WhatsApp auto-reply: from away messages to an AI that answers

“Auto-reply” on WhatsApp covers four very different things, from a fixed “we're closed” line to an agent that answers the question and books the appointment. This guide explains each one, how to set it up, and which fits your business.

Most businesses search for WhatsApp auto-reply after the same experience: messages pile up overnight, customers who asked a simple price question at 11 p.m. have bought elsewhere by 9 a.m., and the away message only told them nobody was there. The fix depends on how many messages you get and how repetitive they are, so start with what each option can and cannot do.

The four kinds of WhatsApp auto-reply

Meta Business Agent is Meta's own AI for the Business app. Its product page says it is available to eligible businesses in select markets, with more markets to follow, and that some features may not yet reach every eligible business. If it is available to you and WhatsApp on one phone is all you need, try it. The rest of this page covers the other three options and the API route.

Setting up greeting and away messages in the Business app

These are free, take two minutes, and are worth turning on even if you add an AI later, because they cover the moments before anything else is set up.

1. Open the WhatsApp Business app and go to Settings, then Business tools.
2. Open Greeting message, turn it on, and write a short welcome for customers who start a conversation with you.
3. Open Away message, turn it on, and choose when it sends: always, on a custom schedule, or outside your business hours.
4. If you choose business hours, set them on your business profile first, so the away message and your profile agree.
5. Open Quick replies and save your five most-typed answers (prices, location, delivery times) so staff can send them in a couple of taps.

Menu names vary a little between Android, iPhone and app versions, but all three tools live under Business tools.

How to write an away message that doesn't lose the sale

An away message can't answer the question, so its job is to stop the customer leaving. The weak version only apologises. A stronger version gives a time, a way to help themselves, and a reason to wait.

• Weak: “Thanks for your message. We are currently unavailable.”
• Better: “Thanks for messaging Bloom Florist. We're closed until 8 a.m. and will reply first thing. Same-day delivery orders placed before 11 a.m. still go out today. Prices and bouquets: bloom.example/shop”
• For a clinic: “Our front desk is back at 8 a.m. Sunday to Thursday. To book, reply with your name and preferred day and we'll confirm in the morning. For emergencies call 999.”

Put the answer to your single most common question into the away message itself. If half your night messages ask about delivery, the away message should answer delivery.

When a fixed auto-reply is enough

Not every business needs AI. Greeting and away messages, plus quick replies for the team, are usually enough when:

• You get fewer than a dozen WhatsApp messages a day and someone reads them within an hour or two.
• Most messages need a person anyway, such as custom quotes or complaints.
• One or two people handle WhatsApp from one phone.

The signs you have outgrown it: the same five questions make up most of your messages, a real share arrive after hours, customers go quiet after the away message, or several people need to answer from one number.

What an AI auto-reply has to get right

Once the reply is written by an AI instead of by you, the risks change. These are the things to check in any tool, and how Replio handles each one:

• It answers only from what you told it. Replio answers from your knowledge base: pasted text, your website, a file or a Google Doc. If the answer isn't there, it should say so rather than invent a price.
• It knows when to stop. When a customer asks for a person, sends a complaint or sends proof of payment, Replio hands the chat to your team, puts it in the Unanswered view, and can alert you on your own WhatsApp or Telegram.
• It replies in the customer's language. A customer who writes in Arabic, Hindi or Portuguese gets the answer in that language, from the same knowledge base, across 50+ languages.
• It understands more than text. Replio reads photos such as receipts and screenshots, and on WhatsApp it can offer tappable reply buttons for simple choices.
• It doesn't pester. Automatic messages to each customer are capped, and a chat that goes quiet is closed with a short note after a window you set.
• People can step in. Anyone on your team can take over a conversation from the inbox, and the AI stays out of it while they do.

The 24-hour rule and what auto-replies cost

WhatsApp's pricing works in your favour here. When a customer messages you, a 24-hour customer service window opens, and Meta does not charge for the replies you send inside it. An auto-reply answers within seconds, so it always lands inside that window.

The rule bites later. Once 24 hours pass without a new message from the customer, you can only write to them with a pre-approved template, and Meta bills those per message, with marketing templates costing the most. So an auto-reply that answers fully on the spot is not only faster, it also avoids a paid follow-up the next day. Our WhatsApp API pricing guide explains the categories.

With Replio you connect your own number, Meta bills you directly with no markup from us, and messages are unlimited on every plan. What the plans meter is AI replies: Starter includes 8,000 a month for $49, and extra AI replies are $0.006 each.

What it looks like at 2 a.m.

A furniture shop has Replio connected to its WhatsApp number and its delivery policy, price list and showroom hours in the knowledge base.

1. 2:04 a.m. A customer asks whether the grey three-seater sofa comes in green and how long delivery takes. The AI answers from the price list: green is available, delivery is 5 to 7 days in the city.
2. 2:05 a.m. The customer asks to see it in person. The AI gives the showroom hours and offers a visit slot from the booking calendar. The customer picks Saturday at 11.
3. 2:07 a.m. The customer asks for a discount on two sofas. That isn't in the knowledge base, so the AI says a team member will reply in the morning and marks the chat for the team.
4. 9:00 a.m. The sales lead sees the chat in Unanswered with the whole conversation, sends an offer, and the booking is already in the calendar.

An away message would have covered the first minute of that conversation and nothing after it.

How to set up an AI auto-reply with Replio

1. Start the free 7-day trial (cancel anytime) and add your knowledge: paste your FAQs, or import your website, a file or a Google Doc.
2. Test it before WhatsApp. Ask it your ten most common questions in the test chat or on the website widget and fix any gaps in the knowledge.
3. Connect your WhatsApp number through Meta's WhatsApp Cloud API or a Business Solution Provider. Our step-by-step connection guide walks through it.
4. Set up the handoff: invite your team, and turn on alerts under Settings, Notifications so a chat that needs a person reaches someone's phone.
5. Go live and read the first week. Every question the AI couldn't answer is a line to add to the knowledge base.

The same AI can also answer Instagram DMs, Messenger, Telegram and your website from that knowledge base, so a customer gets the same answer wherever they write.

Frequently asked questions

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Last updated 2026-09-17. WhatsApp Business app features and Meta Business Agent availability are taken from Meta's WhatsApp Business site on 17 September 2026 and may change, so please check current features and rates on Meta's and Replio's websites.