The WhatsApp Business app has three tools that save hours: the greeting message (the first reply to anyone who writes), the away message (for out of hours) and quick replies (shortcuts for what repeats). They are the part of WhatsApp that looks like a robot, but they are not a chatbot: they answer with fixed text, without understanding what the customer wrote.
The three, side by side
| Tool |
When it fires |
What for |
| Greeting |
When someone new writes, or when they have not spoken to you for a while. |
Say who you are, thank them and tell them what happens next. |
| Away |
Outside the hours you set, or always, or in a period you mark. |
Avoid the impression of abandonment: “We are back tomorrow at nine”. |
| Quick reply |
When you type “/” and the shortcut. |
Prices, address, hours, how to pay: the answer you repeat every day. |
Setting them up, step by step
| 1 |
In the app settings, open the Business tools (the name varies with the version).
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| 2 |
Greeting: switch it on, write the text and choose who it is for (everyone writing for the first time, or people not in your contacts, for example).
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| 3 |
Away: switch it on and choose when it is sent: always, in a period you mark, or outside business hours. For that last option the hours have to be filled in on the profile: filling in your business profile.
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| 4 |
Quick replies: create a shortcut (for example “/address”) and its text. You can add an image. In a chat, type “/” and pick the shortcut.
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| 5 |
Test with another phone. Write to yourself from a number that is not in your contacts and see what arrives and when.
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What to write
A good greeting fits in three lines: the company name, what the person can do and when they will get an answer. For example: “Hello! This is [company]. Tell us what you are looking for and we will reply as soon as we can. We are open Monday to Friday.” Do not promise times you do not keep: “we reply in 5 minutes” is a promise a switched-off phone breaks.
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These messages leave from the app, and the app has to be running. According to WhatsApp’s help pages, the phone must be connected to the internet to send them; with the phone off or without a signal, the away message does not go. If you need a guaranteed reply, the way is different: a system tied to the API (the WhatsApp Cloud API) or a bot (how a WhatsApp chatbot works).
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Too many replies turn you into a robot. If the away message fires on every message and the greeting says everything again, the customer feels they are talking to themselves. One message per visit is enough.
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Quick replies pay for themselves. List the ten questions you get most and turn each into a shortcut. Re-read them now and then: an out-of-date price in a quick reply is worse than no reply.
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Want to know whether the app is enough or you already need a system with several agents? Talk to us.
Open a support ticket
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