WhatsApp Business auto reply: what the app does, and when it is not enough
The WhatsApp Business app has free away and greeting messages, and you turn them on from its Business tools. They send the same fixed text to everyone. To answer what the customer actually asked, you need the WhatsApp Business API and an AI agent.
Turning it on in the app
Open the WhatsApp Business app, go to Settings, then Business tools. Choose Away message or Greeting message, write your text, turn it on and save. For many small shops this is a fine place to start.
Where it stops helping
A customer asks "how much is the blue one and can you deliver to Jeddah?" and gets "We will reply soon". By the time you do, they may have bought from someone else. The fixed message cannot read the question, check your prices or take the order.
Side by side
| WhatsApp Business app | AI agent on Inboxi | |
|---|---|---|
| What it sends | The same text to everyone | An answer to the actual question |
| Where the answer comes from | What you typed once | Your website, files and catalogue |
| Dialect | Whatever you wrote | Saudi, Kuwaiti, Emirati, Egyptian or Modern Standard Arabic |
| Taking an order | No | Yes, with a payment link |
| Several staff on one number | Limited | Yes, in a shared inbox |
| Cost | Free | From $49 a month, plus Meta's message charges |
Which one you need
If you get a few chats a day and answer them yourself, the free app is enough. Once chats arrive at night, your team is repeating itself or customers wait for hours, an agent starts paying for itself.
Questions
Can I add ChatGPT to the WhatsApp Business app?
Not in a supported way. Tools that automate the normal app can get a number banned. The safe route is the official WhatsApp Business API.
Will customers know it is AI?
Tell them. Most people do not mind as long as the answer is right and a person is easy to reach. In Inboxi the agent hands over when someone asks for a person.
Can it reply to Instagram too?
Yes. The same agent can answer on Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, TikTok, email and your website chat.
See it answer your own questions
Let Inboxi read your website, then ask it what your customers ask. Seven days free.