WhatsApp Business automatic replies: the free app vs the API

In 30 seconds

The WhatsApp Business app has three free automations: a greeting message, an away message with a schedule and up to 50 quick replies. They all live in the Tools tab.
The greeting goes out once per customer: on their first message, or when they write again after 14 days of inactivity. Your phone has to be online.
The app cannot send menus with buttons or a reminder to each customer. Nor can it reply based on what people write: you pick each quick reply yourself.
The official API can: up to 3 reply buttons, lists of up to 10 options, a link button and forms (WhatsApp Flows). Buttons, lists and links can only be sent within 24 hours of the customer's last message.
Writing first takes a template approved by Meta. An appointment reminder is a utility template: €0.0166 per delivered message in Spain.

What automatic messages does the free WhatsApp Business app include?

Three automations and a way to sort your chats. They sit in the app's Tools tab and cost nothing.

Feature	What it does	Published limit
Greeting message	Sent automatically when a customer writes to you for the first time, or after 14 days of inactivity in their chat	One message
Away message	Sent automatically to anyone who writes while it is on: always, on a custom schedule or outside business hours	One message
Quick replies	Shortcuts for texts you send often; they come up when you type "/" in a chat	50 stored
Labels (now "lists")	Sort chats and contacts: "new customer", "payment pending"	20

How to set up the greeting message. Tools → Greeting message. Turn on "Send greeting message", write the text and choose the recipients. The options are everyone, everyone not in your address book, everyone except some people, or only some people.

How to set up an away message with a schedule. Tools → Away message. Turn on "Send away message" and tap "Schedule". There are three options: "Always send", "Custom schedule" and "Outside of business hours". The last one only shows up if your business hours are in your business profile. Recipients work as for the greeting.

How to create quick replies. Tools → Quick replies → "+". Each one has a message, which can include a photo or video, and a shortcut. In a chat you type "/" and pick one. The app also creates a few by default from the hours and address in your profile. Quick replies with a photo or video do not work on WhatsApp Web or Desktop.

Worth knowing:

Your phone needs an internet connection. According to WhatsApp's help pages, greeting and away messages are only sent while the device is online.
The greeting message switches off if you turn on Meta Business Agent, Meta's AI inside the app.
Labels are turning into "lists". WhatsApp is rolling them out gradually, and the limit is still 20.

For a business with one person on the phone and a few dozen chats a day, this is often enough.

What can't the app do?

The app sends a fixed text; it does not hold a conversation. This is what it does not do:

Menus with buttons or lists of options. Greeting and away messages are text only. A customer cannot tap "Book an appointment" or "Prices".
Reply based on what the customer says. There are no rules like "if they ask about prices, send the price list". You choose each quick reply yourself.
A reminder to each customer. What the app can schedule is a business broadcast: the same message to a list of contacts, at a date and time. It is paid per delivered message, only available in some countries, and your phone has to be online at that time. It cannot remind each patient 24 hours before their own appointment.
Know who has an appointment tomorrow. Your appointments are in your calendar, not in WhatsApp. Matching the two takes a tool connected to the API.
Share chats across a team. One phone and up to 4 linked devices all see the same chats. We explain this in WhatsApp Business with multiple users.

What about AI? Meta has its own agent for the app, Meta Business Agent. For now it only offers it in some countries and to some businesses.

What does the WhatsApp API add?

The official WhatsApp API is what customer service tools use. It allows interactive messages and automations built around your business. These are the exact limits Meta publishes:

What	What it is for	Limits	When it can be sent
Reply buttons	"Confirm", "Change", "Cancel"	Up to 3 buttons of 20 characters; body text of up to 1,024 characters	Within 24 h
List message	A menu: free slots, services, locations	One button that opens the list; up to 10 rows in total, in up to 10 sections; row title of 24 characters and description of 72	Within 24 h
Link button (CTA URL)	"See the listing" or "Pay", without pasting a long address	1 button of 20 characters	Within 24 h
Ice breakers	Options the customer sees the first time they open your chat	Up to 4, of 80 characters, no emojis	When the chat opens
WhatsApp Flows	Multi-screen forms: book an appointment, sign up, a survey	Requires a verified business; does not work on WhatsApp Web	With a template, or within 24 h
Templates	Reminders, notices and campaigns: writing first	Up to 10 buttons (up to 2 of them links); Meta approves them first	At any time
AI replies	Answering at once, at night too	Provided by the tool you use	Within 24 h

Three rules shape everything:

The 24-hour window. Each customer message opens a 24-hour window, and each new message restarts it. Inside it you can send free text, buttons, lists and links. Outside it, only approved templates.
The customer's permission. Meta requires that the person has agreed to receive messages from your business before you write to them.
The price. From 1 October 2026, each number gets 1,000 free replies a month inside the window. After that, each one costs €0.0166 in Spain. A utility template costs €0.0166 and a marketing one €0.0585. The details are in what WhatsApp costs, and how a template gets approved is in WhatsApp templates.

The API has no "away message" switch: business hours, the greeting and the replies come from the tool you use. A team inbox such as BlueMarlin has business hours with an out-of-hours message, quick replies shared by the whole team and an AI agent. What an agent like that can do, and what Meta's policy allows, is in an AI agent for WhatsApp.

How an automatic appointment reminder works, step by step

An appointment reminder is a utility template with quick reply buttons. It works like this:

You create the template once. For example: "Hi {{1}}, a reminder of your appointment: {{2}}. Can you confirm you'll come?", with two buttons, "Confirm" and "Change". Meta reviews it before you can use it. If the text sells something, Meta moves it to marketing, which costs more.
The tool sends it to each customer on its own, with their name and time, as many hours before the appointment as you choose. In Spain it costs €0.0166 per delivered reminder: 200 reminders a month come to €3.32.
The customer taps a button. That sends you a message with the button's text, so it opens the 24-hour window. The tool knows which button was tapped and marks the appointment as confirmed.
If they want to change it, the conversation carries on inside the window. You can send them a list of the next free slots, up to 10, or let a person or the AI answer. Those replies come out of the 1,000 free ones for the month.
If they don't answer, the window does not open. Writing to them again will take another template.

In BlueMarlin, reminders come from the calendar itself: they go out on their own, and the appointment is marked confirmed or cancelled when the customer taps the button.

The app vs the API at a glance

	WhatsApp Business app (free)	Official API
Greeting message	Yes, fixed text, once per customer or after 14 days	Ice breakers (up to 4) or whatever your tool does
Away message outside business hours	Yes, with the hours in your profile	Set by your tool
Quick replies	Up to 50, on your phone	Your tool's, shared by the team
Buttons and lists in a reply	No	Yes: 3 buttons or a list of 10 options
A reminder to each customer with their time	No	Yes, with a utility template (€0.0166 in Spain)
Scheduling a send	Only business broadcasts, paid, to a list	Yes, each message when it is due
Replying based on what the customer writes	No	Yes, with rules or with AI
Writing first	Yes, by hand and free	Only with a template, paid
Cost of replies	Free	1,000 free a month per number, then €0.0166 in Spain

Frequently asked questions

How do I set up automatic replies in WhatsApp Business?

In the app, go to Tools → Greeting message (for the first message) or Away message (for when you are not available). Turn it on, write the text and choose the recipients. For the away message, "Schedule" → "Outside of business hours" sends it only when you are closed, as long as your hours are in your business profile.

Can automatic replies have options or buttons?

Not in the app: greeting and away messages are text only. With the API, yes: up to 3 reply buttons or a list of up to 10 options, within 24 hours of the customer's last message. You need a tool connected to the official API.

How do I schedule WhatsApp messages?

The app schedules two things: the away message, by business hours, and business broadcasts, which send the same message to a list, are paid and are only available in some countries. Scheduling a different message for each customer, such as a reminder with their own time, takes the API and an approved template. In Spain a utility template costs €0.0166.

Is the greeting message sent every time someone writes?

No. It goes out the first time a customer writes to you, and when they write again after 14 days of inactivity in their chat. Someone who wrote to you a week ago will not get it.

Can I send automatic messages to someone who hasn't written to me?

Through the API, only with a template approved by Meta and with the customer's permission. In Spain, utility templates (reminders, notices) cost €0.0166 and marketing ones €0.0585. With the app, only by hand or with a scheduled business broadcast, which is paid.

If I connect my number to the API, do I lose my greeting and away messages?

Not with coexistence, which means using the same number in the app and on the API. According to Meta, greeting and away messages, quick replies and labels stay the same in the app, but the API does not use them. Avoid setting up the same greeting in the app and in your tool, or the customer will get it twice.

Sources

Everything above was checked on 30 September 2026 in the WhatsApp Help Center and in Meta's official documentation:

How to use greeting messages: when it is sent (first message or after 14 days), recipients, the internet connection and that it switches off with Meta Business Agent.
How to use away messages: the three schedule options and the recipients.
How to use quick replies: the limit of 50, the "/" shortcut, default replies and media on Web.
How to use labels and How to use lists: up to 20 labels or lists.
How to create and send a business broadcast: scheduled broadcasts, paid and available in some countries.
How to set up Meta Business Agent: Meta's AI in the app, only in some countries.
Interactive reply buttons messages: up to 3 buttons of 20 characters and a 1,024-character body.
Interactive list messages: 10 rows, 10 sections and their character limits.
Interactive CTA URL button messages: the link button.
Conversational components: ice breakers.
WhatsApp Flows and Sending a Flow: supported devices, business verification and how Flows are sent.
Template components and Utility templates: template buttons and recategorization to marketing.
Customer service windows: the 24-hour window and what can be sent inside it.
Get opt-in for WhatsApp: the customer's permission.
Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform: the 1,000 free replies a month and Spain's rates from 1 October 2026.
Onboard WhatsApp Business app users: coexistence and the 4 linked devices.

Change history

30 September 2026: first version.

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