How to set up auto reply on WhatsApp (personal and Business)

Regular (personal) WhatsApp has no built-in auto reply. The WhatsApp Business app has two: a greeting message for new chats and an away message for when you are busy or closed^[1]. If you want replies that depend on what the customer writes, such as "price" or "address", on a personal or Business account, you need a keyword auto-reply tool on WhatsApp Web, such as the Zapext Chrome extension. It replies only while your computer is on and WhatsApp Web is open.

This guide is for shop owners, freelancers, tutors, agents and small teams who answer customers on WhatsApp. It covers the native Business app options step by step, how keyword auto-reply works on a computer, message examples you can copy, and the limits of each method.

Quick answer: which auto reply option fits you

Option	Account	Where it runs	What it sends	Main limit
Away message	WhatsApp Business only	Business app, set up on the phone	One fixed text, always or on a schedule	Same text for every question
Greeting message	WhatsApp Business only	Business app, set up on the phone	One fixed text for new or returning chats	Does not answer later questions
Keyword auto-reply (Zapext)	Personal or Business, same number	WhatsApp Web on a computer, in Chrome	Different replies for different words	Computer on and WhatsApp Web open

A practical setup is to use both: an away message for nights and holidays, and keyword replies during the working day while they sit at the computer.

Can you set auto reply on a personal WhatsApp account?

Not inside the app. Regular WhatsApp (WhatsApp Messenger) has no away message, greeting message or keyword reply setting^[1]. Guides that show an "Away message" menu are describing the WhatsApp Business app.

That leaves three routes for a personal number:

• Move the number to WhatsApp Business. Regular WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business are separate apps, and one number cannot be active in both at the same time^[2]. It is a migration, so plan it.
• Use a WhatsApp Web extension on your computer. The extension works on top of web.whatsapp.com with the account you already have, so the number stays where it is.
• Use an Android auto-responder app. These apps usually reply from your phone's notifications, so they need access to read them. Check the developer and the permissions before you install one.

If you are still deciding between the two apps, read WhatsApp Business vs normal WhatsApp.

Option 1: greeting and away messages in the WhatsApp Business app

The WhatsApp Business app lets you "greet people the moment they start a conversation" and "respond to messages even when you're away"^[3]. Both are set up in the phone app. On recent versions they are under the Tools tab^[1]; menu names can change between versions.

Set up an away message

1. Open the WhatsApp Business app and go to Tools, then Away message.
2. Turn on Send away message.
3. Tap the message to edit it and save the text.
4. Choose a Schedule: Always send, Custom schedule, or Outside of business hours. The last option appears only if you have set business hours in your business profile.
5. Choose Recipients: Everyone, Everyone not in address book, Everyone except…, or Only send to….
6. Save^[1].

Set up a greeting message

1. In Tools, open Greeting message.
2. Turn on Send greeting message, edit the text and save it.
3. Choose the recipients, using the same options as for the away message^[1].

WhatsApp sends the greeting when a customer writes to you for the first time, or writes again after 14 days with no messages^[4]. It does not repeat every time the same customer writes.

What the Business app auto reply cannot do

• One text for everyone. The away message and the greeting send the same words whatever the customer asked. There is no "if they say price, send the price list" rule.
• No follow-up steps. Neither message adds a label, waits, or sends a second message.
• Quick replies are manual. The Business app also has quick replies, saved texts that you insert yourself from the chat. You can store up to 50, and media in quick replies works on the phone but not on WhatsApp Web or Desktop^[5]. They save typing, but you still send each one. More on this in quick replies on WhatsApp Web.

A newer option: Meta's AI agent in the Business app

In May 2026 Meta announced "Business AI" for small businesses in India: an assistant inside the WhatsApp Business app that answers questions, recommends products and books appointments, set up from the Tools tab^[6]. In June 2026 Meta said it was making the agent, now called Meta Business Agent, available globally, though availability still varies by country^[7][8]. TechCrunch reported that Meta plans to charge for it through some tiers of its WhatsApp Business Premium subscription^[7]. According to WhatsApp's Help Center, away messages pause while the agent is active^[8], and greeting messages are automatically disabled while it is connected^[4]. If you only need predictable answers to repeated questions, a fixed rule may be enough.

Option 2: keyword auto-reply on WhatsApp Web with an extension

A keyword auto-reply looks at the customer's message and sends the reply you set for that word. "Hours" gets your opening times. "Location" gets your address and map link. This is what most people mean by a WhatsApp chatbot for a small business: a set of rules, not artificial intelligence.

Zapext is a Chrome extension that adds a CRM to WhatsApp Web, with labels, a Kanban pipeline, quick replies, reminders and keyword auto-reply. It works with the account you already have, personal or Business, on the same number, and it does not use the official WhatsApp Business API. Keyword auto-reply is part of both the Starter and Plus plans^[9]. On the Chrome Web Store it had 552 users and a 5.0 rating from 45 reviews when we checked on 24 October 2026^[10].

Requirements before you start

• A desktop or laptop computer. There is no mobile version.
• Google Chrome or another Chromium browser, such as Edge, Brave, Opera or Vivaldi. Firefox and Safari are not supported.
• WhatsApp Web open in that browser. The auto-reply runs inside WhatsApp Web, so it answers only while the computer is on and the tab is open. If the computer is off, nothing is answered.
• Your phone, to log in to WhatsApp Web with WhatsApp's own QR code.

Step by step: set up keyword auto-reply with Zapext

1. Install the extension. Open the Zapext page on the Chrome Web Store, click "Add to Chrome" and confirm "Add extension".
2. Open WhatsApp Web. Go to web.whatsapp.com and log in as usual with WhatsApp's QR code. That login belongs to WhatsApp, not Zapext.
3. Log in to Zapext. Zapext appears as a tab on the left side of the screen. Click the avatar icon and log in with your email and password, or create your Zapext account there. Zapext never asks for your WhatsApp password.
4. Create a keyword rule. Choose a word customers often send, such as "hours", and write the reply Zapext should send when a message contains it.
5. Add one rule per repeated question. Opening hours, address, prices: each word gets its own reply, so customers get an instant answer to the questions they ask most.
6. Test it. From another phone, send the keyword to your number and check the reply on WhatsApp Web.

To set it up on your own number: Install on Chrome.

Auto reply message examples you can copy

Keep each reply short, say who you are, and tell the customer what happens next. Change the details to match your business.

Away message (Business app)

• "Hi, thanks for your message. We are closed right now. Our hours are Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 7 pm. We will reply first thing tomorrow."
• "Thanks for writing to us. We are with other customers at the moment and will get back to you within 2 hours."
• "We are closed for the festival holidays until Monday. For urgent orders, leave your order number and we will call you back."

Greeting message

• "Welcome to Sharma Electronics! Tell us the product you are looking for and your area, and we will share price and delivery time."
• "Hello! Thanks for contacting us. Reply 1 for prices, 2 for bookings, or just type your question."

Keyword replies (extension)

Customer writes	Auto reply
"timing", "hours", "open"	"We are open Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 7 pm."
"address", "location"	"We are at [your address]. Map: [your link]."
"price", "rate"	"Here is our price list. Which product do you need?"

Pick words that are unlikely to appear by accident: a short code such as "1" can also show up inside a phone number or an order ID. Use the words customers actually type; your chat history shows which ones come up most often.

What it costs

Starter costs ≈ US$ 57/year (≈ US$ 4.76/month) or ≈ US$ 9.60/month, and Plus ≈ US$ 192/year or ≈ US$ 25/month (charged in Brazilian reais, BRL, at 5.2 BRL/USD on 28 Sep 2026)^[9]. In India, plans are charged in rupees: Starter is ₹699/month or ₹6,990/year and Plus is ₹1,799/month^[11]; see India pricing. Paid plans include a 7-day money-back guarantee, and you can cancel anytime^[12]. See pricing.

Limits and good practice

• Computer on, WhatsApp Web open. Keyword auto-reply, scheduled messages and list sending in Zapext stop when the computer is off or the tab is closed. For nights and holidays on a Business account, keep a Business app away message as a backup.
• Avoid double replies. If you use the Business app greeting or away message and keyword replies on the same number, a customer can get two automatic texts for one message. Test what a customer receives and adjust the wording so the two do not clash.
• Reply, do not spam. Auto replies answer people who wrote to you. Sending to people who did not ask is different. Only message people who agreed to hear from you, keep volumes reasonable and send lists gradually, within WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy and Terms of Service^[13][14]. No tool can stop WhatsApp from restricting a number that breaks its rules. See bulk messaging rules to reduce the risk of bans.
• Offer a human. End automatic replies with a way to reach a person, and answer the chat yourself soon after. Set a reminder for any chat that needs a callback; see follow-up reminders on WhatsApp.
• One licence, one number. A Zapext licence covers one WhatsApp number. Starter is for 1 user. Plus allows up to 4 users on the same number, with chat transfer and round-robin distribution; see multiple users on one WhatsApp number.
• Your data. Zapext's CRM data (pipeline, labels and notes) is stored encrypted on your computer, with backup and export. For permissions and data handling, see the security page.

Want keyword replies on the number you already use, without changing apps? Install on Chrome. To schedule messages for a set time instead of replying to keywords, read how to schedule a message on WhatsApp.

Sources

1. [1] How to set up auto-reply messages on WhatsApp — Rasayel (2025-05-15). accessed 2026-10-25.
2. [2] About WhatsApp Business — WhatsApp Help Center — WhatsApp (2026). accessed 2026-10-25.
3. [3] WhatsApp Business App — WhatsApp (Meta) (2026). accessed 2026-10-24.
4. [4] How to use greeting messages — WhatsApp Help Center — WhatsApp (2026). accessed 2026-10-24.
5. [5] How to use quick replies — WhatsApp Help Center — WhatsApp (2026). accessed 2026-10-24.
6. [6] Introducing Business AI on WhatsApp for small businesses in India — Meta Newsroom (2026-05-14). accessed 2026-10-25.
7. [7] Meta's AI agent for WhatsApp Business is now available globally — TechCrunch (2026-06-03). accessed 2026-10-25.
8. [8] About using Meta Business Agent with Meta One — WhatsApp Help Center — WhatsApp (2026). accessed 2026-10-25.
9. [9] Zapext — Plans and pricing (charged in Brazilian reais, BRL, with US dollar estimates) — Zapext (2026). accessed 2026-10-24.
10. [10] Zapext — Chrome Web Store listing (users, ratings and current version) — Chrome Web Store (Google) (2026). accessed 2026-10-24.
11. [11] WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy — WhatsApp (2026-09-23). accessed 2026-10-25.
12. [12] WhatsApp Terms of Service — WhatsApp LLC (2021-01-04). accessed 2026-10-24.
13. [13] Zapext — Plans for India (prices in Indian rupees, INR) — Zapext (2026). accessed 2026-10-25.
14. [14] Zapext — Terms of use (plans, payments and refunds) — Zapext (2026). accessed 2026-10-24.