Automation and AI

30 WhatsApp auto-reply message examples you can copy

Copy-ready WhatsApp auto-reply messages for greetings, closed hours, enquiries, orders and appointments, with tips on how to set them up and keep them human.

  • 7 min read
  • Updated
  • By Ashmit Arya
On this page (17)
  1. What is a WhatsApp auto-reply?
  2. Which kind of automatic reply should you use?
  3. The numbers behind these examples
  4. Greetings (first message)
  5. Closed hours
  6. New enquiries
  7. Orders and delivery
  8. Appointments and visits
  9. Follow-ups
  10. Support and complaints
  11. Payments and billing
  12. Qualifying leads
  13. How to set them up in Responseify
  14. Common mistakes with auto-replies
  15. Sources
  16. Auto reply message sample for business WhatsApp
  17. Frequently asked questions

An auto-reply is the first thing a new customer sees from you, and it arrives before anyone on your team has opened the chat. That makes it worth ten minutes of care.

Three rules cover most of what makes one work:

  • Say who you are. The customer may have found you through an ad.
  • Promise only what you will do. "We reply within 2 hours" only works if you do.
  • Offer one next step. A question, a menu or a link, not all three.

What is a WhatsApp auto-reply?

A WhatsApp auto-reply is a message your business sends automatically when a customer writes to you, without anyone typing it. The common kinds are a greeting for a first message, an away message for closed hours, and a reply triggered by a keyword or a menu choice. Its job is to confirm you have the message and tell the customer what happens next.

Which kind of automatic reply should you use?

TypeWhat it doesUse it whenNeeds a person afterwards?
Greeting or away messageSends one fixed messageEvery new chat, or outside working hoursYes, to continue the chat
Menu or keyword replyOffers choices and answers each oneMost enquiries fall into three or four groupsOnly for the questions it cannot answer
AI auto-replyWrites an answer from your own contentCustomers ask many different questionsFor anything outside what it knows

See chatbot vs AI agent for how the last two differ.

The numbers behind these examples

Across the 30 examples in this guide, the average is 16 words, the shortest is 10 and the longest is 24, and 10 of them ask the customer a question:

MeasureResult
Average length16 words (shortest 10, longest 24)
Examples that ask the customer a question10 of 30
Examples with something to fill in, such as [Business] or [time]22 of 30

(These figures describe our own examples, not other businesses' messages.) Keep your own replies just as short, and remember the rule that decides when you may send them at all. In Meta's words, "template messages are the only type of message that can be sent to a WhatsApp user outside of a customer service window."

Template messages are the only type of message that can be sent to a WhatsApp user outside of a customer service window. Meta, template fundamentals

Greetings (first message)

  1. "Hi! Thanks for messaging [Business]. How can we help you today?"
  2. "Namaste! You have reached [Business]. Tell us what you are looking for and we will get right back to you."
  3. "Welcome to [Business]. Reply 1 for prices, 2 for timings, 3 to talk to our team."
  4. "Thanks for your interest in [Product]. Would you like the price list or a quick call?"

Closed hours

  1. "Thanks for writing. We are closed right now and open again at [time]. We will reply first thing."
  2. "Hi! Our team is away until [day, time]. Leave your question here and we will answer in order."
  3. "We are off for [festival]. Messages are read from [date]. Urgent? Reply URGENT and leave your number."
  4. "Our office hours are [Mon to Sat, 10 to 7]. You will hear from us in the next working hour."

New enquiries

  1. "Thanks for the details. A specialist will message you within [time]. Meanwhile, here is our brochure: [link]."
  2. "Got it. To help faster, could you share your budget and preferred location?"
  3. "Happy to help with [product]. Do you want to see options under [budget]?"

Orders and delivery

  1. "Thanks for your order [order id]. We will share tracking as soon as it ships."
  2. "Your order is on the way. Track it here: [link]. Reply here if anything looks wrong."
  3. "Sorry about the delay. We are checking order [order id] and will update you within [time]."

Appointments and visits

  1. "Your visit is booked for [day, time] at [place]. Reply YES to confirm or RESCHEDULE to change."
  2. "Reminder: your appointment is tomorrow at [time]. See you soon!"
  3. "Thanks for visiting today. How was your experience? Reply with a number from 1 to 5."

Follow-ups

  1. "Hi [name], just checking whether you had any questions about [product]. Happy to help."
  2. "Your quote is valid until [date]. Would you like us to hold it for you?"
  3. "We have not heard from you in a while. Reply STOP if you would rather not get messages."

Support and complaints

  1. "Sorry to hear that. We have noted your issue and a team member will reply within [time]. Please share a photo if it helps."
  2. "Thanks for reaching out to support. Your ticket number is [id]. We will update you here."
  3. "We are looking into your request. Could you share your order number so we can check faster?"
  4. "Your issue is resolved. If it happens again, reply here and we will pick it up from this chat."

Payments and billing

  1. "Your payment of [amount] is received. Thank you! Your receipt is here: [link]."
  2. "Your payment did not go through. You can try again here: [link], or reply if you need help."
  3. "A gentle reminder: invoice [number] for [amount] is due on [date]. Pay here: [link]."

Qualifying leads

  1. "Thanks for your interest! Which city are you in, and when are you planning to start?"
  2. "Great, we can help with that. Is this for yourself or your business?"
  3. "To send you the right plan, tell us your monthly budget and the number of people on your team."

How to set them up in Responseify

For instant greetings, use an automation with the "First Message from Contact" trigger. For closed hours, set your business hours and switch on the out-of-office reply. Both are covered step by step in the Help Center.

Responseify automation quick-start templates such as Welcome Message and Out of Office

What to notice: ready-made templates give you the trigger and the first message already filled in. Start from a ready-made automation.

Common mistakes with auto-replies

  • Replying with a wall of text. Customers skim. Two or three lines beat a paragraph.
  • Promising a speed you cannot keep. "We reply in 5 minutes" at midnight damages trust faster than saying "we reply at 10 AM".
  • Using the same message for everything. A greeting, a closed-hours note and an order update are different jobs and need different words.
  • Forgetting the hand-over. Make sure a person sees the chat after the auto-reply, using routing rules so the right teammate gets it.

Pair this list with our guides to welcome messages and out-of-office messages, and try the free WhatsApp link generator to let customers start a chat with a ready message.

Sources

  • Meta, template fundamentals: templates are the only messages allowed outside a customer service window; categories; review.

Auto reply message sample for business WhatsApp

Here is one auto-reply you can copy now: change the words in brackets to your details.

Hi, this is [Business]. Thanks for your message! We reply from [10 AM to 7 PM, Mon to Sat]. Tell us what you need and we will get back to you as soon as we open. It names you, sets the reply time and invites the customer to write down what they need, so your team starts the next day with the question already waiting.

Frequently asked questions

Can an auto-reply be sent at any time?

Inside the 24-hour window after a customer writes, yes. Outside it, only an approved template can be sent.

Should an auto-reply say it is automatic?

Being open about it builds trust. A line such as "I am the assistant and will bring in a person if needed" works well.

How long should an auto-reply be?

Two or three short lines. Customers read these on a phone, usually while doing something else.

Can I use different replies for different times?

Yes. Use a greeting automation for working hours and an out-of-office reply for closed hours.

What is a good auto reply message sample for WhatsApp Business?

Name your business, say when you will reply and invite the customer to write what they need. A working sample is in the "Auto reply message sample" section of this guide.

यह गाइड हिंदी में भी उपलब्ध है: WhatsApp ऑटो-रिप्लाई मैसेज के 15 उदाहरण (कॉपी करें)

About the author

Ashmit Arya · Founder, Responseify

Builds Responseify, a WhatsApp CRM for Indian businesses, and tests what these guides describe in the product himself. Every number here is sourced and dated, and posts are updated when the rules change.

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  • Last reviewed .
  • Where we give figures about our own examples, we say so and show how we counted.
  • Found a mistake or an out-of-date rule? Email us and we will correct it. More about us on the About page.
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