How to Send a WhatsApp After-Hours Message in Inaiy

A WhatsApp after-hours message tells customers who write while you are closed that you got their message and when you will reply. In Inaiy, set your schedule under Settings → Business Hours, then go to Chat Rules, click Add rule, choose Any message, turn on Only outside business hours, write the reply, and click Save. Inaiy then replies automatically whenever someone writes outside your hours.

Customers stop wondering if anyone is there, and your team starts the morning with expectations already set.

Who this is for and what you need first

This guide is for Owners, Admins, and support leads who set up automation.

You need:

• A connected WhatsApp number, set up under Settings → Channels.
• Your real opening hours for each day of the week, and your timezone.
• A short reply that says when you will be back.

Steps to set up a WhatsApp after-hours message

1. Set your timezone

Click Settings, then Business Hours under Inbox. Make sure Schedule enabled is on. If it is off, Inaiy treats every hour as open and the after-hours rule never fires.

In Timezone (callout 1), enter your timezone in Region/City format, such as Asia/Kolkata or Europe/London. If your device is in a different timezone from the schedule, Inaiy shows a yellow warning with a one-click fix, such as Use Asia/Kolkata.

2. Set the hours for each day

Tick each day you are open (callout 2) and set the start and end time, such as 09:00 to 17:00. Leave a day unticked to mark it Closed. Days without a time window count as closed all day.

When you change anything, a bar appears saying You have unsaved business hours changes. Click Save in that bar.

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3. Open Chat Rules

Click Chat Rules under Automation. Chat rules reply, assign, or label conversations based on simple matches, without building a workflow. Rules with lower priority numbers run first.

Existing rules show their channel, what they match, and their status. A rule that matches any · outside hours (callout 1) is an after-hours reply. Click Add rule (callout 2).

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4. Create the after-hours rule

In New chat rule:

1. Name it clearly, such as WhatsApp out of office.
2. Set Priority to a low number, such as 40, so it runs before other rules.
3. Under Channel, pick your WhatsApp number, or leave All channels to cover Instagram and Messenger too.
4. Set Match to Any message.
5. Turn on Only outside business hours (callout 1).
6. Write the Reply text. Say you are closed, when you open, and what happens next.
7. Optionally choose Assign to put the chat with a team, and Add conversation labels, such as "after-hours".

Click Save (callout 2).

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How to confirm it worked

1. Check the rule shows Enabled in the Chat Rules list, with any · outside hours under Match.
2. Outside your business hours, send a WhatsApp message to your number from your own phone. The reply should arrive within a few seconds.
3. During business hours, send another message. No auto-reply should arrive.

Common mistakes

1. Leaving the timezone on UTC. If your team is in India and the schedule is in UTC, the after-hours reply fires five and a half hours off. Set the timezone first.
2. Replying to every message. With Any message, the reply goes out for each message that arrives while you are closed. To send it only once, also turn on First message of a new conversation only, though returning customers in an open conversation will then not get it.
3. Forgetting a published workflow. Published workflows win when they match the same message. If a workflow already handles incoming messages, add the after-hours step there with WhatsApp workflow automation.

Related guides

• Build keyword auto-replies with WhatsApp chatbot rules.
• Hold the team to response-time targets with a WhatsApp support SLA.
• Pick up the overnight chats in the WhatsApp shared inbox.