# What is an away message on WhatsApp Business?

> The away message is the automatic reply that the WhatsApp Business app sends to a customer who writes to you when you are unavailable: at any time, over a chosen period or outside your opening hours.

## The definition in two minutes

The away message is a tool in the WhatsApp Business app. You write a text, choose when it goes out and to whom, and the app sends it by itself to each customer concerned who writes to you. You set it in the Tools tab, under “Away message”.

- **When it goes out**: Always, over a chosen period, or only outside your opening hours. That last option only exists if you have entered your hours in the business profile.
- **To whom**: To every customer, to those who are not in your address book, to everyone except some, or to a selection.
- **What it needs**: The phone needs an active internet connection to send the message.

- [Setting up an away message: the step-by-step guide](https://wyp.chat/en/guides/whatsapp-business-auto-reply)

## The away message or software’s out-of-hours handling

Both reply to a customer when you are closed, but they are not the same mechanism.

|  | The app’s away message | Software’s out-of-hours handling |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Where it lives | In the WhatsApp Business app, on the phone | In the software plugged into the WhatsApp Business API |
| When it goes out | According to the app’s schedule | According to the opening hours set in the software |
| What it does | Sends a fixed text | Can give the reopening time, hand the request to the team or let an AI agent reply |
| Supported on the API | No, according to Meta | Yes, the software takes care of it |

*Source: Meta, onboarding people who use the WhatsApp Business app, read on 20 October 2026.*

When software replies to a customer this way, the reply goes out within the 24-hour window that follows their message: it is a service message.

## If you keep the app alongside the API

With coexistence, the same number works in the app and on the API. Meta says the app’s messaging tools, the away message included, do not change in the app and are not supported on the API.

So the away message stays a setting of the app, and the software has its own handling of opening hours. The two are independent: so that a customer does not get two automatic replies, keep only one of them active.

- [Coexistence with WYP.chat](https://wyp.chat/en/features/whatsapp-coexistence)

## What it means for a small business

An away message tells the customer they wrote to the right place and when they will get an answer. A good text fits in three ideas:

- when you are back: “tomorrow at 9 am” rather than “soon”;
- what the customer can do meanwhile: a page to read, a number for an emergency;
- a sentence or two, not a paragraph.

In WYP.chat, the Veilleur AI agent plays this role when you are closed: it replies straight away with the reopening time, then hands the request to the team for opening. Its away text is a fixed text that you read through before turning it on.

- [WYP.chat AI agents](https://wyp.chat/en/ai-agents)

## Example

Illustrative case: an electrician spends the day on a job site. Their away message reads: “Hello, we are on a job site. We will reply tomorrow at 9 am. For an emergency, please call us.” The customer knows when to expect an answer and does not write a second time.

## Frequently asked questions

### Where do you set the away message?

In the WhatsApp Business app: the Tools tab, then Away message. Turn it on, write the text, choose when and to whom it goes out, then save.

### Does the away message work with the WhatsApp Business API?

No, according to Meta: this app tool is not supported on the Cloud API. The software plugged into the API has its own handling of opening hours.

### How is it different from the greeting message?

The greeting message goes out on a customer’s first message, and again when they write after 14 days without contact. The away message goes out when you are unavailable.

### Does the phone need to stay connected to the internet?

Yes. WhatsApp states that the device must have an active internet connection to send away messages.

### Can you send the away message to certain customers only?

Yes. You choose the recipients: everyone, those not in your address book, everyone except some, or a selection.

## Related terms

- [Coexistence](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary/coexistence)
- [WhatsApp Business API](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary/whatsapp-business-api)
- [24-hour window (customer service window)](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary/fenetre-24h)
- [Service message](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary#message-service)

**Read more**

- [Setting up an away message: the guide](https://wyp.chat/en/guides/whatsapp-business-auto-reply)
- [All glossary terms](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary)

## Sources

1. WhatsApp Help Centre, how to use away messages: [faq.whatsapp.com/2565868990219715](https://faq.whatsapp.com/2565868990219715) ( checked on 20 October 2026)
2. WhatsApp Help Centre, how to use greeting messages: [faq.whatsapp.com/501866148528310](https://faq.whatsapp.com/501866148528310) ( checked on 20 October 2026)
3. Meta, onboarding people who use the WhatsApp Business app: [developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/embedded-signup/onboarding-business-app-users/](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/embedded-signup/onboarding-business-app-users/) ( checked on 20 October 2026)

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Source: https://wyp.chat/en/glossary/message-absence · Updated on 20 October 2026