WhatsApp autoresponder: how to set up an auto reply
Need a WhatsApp autoresponder? The Business app greets new chats and says when you’re away. Here’s the setup, plus five replies to copy.
ManySetter teamUpdated 6 min read
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Chapter 01The basics
Greeting, away or quick reply: what’s the difference?
Greeting and away messages are automatic: the WhatsApp Business app sends them for you. A quick reply isn’t. It’s a saved message a person picks and sends, through a shortcut.
Greeting message
Automatic. Welcomes a new contact on their first message.
Away message
Automatic. Sets expectations when you can’t answer, on your schedule.
Quick reply
Sent by a person. A saved answer you insert with a shortcut.
Useful for a small team. None of them asks a question, saves the answer or decides whether a prospect is ready for a call.
Chapter 02Setup
Set up greeting and away messages in WhatsApp Business
Turn on the greeting message
Where to click: ToolsGreeting message
Turn it on, write it, then choose who receives it. It goes out the first time someone messages you.
Add an away message
Where to click: ToolsAway message
Turn it on, write it, then choose when it goes out, such as outside the business hours set in your profile.
Save your quick replies
Where to click: ToolsQuick replies
Save a message with a shortcut. In a chat, pick it with the shortcut, then send it yourself.
Test from a second phone
Message your business from another number and note exactly when each reply fires.
Menus move
Labels vary between iPhone, Android and app versions: follow the names in your app, not an old screenshot. Steps from the WhatsApp Help Center (greeting (opens in a new tab), away (opens in a new tab), quick replies (opens in a new tab)), checked September 28, 2026.
Chapter 03Copy
Five auto replies you can copy
Replace the brackets and write like a person. Promise the response time you can actually keep: no “24/7” if nobody is there.
After hours
Away message, outside your business hours.
Thanks for messaging. We’re away until Replace [time and zone]. Leave your question and we’ll pick it up then.
- Why it works
- A real time beats “we’ll get back to you soon.”
New inquiry
Greeting message, on a first contact.
Thanks for reaching out. Are you looking for Replace [service A], Replace [service B], or something else?
- Why it works
- One easy question sorts the chat before anyone reads it.
Existing client
Quick reply, when a client writes about a booking.
Thanks for your note. If it concerns an active booking, please include the date so our team can find it.
- Why it works
- Your team gets what it needs in the first reply.
Resource request
Quick reply, when someone asks for a guide or a price list.
Happy to send it. Which part are you working on right now?
- Why it works
- The answer tells you what to send next.
Human route
Quick reply, or the handoff message of a flow.
I’m passing this to a teammate. They’ll have the context you shared here.
- Why it works
- The contact knows a person is coming and won’t repeat themselves.
Chapter 04Workflow
When you need more than an autoresponder
An autoresponder sends one message. When the reply must ask something, remember the answer and pick the next step, you need a flow. In Manychat, the Default Reply can start it:
- 01Message arrivesTo your number
- 02Default ReplyStarts your flow
- 03One questionAnswer saved, then branch
- 04Next stepAnswer or a teammate
Open the Default Reply
In Manychat’s settings for your WhatsApp channel, open Default Reply. It catches messages no keyword trigger handles. Pick an automation or create one.
Build a short flow
Ask one question, save the answer to a custom field, branch on it and send a teammate the cases that need one.
Choose how often it fires
On every message, or once per 24 hours per contact, then Set Live (Manychat’s Default Reply guide (opens in a new tab)).
Manychat adds WhatsApp from its Pro plan (opens in a new tab). Choosing between the app, Manychat and AI? See the WhatsApp automation guide.
Building the whole bot?
Entry points, a qualification script and the handoff are covered step by step in the WhatsApp chatbot guide.
Chapter 05Limits
When the default reply is the wrong answer
An automatic reply shouldn’t answer everything. Send these to the right owner, or answer them directly:
Refund request
Goes to whoever handles billing, not into a sales script.
Safety issue
Reaches a person fast, with no questionnaire.
Complex account problem
Goes to the account owner, with the chat history.
Direct price question
Gets the price or a clear next step, not a form.
Set the exclusions first
Before any automation answers, decide which topics skip it, who takes over and what the contact sees meanwhile.
ManySetter
Running sales conversations through Manychat?
When a lead writes back with a real question, a setter answers from your offer.
- Keeps your Manychat flows
- Answers from your offer
- Books a call or hands off
Build and test free · Manychat billed separately
Chapter 06Test
How to test an auto reply
Run each case from your second phone and check what the contact actually sees:
0 of 6 completed
Chapter 07Rules
Check the message rules before follow-ups
An auto reply answers someone who just wrote. On the WhatsApp Business Platform, which Manychat connects your number to, a later follow-up has its own rules: after 24 hours, only an approved template can reach the person, per Manychat’s messaging windows guide (opens in a new tab).
Service messages are billed from October 1, 2026
Replies inside the window will be charged by destination, after 1,000 free service messages per phone number each calendar month, per Manychat’s WhatsApp pricing guide (opens in a new tab).
Templates, opt-in, US rules and costs are covered in the WhatsApp automation guide. Review the current policy for each market you message.