Welcome and away messages
KiliChat can send two simple automatic replies, without building a chatbot:
- a welcome message to new customers during working hours;
- an off-hours reply when someone messages while you're closed.
Both use your working hours. An admin sets them up in Settings for each number.
How do I set my working hours?
- Go to Settings → Working hours.
- Check the Time zone. For India it should be
Asia/Kolkata. - For each day, use the switch to mark it open or Closed, and set the opening and closing times.
- Click Save hours.
New numbers start with Monday to Saturday, 9:00 to 18:00, and Sunday closed, until you save your own.
One opening time per day
You can set one block of time per day, for example 10:00 to 20:00. A lunch break can't be set as closed. If you're open past midnight, set the day to close at 23:59.
How do I turn on a welcome message?
- Go to Settings → Automation.
- Turn on Welcome message.
- Edit the text in the Welcome message box. The default is "Welcome! How can we help you today?"
- Click Save changes.
The welcome message is sent once, the first time someone messages your number, if it's during working hours.
How do I turn on an off-hours reply?
- Go to Settings → Automation.
- Turn on Off-hours reply.
- Edit the Off-hours message. The default is "We're closed right now and will reply when we're back."
- Click Save changes.
When someone writes outside your working hours, they get this reply. To avoid annoying them, KiliChat sends it at most once every 12 hours per customer, however many messages they send.
Make the away message useful
Say when you'll be back and what to do if it's urgent. For example: "Thanks for your message! We're open 10 am to 8 pm, Monday to Saturday, and will reply first thing tomorrow. For urgent orders, call 044 1234 5678."
Why didn't my welcome or away message send?
Check these:
- Is it turned on and saved? Click Save changes after switching it on.
- Is a chatbot flow running? If a flow answers the message (for example, a keyword or "first message" flow), the welcome and away messages are skipped, so the customer doesn't get two replies.
- Has the customer opted out? Automatic replies aren't sent to opted-out contacts. See Opt-outs.
- Is it really the first message? The welcome message is only for people who have never messaged this number before.
- Has an away message gone out recently? It's sent at most once every 12 hours to the same person.
- Are the working hours and time zone right? If the time zone is wrong, KiliChat may think you're closed when you're open.
What if I haven't set working hours?
Then KiliChat treats you as always open: the welcome message can be sent at any time, and the off-hours reply never is.
Do these messages cost anything?
No. They're replies inside the 24-hour window, which Meta doesn't charge for.
How do they appear in the inbox?
They show in the chat with the label Auto-reply, so your team knows the customer has already been greeted.
Can I send different messages on different days, or in Tamil?
The welcome and off-hours messages can be in any language, but there's only one of each. For anything more, such as a menu of options or different replies by time, build a chatbot flow. Flows can also check your working hours.
Who can change these?
Only admins. Agents can see the settings but not change them.