Reply to customers yourself

Read every WhatsApp chat in Replies, answer customers yourself, and pause the bot when you want to take over.

What it does

Replies is your inbox. Every customer who messages your WhatsApp Business number shows up here, with the full chat. You can read what the bot said, type your own reply, send your payment QR, and pause the bot for one customer.

When to use it

Steps

1. Open a chat

   Open Replies. The list shows each customer, their last message and how long ago it came. A number next to a name means unread messages. Tap a customer to see the whole chat.

2. Check the free window

   At the top of the chat you'll see Free window: …h …m left or Window closed. WhatsApp lets you reply freely for 24 hours after the customer's last message. After that, the reply box is replaced by a note, and the customer has to message you first.

3. Type your reply

   Type in Type a reply… and tap Send. The message goes to the customer's WhatsApp from your business number.

4. Pause or resume the bot

   Tap Bot options and choose Pause 24h or Pause indefinitely. When the bot is paused, tap Bot options → Resume bot to switch it back on for this customer.

Example

Good to know

• Pausing is per customer. The bot keeps replying to everyone else.
• A 24-hour pause ends on its own. An indefinite pause stays until you resume it.
• If a customer sends STOP, the bot pauses for them for 24 hours. They can send START to switch it back on sooner.
• If the free window has closed, you can't send a normal message. To reach the customer again, use an approved template in Broadcasts.
• If a staff member has the same chat open, you'll see their name at the top, so two people don't reply at once.
• If you reply from your WhatsApp Business app on the same number, that reply also shows here with a small You · WhatsApp app label.
• If you send a photo, video or PDF from your WhatsApp Business app, the chat may not hold the file itself. It then shows a line like 📷 Photo — sent from your WhatsApp app, with your caption underneath if you wrote one.
• When old photos, videos and PDFs are cleared to free up storage, the message stays in the chat and shows Media removed to free up space (with any caption) in place of the file.
• Some kinds of message can't be shown here. The chat shows a grey note, WhatsApp couldn't show this message here — open it in your WhatsApp Business app. Open the same chat in your WhatsApp Business app to see it.
• Under each message you send, small ticks show where it got to: one tick for sent, two for delivered, and two blue ticks once the customer has read it. A message that couldn't be delivered shows Failed.
• Tap Refresh to load new messages if the list looks out of date.
• Messages ApnaBot sent from a template show the video or PDF from its header, and the template's buttons as small labels under the text.
• When a customer taps a quick-reply button on a template, the chat shows a small label like Tapped: Book now. ApnaBot may already have answered, depending on what you set for that button. See Send offers with templates and broadcasts.

Related

• Set up your auto-repliesTeach 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.
• Collect payments with your UPI QRUpload your own UPI QR once, send it to customers in chat, ask for an advance automatically, and mark bookings as paid.
• Your customer listFind any customer, add tags and private notes, track where they are (New, Contacted, Converted, Lost), mark VIPs and block spam.