{"id":255,"date":"2026-10-25T13:03:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T13:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vectalk.com.br\/blog\/whatsapp-api-welcome-away-message\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T13:11:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T13:11:55","slug":"whatsapp-api-welcome-away-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vectalk.com.br\/blog\/en\/whatsapp-api-welcome-away-message\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome message, away message and business hours on the WhatsApp Business API"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Updated on October 25, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the official WhatsApp Business API, welcome, away and business hours messages are not ready-made settings as they are in the WhatsApp Business app: your system sends them, triggered by the incoming message webhook. The logic is simple: when a customer writes, you check whether it is their first contact and whether you are open, then reply with free-form text, since the 24-hour window has just opened. The Cloud API offers only one native add-on, ice breakers and commands, which show up before the first message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How it differs from the WhatsApp Business app<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the app, these messages are a few taps away. The WhatsApp Help Center describes two features:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Greeting message:<\/strong> sent when a customer writes for the first time or writes again after 14 days without a conversation.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Away message:<\/strong> sent always, on a custom schedule, or outside the business hours set in the business profile.<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Cloud API has no such panel. The number is run by software, and the software decides what to reply. That takes more work up front and gives you far more control afterwards: holidays, different hours per team, the customer&#8217;s language, the support queue and order status can all feed the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Feature<\/th><th>WhatsApp Business app<\/th><th>API (Cloud API)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Greeting on first contact<\/td><td>Built-in setting<\/td><td>Your webhook detects first contact and replies<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Away message<\/td><td>Built-in setting, using profile hours<\/td><td>Your webhook checks the time and replies<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Holidays and exceptions<\/td><td>Limited<\/td><td>Anything: you write the rule<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Buttons, lists, links<\/td><td>Limited<\/td><td>Full interactive messages<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Options before the first message<\/td><td>No<\/td><td>Ice breakers and commands (native)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ice breakers and commands: the only native feature<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Cloud API has what Meta calls conversational components, configured per number with <code>POST \/&lt;PHONE_NUMBER_ID&gt;\/conversational_automation<\/code>. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.facebook.com\/docs\/whatsapp\/cloud-api\/phone-numbers\/conversational-components\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">conversational components documentation<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Ice breakers (<code>prompts<\/code>):<\/strong> up to 4 per number, up to 80 characters each, no emojis. They appear as tappable options when a customer opens a new chat with the business.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Commands (<code>commands<\/code>):<\/strong> up to 30, with names up to 32 characters and descriptions up to 256. The customer types <code>\/<\/code> and sees the list.<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When the customer taps an ice breaker or sends a command, a regular incoming message webhook arrives, with the text in <code>messages[].text.body<\/code>. In other words, an ice breaker does not reply on its own: it just makes the first message easier, and your system replies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two caveats. Ice breakers only appear if there is no existing chat between the customer and the number; to test, delete the chat on your phone first. And a <code>wa.me<\/code> link with pre-filled text hides the ice breakers, because the customer arrives with a message ready to send.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meta used to offer, in the same feature, a welcome message option that fired a <code>request_welcome<\/code> event when a customer opened a chat for the first time. The current documentation page describes only ice breakers and commands. Do not build your flow around that event: detect first contact in your own database, as shown below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to build welcome, away and business hours in your webhook<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The full flow takes four steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Receive the message webhook (<code>field: \"messages\"<\/code>, with <code>value.messages[]<\/code>).<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Work out whether this is the customer&#8217;s first contact (or the first after X days).<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Check whether the current time, in your business time zone, is within working hours and not a holiday.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Pick the reply: welcome, away, or nothing (let the agent or bot answer).<\/li>\n\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The incoming message <code>timestamp<\/code> is in Unix seconds, UTC. Convert it to your operation&#8217;s time zone (in Brazil, usually <code>America\/Sao_Paulo<\/code>) before comparing it with your business hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Node.js example<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code class=\"language-js\">const HOURS = {\n  timeZone: 'America\/Sao_Paulo',\n  \/\/ 0 = Sunday ... 6 = Saturday; times as HH:MM\n  days: { 1: ['08:00', '18:00'], 2: ['08:00', '18:00'], 3: ['08:00', '18:00'],\n          4: ['08:00', '18:00'], 5: ['08:00', '17:00'], 6: ['09:00', '12:00'] },\n  holidays: ['2026-11-02', '2026-11-15', '2026-11-20', '2026-12-25'],\n};\n\nfunction nowInZone(tsSeconds, timeZone) {\n  const d = new Date(Number(tsSeconds) * 1000);\n  const p = Object.fromEntries(\n    new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-CA', {\n      timeZone, year: 'numeric', month: '2-digit', day: '2-digit',\n      hour: '2-digit', minute: '2-digit', weekday: 'short', hour12: false,\n    }).formatToParts(d).map((x) =&gt; [x.type, x.value])\n  );\n  const days = { Sun: 0, Mon: 1, Tue: 2, Wed: 3, Thu: 4, Fri: 5, Sat: 6 };\n  return { date: `${p.year}-${p.month}-${p.day}`, time: `${p.hour}:${p.minute}`, day: days[p.weekday] };\n}\n\nfunction isOpen(ts) {\n  const { date, time, day } = nowInZone(ts, HOURS.timeZone);\n  if (HOURS.holidays.includes(date)) return false;\n  const range = HOURS.days[day];\n  return Boolean(range) &amp;&amp; time &gt;= range[0] &amp;&amp; time &lt; range[1];\n}\n\nexport async function onIncomingMessage(msg, db, sendText) {\n  const contact = await db.findContact(msg.from);\n  const firstContact = !contact || Date.now() - contact.lastMessageAt &gt; 14 * 864e5;\n  const open = isOpen(msg.timestamp);\n\n  await db.recordMessage(msg.from, Number(msg.timestamp) * 1000);\n\n  if (!open) {\n    \/\/ don't repeat the away message on every customer message\n    if (contact?.awaySentAt &amp;&amp; Date.now() - contact.awaySentAt &lt; 12 * 36e5) return;\n    await db.markAwaySent(msg.from, Date.now());\n    return sendText(msg.from,\n      \"Hi! We're available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, and Saturday 9am to noon. \" +\n      \"Your message has been saved and we'll reply as soon as we open.\");\n  }\n\n  if (firstContact) {\n    return sendText(msg.from,\n      'Hello! This is Example Store. How can we help: an order, a return or a product question?');\n  }\n  \/\/ open and returning customer: hand over to the bot or the agent queue\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>The holidays above are examples of Brazilian national holidays in 2026; add the regional ones that apply to you and keep the list somewhere easy to edit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sending the reply<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The reply is a regular text message, allowed because the customer has just opened the customer service window. Through Vectalk, the payload is the same as the Cloud API:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code class=\"language-bash\">curl -X POST https:\/\/apis.vectalk.com.br\/api\/messages \\\n  -H \"Authorization: Bearer $VECTALK_TOKEN\" \\\n  -H \"Content-Type: application\/json\" \\\n  -d '{\n    \"messaging_product\": \"whatsapp\",\n    \"to\": \"5511999999999\",\n    \"type\": \"text\",\n    \"text\": { \"body\": \"Hi! We are available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.\" }\n  }'<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>For the welcome message, consider reply buttons instead of plain text (&#8220;Place an order&#8221;, &#8220;Talk to an agent&#8221;, &#8220;Invoice copy&#8221;). The customer taps instead of typing, and your system gets a structured answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How much automatic replies cost<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Free-form messages sent inside the customer service window fall into the service category. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.facebook.com\/documentation\/business-messaging\/whatsapp\/pricing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Meta&#8217;s pricing page<\/a>, since October 1, 2026 service messages are charged from the 1,001st delivered message per month, per phone number; the first 1,000 remain free. Messages from customers to businesses are never charged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In practice, this shapes the design:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Do not answer every message after hours.<\/strong> One away message every 12 hours per contact, as in the example, is enough.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Avoid two messages where one will do.<\/strong> A welcome with buttons replaces &#8220;Hi!&#8221; followed by a menu.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Track volume.<\/strong> The status webhook includes the pricing type of each message.<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What about outside the 24-hour window?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Welcome and away messages are replies: they always follow a customer message, with the window open. The problem comes the next day. If a customer wrote at 10pm, got the away message and nobody replied by 10pm the following day, the window has closed and you can only resume with an approved template.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two simple safeguards: a queue that prioritizes after-hours conversations when you open, and an alert for conversations about to hit 24 hours without a reply. The guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/vectalk.com.br\/blog\/en\/whatsapp-customer-service-metrics\/\">support metrics<\/a> shows how to measure this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Best practices for automatic messages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>State real hours and the next step.<\/strong> &#8220;We reply from 8am&#8221; beats &#8220;we&#8217;ll get back to you soon&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Offer a path to a human.<\/strong> The <a href=\"https:\/\/business.whatsapp.com\/policy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy<\/a> requires clear escalation paths when service is automated.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Do not ask for sensitive data in the welcome.<\/strong> ID numbers, card numbers and passwords do not belong in an automated message.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Respect people who opted out.<\/strong> An automatic reply is no reason to resume marketing. See <a href=\"https:\/\/vectalk.com.br\/blog\/en\/lgpd-whatsapp-en\/\">LGPD and WhatsApp<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Combine it with routing.<\/strong> During business hours, the welcome can ask for the topic to route the chat to the right team, as in <a href=\"https:\/\/vectalk.com.br\/blog\/en\/whatsapp-multi-agent-api\/\">multi-agent support<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>For scheduling, let the bot work after hours.<\/strong> A clinic can book appointments at 11pm with <a href=\"https:\/\/vectalk.com.br\/blog\/en\/ai-appointment-scheduling-whatsapp\/\">AI scheduling<\/a> instead of only sending an away message.<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to do this with Vectalk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With Vectalk, the webhooks your system receives are Meta&#8217;s. Register your URL with <code>POST \/api\/webhooks<\/code>, handle incoming messages as in the example and reply with <code>POST \/api\/messages<\/code>. For ice breakers and commands, use <code>POST \/api\/automation<\/code> with <code>prompts<\/code> and <code>commands<\/code>, and <code>GET \/api\/automation<\/code> to check the current settings; both endpoints use an instance token. The endpoint also accepts <code>enable_welcome_message<\/code>, which turns on Meta&#8217;s welcome option described above; since it is no longer in Meta&#8217;s current documentation, keep the welcome logic in your webhook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code class=\"language-bash\">curl -X POST https:\/\/apis.vectalk.com.br\/api\/automation \\\n  -H \"Authorization: Bearer $VECTALK_INSTANCE_TOKEN\" \\\n  -H \"Content-Type: application\/json\" \\\n  -d '{\n    \"prompts\": [\"Place an order\", \"Track my order\", \"Returns and exchanges\", \"Talk to an agent\"],\n    \"commands\": [{ \"command_name\": \"hours\", \"command_description\": \"Shows our business hours\" }]\n  }'<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>Reference at <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.vectalk.com.br\/api-reference\/automation\/update\">docs.vectalk.com.br<\/a>. To get started, create an account at <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.vectalk.com.br\/register\">apps.vectalk.com.br\/register<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can I use the app&#8217;s away message together with the API?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The away message is a WhatsApp Business app feature. Meta&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.facebook.com\/documentation\/business-messaging\/whatsapp\/embedded-signup\/onboarding-business-app-users\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">coexistence documentation<\/a> lists greeting and away messages among the app tools that are not supported on the Cloud API. Even with the number on both the app and the API, keep welcome and away logic in your own system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do I need a template for the welcome message?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>No. The welcome replies to a customer message, so the 24-hour window is open and you can send free-form text or an interactive message. Templates are only needed to start or resume a conversation outside the window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are automatic replies charged?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>They are service messages. Since October 1, 2026, Meta charges service messages from the 1,001st delivered per month, per number. That is why it pays to limit away messages to once per period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do I know it is a customer&#8217;s first contact?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Cloud API does not tell you directly. Store the date of each <code>wa_id<\/code>&#8216;s last message in your database and set your own rule, such as &#8220;no messages in the last 14 days&#8221;, similar to the app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does everyone see the ice breakers?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Only people opening a new chat with the number. Customers who already have a chat history with the business do not see them, and neither do people who arrive through a link with pre-filled text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Official sources consulted on October 25, 2026:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.facebook.com\/docs\/whatsapp\/cloud-api\/phone-numbers\/conversational-components\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Conversational components (ice breakers and commands)<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.facebook.com\/documentation\/business-messaging\/whatsapp\/embedded-signup\/onboarding-business-app-users\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Coexistence<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.facebook.com\/documentation\/business-messaging\/whatsapp\/webhooks\/reference\/messages\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Messages webhook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.facebook.com\/documentation\/business-messaging\/whatsapp\/pricing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Platform pricing<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/business.whatsapp.com\/policy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/faq.whatsapp.com\/501866148528310\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WhatsApp Help Center: greeting messages<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/faq.whatsapp.com\/2565868990219715\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WhatsApp Help Center: away messages<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.vectalk.com.br\/api-reference\/automation\/update\">Vectalk docs: conversational automation<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The WhatsApp Business API has no built-in away message like the app. Here is how to build welcome, away and business hours replies in your webhook, with code.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>WhatsApp API welcome and away messages | Vectalk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WhatsApp auto reply on the Business API: build welcome, away and business hours messages in your webhook, with code, costs and best practices.\" \/>\n<meta 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