WhatsApp Auto Reply Messages: 20 Greeting & Away Examples (+ Setup)

An auto reply is the first thing many customers read from your business. A lazy one (“We'll get back to you”) tells them to go elsewhere. A good one keeps them in the chat and moves them one step closer to buying. Below are examples you can copy, sorted by situation.

How to set up auto replies in the WhatsApp Business app

1. 1Open WhatsApp Business and go to Settings → Business tools.
2. 2Tap Greeting message, turn it on, write your message and choose who receives it (everyone, or contacts you choose).
3. 3Tap Away message, turn it on and pick a schedule: always, a custom schedule, or outside your business hours.
4. 4Set your Business hours in the business profile so “outside business hours” works.
5. 5Add Quick replies for the answers you type every day — type “/” in a chat to use them.

Greeting message examples

• Hi! 👋 Thanks for messaging [Business]. Tell us what you're looking for and we'll help — prices and delivery details are just a message away.
• Welcome to [Clinic]! To book, send your preferred day and time. For prices, reply PRICES.
• Hello and welcome to [Restaurant] 🍕 Send “menu” to see today's menu, or tell us your order and address.
• Hi, this is [Salon]. Which service would you like — haircut, color or nails? We'll send the next free times.
• Thanks for reaching out to [Store]! Send a photo or the name of the product and we'll check size and stock for you.

Away message examples (after hours)

• Thanks for your message! We're closed right now and open again at 9 am. Leave your question and we'll reply first thing.
• Hi! Our team is offline until tomorrow at 10 am. If you'd like to book, send your preferred day — we'll confirm in the morning.
• We've received your order request 🙌 The kitchen opens at 12 pm; we'll confirm your order and delivery time then.
• Out of hours, but not out of reach: for urgent matters call [number]. Everything else, we'll answer by 9 am.
• Thanks for writing! Messages after 8 pm are answered the next morning. Our prices and opening hours are in our catalog.

Holiday and busy-time examples

• Eid Mubarak! 🌙 We're closed until [date]. Orders placed now will be delivered from [date].
• We're on a short break until [date]. Send your request and we'll reply when we're back — thanks for your patience!
• It's a busy day here ⏳ Replies may take a little longer than usual. Your message is in the queue and we haven't forgotten you.
• Ramadan hours: we answer from [time] to [time]. Send your order anytime and we'll confirm during those hours.

Quick replies worth saving

• /prices — your price list or the 3 most popular items with prices.
• /location — address, map link, parking and opening hours.
• /delivery — areas, fees and delivery times.
• /payment — the payment methods you accept.
• /book — how to book and what details you need.

The limit of auto replies (and what comes next)

Greeting and away messages are fixed text. They can't tell a customer the price of the item in their photo, whether 4 pm Thursday is free, or what delivery to their area costs. At night, that means every serious buyer still waits until morning — and many don't.

That's where a WhatsApp chatbot or AI agent comes in: it answers the actual question from your prices, menu and policies, books the appointment, takes the order — and hands over to a person when needed. It runs on the official WhatsApp Business Platform, which also gives your team a shared inbox. If you're deciding, read WhatsApp Business app vs API.