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Set up your auto-replies

Teach the bot what to say. Add replies for keywords like "price" or "book", add buttons, ask booking questions, and test it before customers see it.

Updated 14 October 2026
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What it does

Auto-Replies is where you decide what the bot says. Your bot is a flow of boxes on a canvas:

  • A reply (teal border) is a message the bot sends. It can be plain text, your shop's location, or a message with buttons or a list the customer taps.
  • A question (amber border) is something the bot asks during a booking, like "Where should we pick you up?".
  • Lines connect them. A line says "when the customer taps this button, go there".

When to use it

Perfect Fit Tailors

Half of Ramesh's customers ask the same three things: prices, timing and delivery. He adds a reply for the keyword price with his rate list, and a Book a fitting button that asks for the customer's name and preferred date.

Steps

  1. Start from a template, or from scratch

    Open Auto-Replies. If your flow is empty, open the Versions tab and look under Import starter template. If there's one for your business type, tap Import to get a ready-made flow you can edit. Or tap Add your first reply to start from scratch.

  2. Add a reply for a keyword

    On the Canvas tab, tap + Create reply node. Fill in:

    • Customer says (keyword): the word that triggers this reply, for example price.
    • Match type: Contains the word works for most cases. Exact match only and Starts with are stricter.
    • Bot replies with: the message, for example "Shirt stitching starts at ₹450. Reply BOOK to fix a fitting."

    Watch the Live preview to see how it looks on WhatsApp, then tap Save reply.

  3. Add buttons or a list

    In Reply format, choose Buttons (up to 3 tappable options) or List (up to 10 tappable options). Save, then open the reply again. For each option, type the Row text, choose where Tapping this row goes to… (another reply, or a booking question), and tap + Add row.

    For a List, you can also:

    • Type a List button label, the text on the button customers tap to open the list, for example "Choose doctor". Leave it empty and the button says "Choose".
    • Add a Description under each row, for example "Cardiologist · Mon–Fri". Buttons can't show a description.

    To change a row later, tap Edit next to it, change the Row text or Description (and the matching boxes for your extra languages), then tap Save row. To send a row somewhere else, remove it with ✕ and add it again.

  4. Add photos or a video

    In a text or buttons reply, the Photos section lets you attach pictures that are sent above the message text, in the order shown. Tap + Add photo to upload one or choose from your library, use ← and → to change the order, and ✕ to remove one. Under the photos, a counter such as "2 of 3 photos · Pro plan" shows how many your plan allows.

    • How many photos a reply can carry, and whether it can carry a video, depends on your plan. Billing lists what each plan includes.
    • At your limit, + Add photo opens a message about upgrading that lists each plan's photo and video allowance. See plans takes you to Billing. On the plan with the most photos the message just says you've reached the maximum.
    • If your plan includes video, a Video (optional) box appears. Otherwise you see a locked "🎥 Video — " row that names the cheapest plan with video. WhatsApp allows videos up to 16 MB, so compress a bigger one before uploading.
    • If your plan changes to a smaller one, photos past your limit are greyed out and are not sent. You can still remove or reorder them.
    • List replies can't carry photos or a video. This is a WhatsApp limit.

  5. Ask booking questions

    Tap + Create question node. Write the Question text and pick an Answer type: Text, Buttons, List, or Location (the customer shares their location). Connect questions one after another to make a booking conversation. To start it from a keyword, create a reply with Reply action → Start a booking.

  6. Connect boxes on the canvas and save

    Drag from an amber dot on one box to another box, or use the 🔗 button. Drag boxes to tidy the layout. When you move or connect things, a bar says Unsaved position/wiring changes. Tap Save flow to keep them, or Discard.

  7. Test it like a customer

    Open the Test tab and type a message, for example "price". You'll see exactly what the bot would reply. Nothing here reaches WhatsApp or creates a real booking.

Example

storefrontBright Minds Coaching

Anita adds a reply for fees with a list of courses. Each list row goes to a reply with that course's fee and timings. A Book free demo button starts three questions: student name, class, and preferred day. Before going live she types "fees" in the Test tab to check every path.

Good to know

  • Save a version before big changes. In Versions, type a Version name (like "Before Diwali offer changes") and tap Save version. You can restore it later.
  • Restoring a version, importing a template, or Start new blank flow replaces your whole live flow. Customers immediately get the new one, so save a version first.
  • If you've chosen extra languages in Settings → Languages, each reply and question has a box per language. Leave one empty to use English.
  • Send booking form link sends a button that opens your service request form instead of asking questions one by one.
  • Buttons can have up to 3 options and lists up to 10. This is a WhatsApp limit.
  • WhatsApp also limits text length, and a counter under each box shows how much you've used. A Row text can be 24 characters in a list and 20 on a button, a list Description 72, and a List button label or Button text 20. Emoji and some Hindi or Marathi letters count as more than one character.
  • Saving a reply or row never erases your Hindi or Marathi text. Those boxes only change when you edit them.
  • Only the business owner can change the flow. Staff can't.

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