WhatsApp auto-reply outside working hours: an agent that answers all night, or a schedule it goes silent outside — and the difference
What happens to a message that arrives after hours: the two options available (a 24/7 agent that knows your hours, or a working-hours schedule outside which it goes silent with no message), what to write in the agent's instructions for nights and holidays, and how the team reads the morning backlog.
The ArabyBot teamOfficial Meta partner · written from our own platform dataOn this page 4
The short answer
Two explicit options. The first, and best for most businesses: the agent runs around the clock and your instructions carry the working hours, so at night it answers prices, hours and order status from your files, tells whoever needs a teammate "they will reply first thing", and hands them over assigned. The second: a working-hours schedule for the agent (days, hours, time zone), outside which it goes completely silent — no automatic message is sent off-hours; a teammate replies manually and a "talk to a person" request is still assigned. The second is for whoever wants human-only replies in set hours; whoever wants a "we are closed" message lets the agent say it.
Also asked as: «رسالة رد تلقائي خارج اوقات العمل واتساب» · «رسالة غياب واتساب للمحل» · «الرد الالي بعد الدوام بالواتساب»
The two options side by side
| Item | A 24/7 agent that knows your hours | A working-hours schedule for the agent |
|---|---|---|
| A message at 2 a.m. | Answered at once from your files | Complete silence — no automatic message |
| "How much?", "in stock?", "where is my order?" | Answered | Waits for the morning |
| "I want a person" | Assigned with an alert, and the agent says "first thing" | Assigned with an alert, no reply until morning |
| An order at night | Collected, confirmed and shipped in the morning | Not collected |
| A teammate replying manually at night | Can — and the agent pauses in that thread | Can |
| Suits | Most businesses | Whoever wants human-only replies in set hours |
On our platform about 29% of measured WhatsApp conversations ended with the customer as the last writer and no reply — and most of what piles up piles up at night.
WhatsApp conversations on our platformsample 1,648measured 4 September 2026What to write in the agent's instructions for the night
We work from {{from}} to {{to}}, {{days}}. Outside those hours answer prices, hours and order status from the files, take orders, and tell whoever needs a teammate that the reply comes first thing.
The team is off for {{occasion}} until {{date}}. Orders are taken now and shipped after we return, and questions are answered from the files.
If the customer mentions an emergency ({{words}}) give the emergency number {{number}} at once and hand the thread over.
The next morning
The "Unreplied" filter in the unified inbox is the night's list: what the agent handed over is already assigned and its customer knows to expect a reply first thing; what got no reply — everything, in the second option — the supervisor distributes from "Unassigned". Reply times.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an "away message" sent automatically after hours?
Not as a separate feature. The first option achieves it and more: the agent answers all night and says what you wrote about your hours. The second (the agent's working-hours schedule) goes silent outside them and sends nothing — we say it plainly so you do not expect a message that is not sent. The welcome card goes to new conversations at any time and does not know the hour.
When do I choose the agent's working-hours schedule?
When you want replies to be human-only in set hours — say a sales team that prefers to take messages itself by day and leave the night silent. For a business that gets questions at night (restaurants, stores, emergency clinics) that option loses customers; the 24/7 agent is better.
What happens to "I want a person" at midnight?
In both options it is assigned to the teammate you set, who gets an app alert and replies in the morning from the "Unreplied" filter. The agent — in the first option — tells the customer a teammate replies first thing and continues with what it can now.
And holidays and Eid?
In the first option: a line in the agent's instructions before the holiday ("the team is off for Eid until Sunday; orders are taken and shipped after") that you remove afterwards. In the second: switch the holiday days off in the agent's schedule — and it goes silent.
Is the night reply paid?
At Meta, no: it is a reply inside a conversation the customer started. What is billed is the AI agent's reply according to your plan, cheaper than a customer who went to a competitor who answered.
How we write these guides Figures come from our platform and Meta's actual invoices, dated with their sample; we describe what works today, not what we plan, and say what we do not do and when someone else is the better choice. Reviewed by the ArabyBot team on 23 September 2026.
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