A Guide to Enable Automated Reply to WhatsApp Messages

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is one of the most widely used social media apps. The instant messaging app allows you to send and receive texts, share photos and videos, files, documents, and more. You can also upload a profile picture on WhatsApp and also update and view people's status to know about their whereabouts.

WhatsApp also lets you conduct voice calls or video calls and helps you stay connected with your friends and family members. Apart from using the instant messaging app to talk with your friends, families, or colleagues, you can also use this for business purposes.

WhatsApp Business app

WhatsApp Business app is free to download and is built keeping small businesses in mind. Businesses can create their profile and they can thus mention details about their product, address of their store, website, and connect with their customers.

In order to connect with the customers, you can create a catalogue and show it to the customers and also answer the queries of the customer regarding any products or services.

Apart from these plethoras of features, it also has away message feature which lets the customers know that they are not operating or available.

WhatsApp auto-reply feature

WhatsApp Business app thus allows you to set 'away messages' when you are not operating. You can set up an auto-reply feature where the contacts will be informed that you are not available right now. You can also schedule these messages accordingly. If the contact tries to reach out to you during the 'away hours', messages will be sent to them accordingly.

How to enable an automated reply to WhatsApp Messages

STEP 1 [Click on Settings]

Open the WhatsApp application and tap on the three dots on the app. Now, click on Settings followed by Business Settings and lastly on Away message.

STEP 2 [Click on Send away message]

Now, click on the toggle button next to 'Send away message'

STEP 3 [Edit the message]

Tap on the message and enter the message which you want to send to the customers and click on Ok.

STEP 4 [Schedule your message]

Now, the next step is to schedule your message.

-Always send: Select this option if you are not available for a longer time.

-Custom schedule: Choose this option if you want to send the automated message only during a specific time.

-Outside of business hours: This option lets you send automated messages only outside the business hours. You need to set business hours in your business profile for this option.

STEP 5 [Select the recipient]

The final step is to select the recipient to whom you want to send this message.

-Everyone: Select this option to send the automated message to everyone who texts you after business hours.

-Everyone not in the address book: This option lets you send an automated message to numbers that are not in your contact list.

-Everyone except: To send messages to everyone except a few contacts.

-Only send to: Choose this option to send messages to selected contacts._Agencies