You set up an away message. A customer messages at 10pm asking whether the size 12 is still available.
They get an auto WhatsApp response, “Thanks for your message, we’ll get back to you during business hours”.
The auto reply simply asks your customer to wait, but most of them don’t, and they message the next shop instead.
The free WhatsApp auto-reply feature is decent, but they are mostly acknowledgements and not answers.
If you’re losing sales after hours, the fix is a system that can actually respond to what was asked, and this guide covers how using ClerkChat.
How to set up auto reply in WhatsApp Business
To set up auto reply in WhatsApp business, open the WhatsApp business app, go to Tools, enable/customize the Greeting message and Away message.
Make sure to set the business hours in Profile first for the “outside hours” away option (internet is required for them to send).
Three features live under Business Tools in the free WhatsApp Business app (they are known as “auto-replies”, but each feature behaves differently), here’s how to set them up individually:
Greeting message
Sends automatically the first time someone messages you — or when they message again after 14 days of no contact.
Setup: WhatsApp Business → More options → Business tools → Greeting message → toggle on → edit text → choose recipients → Save.
Note: That 14-day rule catches people out. Regulars won’t see this message, so don’t put anything time-critical in it. Set recipients to “Everyone not in my contacts” unless you want existing customers getting greeted mid-conversation.
Away message
Sends outside your business hours, or on a custom schedule. Unlike greetings, this fires every time.
Setup: Business tools → Away message → toggle on → edit → choose schedule (Always send / Custom schedule / Outside business hours) → Save.
Note: One practical detail: away messages only send when your phone has an active internet connection. If yours seem to fire inconsistently, check connectivity before rewriting the copy.
Quick replies
Saved responses you insert by typing / plus a shortcut — /hours, /shipping, /price. Up to 50, and they can include images and attachments, which makes them useful for price lists or a map to your shop.
Note: These are not automatic. You still have to be there, read the message, and type the shortcut. They save keystrokes, not time-of-day coverage.
Examples of WhatsApp Business auto replies
Here are some tips to write a good WhatsApp business auto reply:
Give a real time window. “We reply by 10am, Mon–Fri” beats “we’ll get back to you soon.” People wait for a number; they leave for a vague promise.
Give one next step. “Reply with your order number and we’ll have it ready when we open” turns dead time into progress.
Skip the apology paragraph. Nobody reads three sentences from a business at midnight.
Example that works:
Thanks for messaging! We’re closed now and reply from 9am (Mon–Sat, SGT). If it’s about an order, send your order number and we’ll sort it first thing. Sizing and shipping info: https://www.followchain.org/auto-reply-whatsapp-business-answer-questions/
Note what that last line is doing — it’s a workaround for the thing the app can’t do.
WhatsApp Business auto-reply limitations
The main limitation in WhatsApp business is that greeting and away messages are static text.
They send the same words to everyone regardless of what was asked. Quick replies need a human, unlike these:
- “Do you deliver to Johor?” → generic away message
- “What’s the difference between the standard and pro model?” → generic away message
- “Is the size 12 dress still in stock?” → generic away message
Every one of those is a buying question from someone with their wallet out.
And research on WhatsApp business use has found that a majority of consumers will abandon a transaction when a business takes too long to respond — the delay itself is what costs you, not the answer.
Rule-based keyword bots are the usual next step, and they help a bit.
But you’re writing a rule for every phrasing a customer might use, and customers phrase things in ways you’ll never predict. Coverage stays thin.
How to use ClerkChat to auto reply questions in WhatsApp Business
ClerkChat is a tool that allows you to upload what you already have to answer your customers’ questions on WhatsApp Business.
This includes product catalogue, price list, shipping and returns policy, FAQ, past support conversations and the chatbot answers customer questions from those documents.
Then you connect it to your WhatsApp Business number so it replies automatically.
The practical difference: you never anticipated “does the size 12 dress fit like the size 10 in the other cut,” but if the answer sits in your sizing guide, the bot can give it. No rule required.
This is what ClerkChat does — you upload your business documents, it builds a chatbot from them, and you attach it to WhatsApp Business so customers get real answers instead of an away message.
Two things to understand before you set this up:
You need the WhatsApp Business Platform, not just the free app. The free app can’t host a chatbot. Connecting one means moving your number onto WhatsApp’s Cloud API through a provider. It’s a standard process, but it isn’t a toggle in the app, and Meta charges per conversation on the API.
Your bot has to have a defined business purpose. Since January 2026, Meta only permits task-specific AI assistants on WhatsApp — general-purpose chatbots without a clear business function aren’t allowed. A bot answering questions about your own products and policies is exactly the permitted case. A general chat assistant bolted onto your number is not.
How to upload documents to ClerkChat to auto reply questions
The bot is only as good as what you feed it. Before uploading:
Include the answers you type most often. Go through your last 100 chats. Whatever you’ve typed more than five times belongs in a document.
Be specific about numbers. “Delivery is 2–3 working days to Singapore, 5–7 to Malaysia, free over $80” is usable. “Fast shipping available” is not.
Remove anything outdated. Old pricing in an old PDF will get quoted back to a customer at some point.
Add the awkward ones. Returns after 30 days, what happens if something arrives damaged, whether you do exchanges. These are the questions people ask at 11pm and the ones nobody documents.
Keep a human exit
Whatever you set up, make the handoff obvious. After one failed attempt, the bot should offer a real person rather than looping through the same options.
An angry customer trapped in a bot is worse than no automation at all. Build the escape hatch first.
Where to start
Turn on the greeting and away messages today — five minutes, free, and better than silence.
Then look at what people are actually asking after hours. If it’s mostly “are you open,” the free tools are enough.
If it’s stock, sizing, shipping, and specs — questions with real answers that already exist somewhere in your business — that’s when a document-trained bot pays for itself, because those messages are sales, not admin.
