For free, the WhatsApp Business app gives you three reply tools (greeting message, away message and quick replies) and two for organizing (labels and catalog). A chatbot that reads the customer's question and answers based on the case is no longer free: it needs the official WhatsApp API and a platform on top. Before you spend anything, check which side your business is on.
What you can do for free
| Tool | What it does | Sends itself |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting message | Greets anyone who writes to you for the first time or after a period without contact | Yes |
| Away message | Tells people your hours when you can't reply | Yes |
| Quick replies | Saved texts you insert with a slash (check the current limit in the app) | No, a person triggers them |
| Labels and catalog | Organizes customers and shows your products | Not applicable |
For a one-person business that gets few messages a day, this is enough. With a greeting, your hours and four quick replies (prices, location, payment methods, how to book), you handle most of the repeated questions.
Where free ends
- It doesn't understand the customer. The automatic message is the same for everyone, whatever the person says.
- It doesn't build flows. No "press 1 for a quote, 2 to book."
- It doesn't connect to anything. Not your calendar, not your inventory, not your payment system.
- Shared inbox has limits. If several people handle chats, check the WhatsApp Business Help Center for how many linked devices your version of the app allows.
The free plans of chatbot platforms
Several chatbot platforms offer a free or trial plan with limits on conversations or features. They're useful for testing the idea, but on the official API Meta charges per delivered template, depending on its category; check its current rate on the WhatsApp Business Platform pricing page. The full breakdown, with rates, is in how much a WhatsApp chatbot costs for your business. Before choosing a platform, ask what happens to your conversations and contacts if you stop paying.
How to decide in five minutes
- Count how many messages you get per day and how many are repeated questions.
- If it's fewer than 20 a day, turn on the greeting, away message and quick replies.
- If you lose sales outside business hours, try a platform plan before you commit.
- If you need to book, quote or check inventory without human involvement, move to a custom assistant.
- Decide at what point the bot hands the conversation to a person.
Start with the free tools, measure how much time they save you, and only then pay for more. If you're interested in automating beyond WhatsApp, see AI automation for businesses: where to start.
At Elevalia
With our AI assistants for WhatsApp service we set up your AI assistant (a GPT, Gem or Skill) with your prices and processes, starting at $1,990 MXN. If you need it to answer inside WhatsApp Business, the Meta API is quoted separately in the proposal.