WhatsApp Auto Reply With an AI Agent (2026)
A WhatsApp auto reply that answers from your own number, which chats it covers, how it hands a chat back to you, and why Pro is the plan that keeps it on with your computer off.
Daniel Roth6 min read
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Short answer: a WhatsApp auto reply with an AI agent answers incoming messages from your own number, in your voice, using the instructions you write. You choose which chats trigger it and where it may send: selected chats (plus new chats, if you turn on "Respond to new incoming chats"), or every chat except a block list. When you write in a chat yourself, it steps back, and by default it is back after about 2 hours of your silence there.
A fixed auto reply sends the same line every time. An AI agent reads the question and answers it, so a customer asking about opening hours, prices, or what to bring gets a real answer instead of "we will get back to you."
This guide shows how to set one up on Blueticks, what the agent can and cannot see, and how the handover back to you works.
What does a WhatsApp auto reply with an agent actually do?
It reads each new message in the chats that trigger it, works out what is being asked, and sends a reply from the number you already use. The reply is sent directly. There is no draft queue waiting for you to approve each answer.
The agent answers from the instructions you give it. Those instructions are plain words, such as "answer pricing questions from the price list, book demos with the calendar link, and say you will check on anything about refunds." You write them once and edit them whenever the answers change.
How do you set it up?
You can build the agent in the Blueticks app or by asking Claude through the Blueticks connector. The connector is the hosted MCP server at https://api.blueticks.co/mcp, and it exposes the same agent tools. Either way, you need these:
- Instructions. Describe the job and the answers it may give. Keep refunds, complaints, and pricing exceptions out of the auto reply unless you have written the exact answer.
- The chats that trigger it. In the agent's settings, pick "Selected chats (allow list)" to answer the chats you list (and new chats, if you turn on "Respond to new incoming chats"), or "All chats except (block list)" to answer everyone except the chats you exclude.
- Where it may send. This is a separate setting: the same chats that triggered it, a selected list, or any chat except a block list. What the agent can read is a third, separate setting under tools access.
- A connected number. The agent replies through the WhatsApp number you connected to Blueticks.
- An Operator chat (optional). A chat, usually a group with just you, where the agent posts takeover notices and questions, and where you can reply start, stop or continue. You pick it in the "Operator chat" section of the agent settings.
One thing customers will see: replies carry a 🤖 marker by default. Turn on "Send as plain text (hide the 🤖 marker)" if you want them without it.
Start with one or two chats, send a test message from a second phone, and check the reply before you widen the scope.
Does it need your computer on?
It depends on your plan.
On Pro, the always-on Gateway runs your WhatsApp in the Blueticks cloud, so the agent keeps replying with your computer off. Always-on replies need Pro.
On Basic and Standard, messages go through your browser, so WhatsApp Web must stay open in a tab for replies to go out. If the tab is closed, the agent cannot answer until it is open again.
If you need replies outside your working hours, that is the case for Pro. You can see the plan details at https://blueticks.co/#pricing.
What happens when you reply yourself?
This is the handover, and it matters most with an auto reply.
When you write a message in a chat yourself, the agent steps back from that chat so it does not talk over you. Your message does not need a special command.
For a new agent this is automatic. The takeover section of the agent settings has "Take over automatically when I write in the chat" on, and "Resume by itself after I stop writing" on with a 2-hour default. So the agent is paused in that chat until you have not written there for about 2 hours, and then it answers new messages again.
You can hand a chat back sooner:
- Press Resume on that conversation.
- Reply continue in the agent's Operator chat. The takeover notice is posted there, so this works only if you have set an Operator chat. continue releases the conversation you quote, or the only one in takeover.
A takeover you start by hand stays until you release it.
There is also a backstop. Separately from takeover, by default the agent does not reply in a chat where you wrote in the last 12 hours. A release by the "resume by itself" timer lifts it, so you do not wait the full 12 hours. Pressing Resume does not lift it. If you press Resume an hour after writing, the agent can still stay quiet until the 12 hours have passed. It also applies when takeover was not armed, or when "resume by itself" is off. If you want the agent back quickly after you step in, let the timer do it.
What should a WhatsApp auto reply not do?
Keep the auto reply to questions it can answer from your instructions. Good first uses are:
- Opening hours, location, and how to book
- The first answer to a new lead, then a question to qualify them
- Routine questions answered from a document you upload to the agent
Do not use it for refund or contract decisions. Leave those out of what the instructions tell it to answer, so the agent does not reply to them.
If you want the bigger picture of how agents differ from simple auto replies and bots, read the WhatsApp AI agent guide. For the Blueticks product page, see the AI support agent.
FAQ
Is a WhatsApp auto reply the same as the away message? No. The away message is a fixed line. An agent reads the message and writes a reply from your instructions.
Can it reply to groups? Only if the group is within its scope. With selected chats, add the group to the list. With a block list, it answers every chat you have not excluded, and a private-chats-only option keeps groups out. Where it may send is a separate setting.
Will it reply if I wrote in the chat myself? Not right away. When you write in a chat, the agent steps back, and by default it is back after about 2 hours of your silence there. A 12-hour quiet window is the backstop when the automatic release is off or does not apply.
Can I manage the agent from Claude? Yes. Connect Claude to the Blueticks MCP server at https://api.blueticks.co/mcp and ask it to create or check the agent. The server is described at the WhatsApp MCP page.
Do I need Pro? You need Pro if the agent must reply with your computer off. On Basic or Standard, keep WhatsApp Web open in the browser.
