WhatsApp Auto Reply Setup: Greeting, Away, Quick Replies

In the WhatsApp Business app you can set three automatic helpers: a greeting message for new chats, an away message for when you are closed, and quick replies you trigger by typing a shortcut. Set them up in Settings under Business tools; it takes about twenty minutes. When you want replies that also ask questions and follow up, that is the step beyond the app.

What each tool does

Think of them as a receptionist who never sleeps but only knows three sentences. They cannot answer questions. They can make the customer feel noticed, tell them when to expect you, and gather the basics so you start with a head start.

How the three tools behave in a real conversation

It helps to picture what a customer actually sees. Say Ms Lim finds your cleaning company on Google Maps and messages at 8:40pm on a Thursday. If your greeting is on, she gets it straight away. If she goes quiet and messages again the next morning, the app generally treats it as the same conversation window and does not repeat the greeting. If she messages again two weeks later, she may get the greeting again, because the chat has been quiet for a while. Check WhatsApp's help pages for the current timing, since it can change.

Before you start

Not sure the app is the right product yet? Read WhatsApp Business app vs API.

Step by step: the greeting message

A tip on the question you ask: choose the one detail you need most to give a useful first answer. For a handyman it is a photo. For a tuition centre it is the child's level. For an accountant it is the type of company. Asking everything at once makes the greeting long and the customer reply with "ok" and nothing else.

Step by step: the away message

Two small decisions make the away message work better. First, decide your real reply window and write it as a time, not a promise such as "shortly". Second, decide whether emergencies exist in your trade. An aircon firm might offer a phone number for a water leak; a tuition centre probably has none. If you give a number, make sure someone answers it.

Step by step: quick replies

Three Singapore businesses, three setups

There is no single right configuration. Here is how three small businesses might set up the same tools differently, and why.

Notice that the away message for the clinic is different in kind, not just wording. It points to emergency care instead of promising a morning reply. Think about what could go wrong if a customer reads only your away message, and write it so that reading it alone is safe.

What a good auto reply looks like

Common mistakes

• No follow-up behind it. A greeting is only as good as the reply that follows. If chats sit for days, customers notice.
• Using it for marketing. Greeting and away messages are for customer-started chats. Marketing to people who did not ask is a separate matter; see our PDPA and WhatsApp guide.
• Sending too many questions. One question is better than five.

Troubleshooting: when the auto reply does not fire

Most failures are small settings. Work through these in order before blaming the app.

One common surprise: you test the greeting by messaging yourself from your own number, or from a number that chatted with the business yesterday, and nothing arrives. The tools treat that as an ongoing chat. Use a friend's phone that has not talked to the business for a while.

Advanced tips for owners who answer after hours

• Write a separate Friday-evening and Sunday version. If you do not reply on weekends, say so plainly and name Monday. People forgive a clear boundary more easily than silence.
• Use labels with your quick replies. Label a chat "New enquiry" when the greeting goes out, then "Quoted" and "Booked" as it moves. A morning scan of the "New enquiry" label shows who has been waiting longest.
• Block out a morning reply slot. Fifteen minutes at the start of the day clears the overnight chats. Put it in your calendar like an appointment.
• Set one person as the owner of the phone. If three staff use the same device, agree who answers what, so customers do not get two different answers.
• Review the wording every quarter. Hours change, services change, and old greetings quietly become wrong.

What the app cannot do

These tools are fixed messages. They do not read what the customer wrote, they do not wait for answers, and they do not remind you to follow up. A customer who gets a greeting at 10pm still waits for you, and nothing nudges you the next morning.

The next step with automation

With Website.sg, the WhatsApp Business number is a dedicated number you buy separately from Twilio, and Website.sg connects it to a system that sends an instant WhatsApp auto-reply, follows up, shows every enquiry from WhatsApp, web chat and forms in one inbox, and tracks each one in a pipeline with tasks. After a job, it can send a one-tap WhatsApp review request. See the app vs API comparison for the technical background.

Next step

Set up the three tools today and test them. If you want replies, follow-up and one shared inbox without the manual work, see what Website.sg includes. Keep reading: quick replies by industry, reply speed and following up quiet customers.