Step by step
How to create an automatic message on WhatsApp, step by step
Quick answer
To set up an automatic message on WhatsApp, use the WhatsApp Business app, which is free: in the Tools tab, tap Greeting message or Away message, turn on sending, write the text, choose who receives it and save. When a customer asks something that fixed text doesn't answer, an AI agent, like CertuAI's, answers for you.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the AI that answers a small business's WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger 24/7, with a built-in CRM, and is a Tech Provider on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Paid plans start at US$ 75 a month, with no lock-in. Create my agent
WhatsApp Business has three ready-made tools: greeting, away and quick replies. Here's the step-by-step for each on Android and iPhone, checked against the WhatsApp Help Center in September 2026, what you can and can't schedule, and the point where fixed text stops being enough.
Create my agent on CertuAIUpdated on September 23, 2026 · Written by Bernardo Villela, CEO of CertuAI · Florianópolis (SC) · CertuAI serves all of Brazil
Summary in 7 facts
- WhatsApp Business has three ready-made tools: greeting, away and quick replies.
- Quick answer To set up an automatic message on WhatsApp, use the WhatsApp Business app, which is free: in the Tools tab, tap Greeting message or Away message, turn on sending, write the text, choose who receives it and save.
- When a customer asks something that fixed text doesn't answer, an AI agent, like CertuAI's, answers for you.
- Three things, and you probably already have almost all of them.
- Estimated time: a few minutes Difficulty: easy, no coding required Steps: 5 The WhatsApp number your business already usesThe number is yours and stays yours.
- There are 5 steps in CertuAI: List what you repeat, Teach this to the Brain, Write the greeting and the rules, Connect WhatsApp and Adjust the tone.
- Step 1 of 5List what you repeat Write down the questions that come into your business's WhatsApp most, like price, hours, address, lead time and payment method.
By the numbers
| Number | What it means |
|---|---|
| 5 steps | There are 5 steps in CertuAI: List what you repeat, Teach this to the Brain, Write the greeting and the rules, Connect WhatsApp and Adjust the tone. |
| 14 days | Greeting message Goes out on its own when someone writes to the business for the first time, or after 14 days without a conversation. |
| 24 hours | Through it, when the customer writes, a 24-hour window opens in which the business can reply with a message written on the spot. |
How do I set up an automatic message on WhatsApp?
What do you need before you start?
Three things, and you probably already have almost all of them.
- Estimated time: a few minutes
- Difficulty: easy, no coding required
- Steps: 5
- The WhatsApp number your business already usesThe number is yours and stays yours. CertuAI connects the contact your customers already know, with no SIM swap and no new account.
- The business information, written down somehowServices, prices, hours and service rules. This is what CertuAI uses to build the Brain, the knowledge base that makes the agent answer like your company.
- A CertuAI accountYou create the account at certu.com.br, connect your WhatsApp and the AI learns from your conversations.
How to have an AI answer in place of the fixed message?
There are 5 steps in CertuAI: List what you repeat, Teach this to the Brain, Write the greeting and the rules, Connect WhatsApp and Adjust the tone.
- Step 1 of 5
List what you repeat
Write down the questions that come into your business's WhatsApp most, like price, hours, address, lead time and payment method. That's what the greeting and the away message can't answer.
- Step 2 of 5
Teach this to the Brain
In the CertuAI dashboard, enter this information in the Brain, your business's knowledge base, so the answer comes out with your company's content and not generic text.
- Step 3 of 5
Write the greeting and the rules
In How it talks and when it hands off to a person, fill in the Greeting, which is the first message, and the Agent rules. Text that must always go out the same way, like a vacation notice, goes in the Agent rules.
- Step 4 of 5
Connect WhatsApp
Connect to CertuAI the number your customers already use, so the agent answers the question asked instead of sending fixed text.
- Step 5 of 5
Adjust the tone
Read a few real conversations in the CertuAI dashboard and fix whatever doesn't sound like your business. From then on your WhatsApp answers the real question, in the company's tone, at any hour.
Result when you finish
Read a few real conversations in the CertuAI dashboard and fix whatever doesn't sound like your business. From then on your WhatsApp answers the real question, in the company's tone, at any hour. This is the expected result of this CertuAI guide.
What are WhatsApp Business's automatic messages?
There are three, and only two go out on their own.
All three are in the WhatsApp Business app, which is free, built for small businesses and available for Android and iPhone, according to the WhatsApp Help Center. If your number is still on regular WhatsApp, you can transfer the account to WhatsApp Business. The same number can't work in both apps at the same time.
Greeting message
Goes out on its own when someone writes to the business for the first time, or after 14 days without a conversation. It's for welcoming the person.
Away message
Goes out on its own at the time you choose: always, on a set schedule or outside business hours. It's so the person isn't left without a reply.
Quick replies
Saved texts, with a photo or video if you want, that you send with a shortcut. They don't go out on their own: someone chooses which one to send. Up to 50 fit.
How to set up a greeting message on WhatsApp Business?
The steps are the same on Android and iPhone. Only the save button differs, noted in each step.
If the greeting doesn't go out, check four things. Did the person write in the last 14 days? Then they don't get it again. Is the recipients option leaving the person out? Does the phone have internet? And is Meta Business Agent, Meta's own AI assistant in the app, connected? With it on, the greeting turns off on its own. If none of that fixes it, the Help Center suggests turning the option off and on again, updating the app and restarting the phone.
- Step 1
Open the greeting
In the Tools tab, tap Greeting message.
- Step 2
Turn on sending
Turn on the Send greeting message option.
- Step 3
Write the text
Tap the message to edit it. On Android, finish with OK. On iPhone, finish with Save.
- Step 4
Choose who receives it
Tap Recipients: Everyone; Everyone except my contacts (on iPhone it appears as Exclude my contacts); Everyone except...; or Only send to..., to pick customers one by one.
- Step 5
Save
On Android, tap Save to finish. On iPhone, the text was already saved in step 3.
How do you set up an away message on WhatsApp Business?
It's the out-of-hours message, and it's the only one of the three that has a schedule for going out.
To turn it off, go back to Tools, Away message, and turn off Send away message. The phone needs internet for the message to go out.
Ready-made templates for vacation, holidays and recess are in the guide certu.com.br/blog/ia/como-escrever-a-mensagem-de-ausencia-que-funciona. To fill in business hours and set up the out-of-hours notice, see certu.com.br/mensagem-automatica-whatsapp-horario-de-atendimento.
- Step 1
Open the away message
In the Tools tab, tap Away message.
- Step 2
Turn on sending
Turn on the Send away message option.
- Step 3
Write the text
Tap the message to edit it. On Android, finish with OK. On iPhone, finish with Save.
- Step 4
Choose the schedule
Tap Schedule: Always send; Custom schedule, for a period you define; or Outside of business hours, which only appears if business hours are filled in on the business profile.
- Step 5
Choose who receives it and save
Tap Recipients and choose from the same four options as the greeting. On Android, tap Save at the end.
How to create quick replies on WhatsApp Business?
They save you from retyping what you send every day.
To use one, open the conversation and type a slash (/) in the message field. Your quick replies appear, along with default replies the app builds from the business profile data, like address and business hours. Pick one, adjust it if needed and send.
- Step 1
Open quick replies
In the Tools tab, tap Quick replies.
- Step 2
Create a new one
Tap the add icon, the plus sign inside a circle.
- Step 3
Write the message
Write the text. You can include a photo or video from your phone. On WhatsApp Web or on a computer, media can't be used.
- Step 4
Set the shortcut and save
Tap Shortcut, choose a short word and tap Save.
Can I schedule a message on WhatsApp?
In part. Here's what the app and the official API allow today.
Marketing messages live in WhatsApp Business itself. You pay per delivered message, and the message may be reviewed by Meta before it goes out. At the scheduled time the phone needs internet, and sending can be delayed from a few seconds up to three hours.
The official API is Meta's way of connecting a system to the company's WhatsApp. Through it, when the customer writes, a 24-hour window opens in which the business can reply with a message written on the spot. After that, only previously approved message templates go out, and only to people who agreed to receive messages from the company.
| What you want | Can it be scheduled? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Send a message later in a regular chat | No. The WhatsApp Help Center doesn't list this option | There's no official route in the app for this |
| Reply outside business hours | Yes | Away message, under Schedule: Custom schedule or Outside of business hours |
| Welcome first-time contacts | No schedule | The greeting goes out on its own on first contact or after 14 days without a conversation |
| Send a promotion to many customers on a set day and time | Yes, with marketing messages, which are paid | When reviewing the message, tap Schedule and choose a date and time. Available only in some countries |
| Send through the official API | Depends on the system connected to the API | Meta has a feature for scheduling marketing campaigns. Outside the 24 hours after the customer's last message, only approved templates go out |
Swipe the table sideways to see all the columns.
How does automated message sending on WhatsApp work?
Replying and broadcasting are different things.
Replying is when the customer writes first and the reply goes out on its own: greeting, away message or an AI agent. Broadcasting is when the company writes first, to many people at once.
In WhatsApp Business, the no-cost broadcast is the broadcast list, and the message only reaches people who have your number saved in their contacts. To reach people who haven't saved it, the app offers marketing messages, which are paid. In any case, the company needs the customer's permission to send messages, and WhatsApp monitors messages flagged as spam.
Which precautions prevent your number from being blocked is covered in the guide certu.com.br/blog/ia/whatsapp-pode-banir-por-automacao-regras-sem-risco. CertuAI works on the replying side: the agent answers whoever writes, and automatic follow-up picks the conversation back up with people who stopped replying.
What can I put in an automatic message on WhatsApp?
Who's speaking, what happens now and what the next step is. Replace what's in brackets.
Short messages work better. Don't promise a response time you can't keep, because the customer will hold you to exactly that time.
Greeting
Hi! This is [store name]. Tell me what you're looking for and I'll help you right away.
Away message outside business hours
We're closed right now. We open [day] at [time] and reply in the order messages came in.
Address quick reply
We're at [street, number and neighborhood]. We're open [days], from [time] to [time].
Payment quick reply
We accept [payment methods]. Want me to set your order aside?
What's the difference between fixed text and a real reply?
Before: A generic notice that the message was received
After: The answer on price, hours or lead time, right away
Before: The customer asks again because they weren't answered
After: The question is settled in the first message
Before: Someone has to choose which quick reply to send
After: The AI understands the request and answers on its own
Before: Outside business hours, all that goes out is a notice
After: Outside business hours, customer service keeps going
When does a fixed automatic message stop being enough?
The sign is the customer getting the greeting and asking again. The fixed message handles the first second of the conversation and stops at the first real question, like price, lead time or whether you have a slot tomorrow.
An AI agent reads what the person wrote and answers that, with your business's information, at any hour. In CertuAI, that information lives in the Brain. What must always go out the same way, like the exchange policy or the vacation notice, you write in the Agent rules, and the agent follows them.
And what falls outside the rules isn't forced: the agent holds the conversation, says someone will get back to them and alerts you right away.
How do I get started on CertuAI?
You build the agent, connect WhatsApp and see it working before any customer talks to it. CertuAI has no lock-in and no setup fee.
Create my agent on CertuAIFrequently asked questions
The questions that come up before putting an agent live.
What can I put in an automatic message on WhatsApp?
Who's speaking, what happens now and what the next step is. Greeting example: "Hi! This is [store name]. Tell me what you're looking for and I'll help you right away." Away example: "We're closed right now. We open [day] at [time] and reply in order of arrival."
What should the automatic message say on a store's WhatsApp?
The store name, the hours and the next step, like asking the person to say what they're looking for. Templates by business hours are at certu.com.br/mensagem-automatica-whatsapp-horario-de-atendimento.
How do you set WhatsApp to reply automatically?
In WhatsApp Business, open Tools, Away message, turn on sending and, under Schedule, choose Custom schedule or Outside of business hours. The step-by-step for business hours is at certu.com.br/mensagem-automatica-whatsapp-horario-de-atendimento.
Does regular WhatsApp have automatic messages?
Greeting, away and quick replies are tools in the WhatsApp Business app, according to the WhatsApp Help Center. WhatsApp Business is free, and you can move your account from the regular app to it.
Can I schedule a message on WhatsApp?
In a regular chat, the WhatsApp Help Center doesn't list that option. You can schedule the away message by time and, where the feature exists, WhatsApp Business's paid marketing messages, with a date and time.
Which app sends messages automatically?
WhatsApp Business itself, which is free, sends the greeting and the away message on its own. To answer any question at any time, you need an AI agent connected to WhatsApp, like CertuAI's. Avoid modified versions of WhatsApp: the Help Center warns that an unofficial app can get your account banned.
How does automated message sending on WhatsApp work?
Replying is automatic when the customer writes first. Sending to many people at once is a broadcast: in WhatsApp Business, through the broadcast list, which only reaches people who saved your number, or through marketing messages, which are paid.
Why isn't the greeting message being sent?
It only goes out on first contact or after 14 days without a conversation. Also check the recipients, the phone's internet connection and whether Meta Business Agent is connected, because with it on the greeting is turned off.
What is the difference between an automatic message and an AI agent?
An automatic message is fixed text sent the same way every time. An AI agent reads what the customer wrote and answers that, using your business's information.
Can I keep my own greeting in CertuAI?
Yes. You write yours in the Greeting field. And whatever must always go out the same way goes in the Agent rules, which the agent follows.
And when the customer asks for something the agent doesn't know?
It doesn't make things up. It holds the conversation, says you'll get back to them and notifies you right away.
Do I need to change my number?
No. You use the WhatsApp your customers already know.
In short
To set up an automatic message on WhatsApp, use the WhatsApp Business app, which is free: in the Tools tab, tap Greeting message or Away message, turn on sending, write the text, choose who receives it and save. When a customer asks something that fixed text doesn't answer, an AI agent, like CertuAI's, answers for you.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the AI that answers a small business's WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger 24/7, with a built-in CRM, and is a Tech Provider on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Paid plans start at US$ 75 a month, with no lock-in. Create my agent