WhatsApp Business: greeting, away message and quick replies

The short answer: the free WhatsApp Business app has three tools that save time for anyone who gets the same questions every day: the greeting message (answers whoever writes for the first time), the away message (answers outside hours) and quick replies (ready texts typed with a shortcut). They are in the app’s settings, under “Business tools”.

What each one does

Tool When it works What it is for
Greeting message When someone writes to you for the first time, or after a period with no conversation. Say who you are, what you do and how you can help. It avoids silence while you have not seen the message.
Away message Outside the hours you set, or when you are away. Say when you will reply. It spares the anxiety of someone who wrote at night.
Quick replies When you type the shortcut (for example, a slash and a word). Send the price, address, hours, bank details or ways to pay, without typing again.

Setting up, step by step

1 Set the hours first in the business profile: the away message uses them. See Filling in your WhatsApp Business profile.
2 Write a short greeting, with the company name and a question (“How can we help?”). Do not put prices or promises that change.
3 Write the away message with the hours and what to do if it is urgent (a phone number, for example).
4 Create quick replies for the 5 questions you get most. Give each a short, easy-to-remember shortcut.
5 Test from another phone and see how the message reaches whoever receives it.
This is for the Business app. Anyone using WhatsApp’s API (a system connected to a program) has other rules: messages outside the 24 hours need an approved template. See WhatsApp message templates and the 24-hour window and Ordinary WhatsApp, Business or the Cloud API. And only write to people who want to hear from you: Consent for WhatsApp messages. Features and menus change with the version: if something is not where it says, look for the name under “Business tools”.
Put the WhatsApp button on your site so people write to you with a message already prepared: Putting WhatsApp on your site.

Want help deciding which replies to prepare? Open a ticket saying what you sell and what you are asked most.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

Filling in your WhatsApp Business profile: hours, address, website and short link

Setting up a product catalogue in the WhatsApp Business app

The WhatsApp Business app: advantages, disadvantages, risks and who it is for

WhatsApp for business: the risks, and the practices that avoid them

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