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A good WhatsApp Business auto reply thanks the customer, says when a person will answer, and tells them what to send in the meantime, in two or three short lines. Below are samples for welcome, away, after-hours, busy and holiday messages that you can copy and change, followed by how to set them up in the WhatsApp Business App or, for a team, on the API.
The three kinds of auto reply
- Welcome (greeting) message: the first reply a new customer gets, and a returning one after a long gap.
- Away message: sent outside your working hours, or when you are closed.
- Delayed-response message: sent during working hours when a customer has waited longer than you would like.
What makes a good auto reply?
- Name the business, so the customer knows they reached the right place.
- Set an honest expectation: “within an hour”, “tomorrow from 10 am”. Do not promise a time you cannot keep.
- Ask for what you will need: an order number, a location, a photo of the problem.
- Offer a shortcut: a price list, a menu, a booking link.
- Keep it short. Three lines on a phone screen is plenty.
- Write it in the language your customers use, Hinglish included.
Welcome message samples
- A shop: “Hi! Thanks for messaging [Shop name]. Tell us the product you’re looking for and your area, and we’ll reply with price and stock shortly.”
- A clinic: “Hello, you’ve reached [Clinic name]. For an appointment, send your name and a preferred day. In an emergency, please call the clinic directly.”
- A coaching institute: “Hi! Thanks for contacting [Institute name]. Which class and subject are you asking about? We’ll send batch timings and fees.”
- A restaurant: “Hi, thanks for writing to [Restaurant name]! Reply MENU for today’s menu, or send the date, time and number of guests to book a table.”
- A real estate developer: “Hello! Thanks for your interest in our projects. Which location and budget are you considering? Our team will share options and site-visit slots.”
- An online store: “Hi! Thanks for reaching out. For an order question, send your order number and we’ll check it right away.”
Away and after-hours samples
- “Thanks for your message! We’re closed right now and open again at 10 am tomorrow. Leave your question here and we’ll reply first thing.”
- “Hi, our team is offline until 9 am (Mon–Sat). If it’s about an order, send the order number and we’ll check it as soon as we’re back.”
- “Namaste! Abhi hum offline hain. Kal subah 10 baje se reply karenge. Apna sawal yahin chhod dijiye.”
- “Thanks for writing to us on Sunday. We’re closed today and will answer on Monday morning.”
- “Hi! Our office hours are 10 am to 7 pm. We’ve got your message and will reply in the morning.”
Busy (delayed-response) samples
- “Thanks for waiting! We’re helping a few customers right now and will be with you in about 15 minutes.”
- “Sorry for the wait, it’s a busy hour. Someone from our team will reply shortly. Meanwhile, you can share your order number.”
- “Thanks for your patience! Ek minute, our team is replying to messages in order.”
Holiday samples
- “Happy Diwali from all of us! We’re closed until [date] and will reply to every message when we’re back.”
- “We’re closed today for the holiday. Orders placed now will ship on our next working day.”
- “Our shop is closed for the festival this week. Leave a message and we’ll get back to you when we reopen.”
Swap in your own business name, hours and dates.
How to set up auto replies in the WhatsApp Business App
In the app, open Tools, then Away message (or Greeting message), switch it on and edit the text. Under Schedule, choose Always send, a Custom schedule or Outside of business hours, which needs your business hours set in your profile. Recipients lets you choose who gets it (How to use away messages).
That is enough for one phone. It replies as the phone’s account, though, so it knows nothing about who on a team is free.
How auto replies work in Fliok
For a team on the API, Fliok has all three on the Basic plan and above. Open Auto replies & rules in the sidebar, then the Auto replies tab:
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Auto reply | When it is sent | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome message | A new customer’s first message, and a returning customer after a quiet spell | The quiet spell: 1 to 720 hours, 24 by default |
| Away message | Outside your working hours | A weekly schedule and time zone (Asia/Kolkata by default) |
| Delayed-response message | During working hours, when nobody has replied | The wait: 1 to 720 minutes, 15 by default |
A few rules keep them sensible: each goes to a customer at most once in 24 hours, none is sent while a chatbot is answering, the away message takes priority over the other two, and the welcome and delayed-response messages step aside when the AI agent will reply. They are ordinary replies inside the customer’s 24-hour window, so they count toward your plan’s monthly message allowance and Meta charges for them like any other reply. The help centre has the short version.
Replies for particular words
For answers to particular words (“price”, “location”, “timings”), use a rule: the trigger The lead sends a WhatsApp message, with Only messages mentioning set to your words, and the action Send a WhatsApp message. The same rule answers the same customer at most once every four hours. For anything longer than one answer, a chatbot is the better tool; see how to make a WhatsApp chatbot without coding.
Saved answers for your team
Quick replies are not automatic: they are saved answers your team drops in by typing / and a shortcut, with the customer’s name filled in. They are on every plan.
Auto reply, chatbot or AI agent?
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| One message when you are closed or busy | An away or delayed-response message |
| A fixed answer to a few keywords | A keyword rule |
| A menu, questions and a handover | A chatbot |
| Real answers to open questions at any hour | An AI agent |
Frequently asked questions
WhatsApp Business me auto reply kaise kare?
In the WhatsApp Business App, open Tools, then Away message or Greeting message, switch it on, write the message and choose a schedule. In Fliok, open Auto replies & rules, then Auto replies, and set the welcome, away and delayed-response messages for your whole team.
What is a good auto reply message for WhatsApp Business?
Two or three lines that thank the customer, say honestly when a person will reply, and ask for what you will need, such as an order number. For example: “Thanks for messaging us! We’re offline until 10 am. Send your order number and we’ll check it first thing.”
Can I send different auto replies for different keywords?
Not with the app’s greeting and away messages. In Fliok, a rule with the trigger The lead sends a WhatsApp message and Only messages mentioning can answer particular words, and a chatbot can start on keywords too.
Are WhatsApp auto replies free?
In the WhatsApp Business App, yes. Through the API, an auto reply is a message like any other: Meta charges replies since 1 October 2026, after each number’s first 1,000 free service messages a month. In Fliok, auto replies are on the Basic plan and above.
Why didn’t my away message send?
In Fliok, check the working hours and time zone, and remember that each auto reply goes to a customer at most once in 24 hours and is not sent while a chatbot is answering. In the app, Outside of business hours only works once business hours are set in your profile.
Written by the Fliok team
The team that builds the product. Plain explanations of Meta's rules and of what Fliok does with them.
Try it on your own number
The Free plan connects one WhatsApp number, with no time limit. Questions first? A person replies within one business day.
