your team only touches the conversations that actually need a person.
The free WhatsApp Business app covers the first two. For keyword rules, menus, routing to a shared inbox, and automations that trigger from a form or your store, you move to the WhatsApp Business API, where WaBulkSend builds and runs the autoresponder for you. Either way, an auto reply that answers an inbound message sends inside the free 24-hour service window, so you are not paying per reply.
Set up a WhatsApp auto reply in four steps
From your first greeting message to a full keyword autoresponder.
Pick the reply type
Decide what to automate first: a greeting for new contacts, an away message for after hours, or keyword replies for FAQs like hours, pricing, and order status.
Write the message
Keep it short and human. Say who you are, set a response time, and give one clear next step. Merge in the contact name so it does not read like a robot.
Set the trigger and hours
Send always, on a custom schedule, or only outside business hours. For keyword replies, map each keyword like MENU or PRICING to its answer.
Turn it on and route
Switch it live. Anything the autoresponder cannot answer hands off to your team in a shared inbox, so a real person picks up where the bot stops.
WhatsApp auto reply message examples
Good auto replies are short, name the customer, and always give one next step. Fields in braces get filled in automatically. Copy these and make them yours.
| Scenario | Example auto reply |
|---|---|
| Greeting, new contact | Hi {name}, thanks for messaging {business}! Reply MENU for options, PRICING for a quote, or just tell us what you need. |
| Away, after hours | Thanks for reaching out. We are away until 9 AM ET. Leave your question here and we will reply first thing in the morning. |
| Keyword: PRICING | Happy to help with pricing, {name}. Here is our current price list: {link}. Want a custom quote? Reply with your order size. |
| Keyword: HOURS | We are open Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM ET, and Saturday 10 AM to 2 PM. Message us anytime and we will reply during those hours. |
| Order status request | Thanks {name}. Reply with your order number and we will pull up the status and tracking for you right away. |
| Busy, high volume | Got your message, {name}. We are helping a lot of customers right now and will be with you within the hour. Thanks for your patience. |
Want the bot to do more than reply? See how to automate WhatsApp messages end to end, or build a full WhatsApp chatbot.
Who uses WhatsApp auto replies
Any team that gets more messages than it can answer live.
Online stores
Answer where is my order, sizing, and returns instantly with keyword replies, and hand the rest to support.
Restaurants and services
An after-hours away message with your hours and booking link means no reservation request goes cold overnight.
Clinics and offices
Greet patients, share hours and directions, and route anything urgent to the front desk during open hours.
Real estate and local pros
Reply the second a lead texts about a listing, capture their details, and follow up before a competitor does.
B2B and agencies
Acknowledge every inbound, set a response time, and qualify with a short menu before a rep steps in.
High-volume support
Deflect the repeat questions with keyword answers so agents spend their time on the conversations that need a human.
App auto replies vs API autoresponder
The free app covers the basics. The API is where a real autoresponder lives. Here is the honest split.
| Capability | Business app | API with WaBulkSend |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting message | Yes | Yes, personalized |
| Away message with schedule | Yes | Yes |
| Keyword auto replies | No | Yes, unlimited rules |
| Menus and routing | No | Yes |
| Shared team inbox handoff | No | Yes |
| Triggers from your store or forms | No | Yes |
| Multiple agents on one number | No | Yes |
New to the API? Start with our guide to the WhatsApp Business API and what it costs on the pricing page.
Can you send auto replies to US customers in 2026?
Yes, and this is the part that trips people up, so it is worth being precise. An auto reply is a response to a message the customer sent you first. That means it lands inside WhatsApp's 24-hour customer service window, the free window that opens the moment someone messages your number. Replies inside that window do not need a paid template and are not affected by the pause on US marketing templates. So greeting messages, away messages, and keyword answers all work for US numbers today.
Where the rules bite is when you try to start a conversation. Meta paused promotional marketing-category templates to US phone numbers in April 2025, and that pause is still in place in 2026. So you cannot use an autoresponder to blast an unprompted marketing message to a US contact. That is fine for auto replies, because by definition they answer an inbound message, but keep the distinction clear: reply freely, do not cold-broadcast marketing to US numbers.
Keep your setup healthy by making replies genuinely useful, offering an easy way to reach a human, and never disguising a promotion as a service reply, because Meta re-categorizes messages that do. For the full breakdown of windows and per-message costs, read WhatsApp Business API pricing.
WhatsApp auto reply, answered
Last updated July 2026
How do I set up an auto reply on WhatsApp?
In the free WhatsApp Business app, open Settings, tap Business Tools, then choose Away message or Greeting message, toggle it on, edit the text, and set a schedule. For keyword auto replies and menus you use the WhatsApp Business API through a provider like WaBulkSend, which lets you map keywords to answers and route the rest to a team inbox.
What is a good auto reply message for WhatsApp?
A good auto reply is short, names the customer, sets a clear expectation, and gives one next step. For example: thanks for messaging us, we are away until 9 AM ET, reply MENU for options or leave your question and we will get back first thing. Avoid a wall of text, and always offer a way to reach a person.
Can WhatsApp Business send automatic replies?
Yes. The free WhatsApp Business app sends automatic greeting messages to new contacts and away messages outside your set hours. For more advanced automatic replies, such as keyword responses, menus, and routing across a team, you connect the WhatsApp Business API, which runs a full autoresponder around the clock.
What is the difference between an away message and a greeting message?
A greeting message is sent when someone messages you for the first time, or after 14 days of no contact, to welcome them. An away message is sent outside your business hours, or whenever you cannot respond, to let customers know when you will get back. Many businesses use both together.
Can I set up keyword auto replies on WhatsApp?
Yes, but not in the free app. Keyword auto replies, where a word like PRICING or HOURS triggers a specific answer, run on the WhatsApp Business API. With WaBulkSend you map each keyword to its reply, add menus, and hand off anything the rules cannot answer to a human in a shared inbox.
Can I send auto replies to US customers?
Yes. An auto reply answers a message the customer sent first, so it lands inside WhatsApp's free 24-hour customer service window and is not affected by the pause on US marketing templates. You just cannot use an autoresponder to start an unprompted marketing conversation with a US number, which Meta paused in 2025.
Is there an autoresponder for WhatsApp?
Yes. On the WhatsApp Business API, an autoresponder answers incoming messages automatically with greetings, away notices, keyword replies, and menus, and it runs 24/7. WaBulkSend sets up the autoresponder for you on your own number, so common questions get answered instantly and your team only handles what needs a person.
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