Interactive tutorial · ~5 min · 10 steps
Auto-attendance: a receptionist that never sleeps
Auto-attendance replies to keywords, first messages and after-hours texts automatically, adding a random delay and a typing indicator.
Runs on a fictional copy of the screen with a voice guide. Nothing you click reaches WhatsApp.
What the tour covers, step by step
Answer keywords, first messages and after-hours texts automatically — at a human pace.
- 01
Rules that answer for you
Each row is a rule: when an incoming message matches it, InboxCRM replies. The list shows how often each rule fired. New rule opens the editor.
Read the narration
Welcome to Auto-attendance. Think of it as a receptionist: when a message comes in and matches one of your rules, InboxCRM answers for you. Every row here is a rule — this shop already greets new customers, sends an after-hours notice, and asks people who send voice notes to type instead. You can see how many times each one fired. Let's build a new one together: a rule that answers price questions. Press Next.
- 02
Triggers — when should it fire?
Tick the conditions. Keyword matches words in the message (Any / All / Exact). Every ticked trigger must be true at the same time, so tick only what you need.
Read the narration
First, give the rule a name — Price question — then choose its triggers: the conditions a message has to meet. I've ticked Keyword and typed price, cost, how much. 'Any keyword' means one of those words is enough. There are more triggers below: groups only, contacts only, on new conversation — that's someone's very first message to you — when a photo, a voice note or a location arrives, and so on. One important thing: if you tick several triggers, all of them must be true at once. Keyword plus Contacts only means 'a saved contact asked about the price'. So tick only what you really need.
- 03
Business hours
Restricts the rule to these days and times — the message must arrive inside the window. For an after-hours reply, set the window to your closed hours (e.g. 18:00 → 09:00; overnight works).
Read the narration
Business hours lets a rule work only on certain days and times: pick the days, then a from and to time. The message has to arrive inside that window. A common trick: for an 'we're closed, back at nine' message, set the window to your closed hours — from 18:00 to 09:00. Overnight windows are fine. Here I'm keeping Monday to Saturday, nine to six, so price answers only go out while someone is around to follow up.
- 04
Actions — what should it do?
+ Add step… builds the reply in order: Text, Image, Video, Audio, Document, Contact, List, Timer. Steps run top to bottom; use the arrows to reorder.
Read the narration
Now the actions — what happens when the rule fires. Open 'Add step' and pick from Text, Image, Video, Audio, Document, Contact, List, or Timer. Steps run in order, top to bottom. I've added a Text step with a friendly price answer. Keep it short and human — this is WhatsApp, not an email. Want a photo of the menu after the text? Add an Image step below it. A Timer step in between adds a natural pause.
- 05
Move CRM stage and Add label
Two advanced steps for organising, not replying: move the chat to a pipeline stage or tag it. Both take the internal ids, not the names — most people never need them.
Read the narration
Two special steps don't send anything — they organise. Move CRM stage drops the chat into a stage of your pipeline, so everyone who asks about prices lands in Qualified automatically. Add label tags the chat. Be aware: these two fields take the internal id of the board, stage or label — not the name you see on screen. They're for advanced setups; a text reply is all most shops need. I've also slipped a five-second Timer before them so the reply arrives first.
- 06
Meta rules — when to stay quiet
Skip if the chat is already in a CRM stage, skip chats with certain labels, or fire only once per chat so nobody hears the same auto-reply twice.
Read the narration
Meta rules are the polite part. 'Fire only once per chat' means each person hears this reply a single time — ask about the price twice and the second time a human answers. 'Skip if chat is in any CRM stage' keeps the bot away from people you're already working with. And 'Skip if chat has labels' lets you mark VIPs the bot should never touch. I'm ticking 'fire only once'. Then Save rule.
- 07
How the reply is sent — the safety layer
No zero-millisecond answers. InboxCRM marks the chat read, waits a random 2–7 s, shows 'typing…', then sends. Robotic instant replies are what gets numbers flagged.
Read the narration
Saved. Now watch what actually happens when Maria asks 'how much is a cake?'. The bot does not fire back instantly — an answer in zero milliseconds is exactly what WhatsApp flags as a bot. Instead, InboxCRM opens the chat so it shows as read, waits a random two to seven seconds like a person thinking, shows 'typing…' for a moment, and only then sends. Every automated reply goes through this Sending safety layer, and every send counts toward your daily limit. You can tune these numbers under Settings, Sending safety, but the defaults are good.
- 08
Switch rules on and off
The checkbox is the rule's switch — untick to pause it without deleting. Duplicate creates an inactive copy to experiment with. 'fired N×' shows real usage.
Read the narration
Back on the list, your new rule sits at the top. The checkbox on the left is its switch: untick it and the rule pauses instantly — nothing deleted, nothing lost. Click the name to rename it. The copy icon duplicates a rule, and the copy starts switched off so you can experiment safely. And 'fired' tells you how often each rule actually answered — if a rule never fires, its triggers are probably too strict.
- 09
Where it runs
Rules run inside your WhatsApp Web tab on this computer, only while your plan is active. Closed tab or sleeping laptop = no replies until it's back.
Read the narration
One honest limitation: auto-attendance runs inside your WhatsApp Web tab, on this computer. There is no server answering for you. If the tab is closed or the laptop is asleep, nobody gets a reply until it's back. It also only runs while your plan is active — when a trial ends, the bots stop, and they start again the moment you sign back in. So: keep WhatsApp Web open in a tab during the hours you want the receptionist working.
- 10
Your first rule
Open Auto-attendance and start with one rule: a Keyword trigger for your most common question, one Text step, 'fire only once per chat'. Then test it from a friend's phone.
Read the narration
That's auto-attendance. My advice for the first real rule: pick the question you get asked most, add a Keyword trigger for it, one friendly Text step, and tick 'fire only once per chat'. Then ask a friend to message you and watch it answer. When you're ready, open the real page — or continue with the Follow-up tour, which nudges people who go quiet.