WhatsApp Automation for Business

What are your three options on WhatsApp?

You have three levels of automation, and most small businesses should stay on the first two until they have a reason to move. The right choice depends on volume, on whether you need to send messages first, and on how many people answer.

Meta's own page for the Business app says it lets you greet people when they start a conversation, respond while you are away and show what your business offers. Anything beyond that, such as reminders sent first by you or software that reads messages, needs the Platform.

What do Meta's rules allow?

Meta's rules let you message people who have opted in, reply without a template for 24 hours after they write to you and use only approved templates after that. They also require clear routes to a person. The Business Messaging Policy states these points:

• Opt-in. You may contact people on WhatsApp only if they gave you their number and opted in to receive your messages. You choose the method and must comply with the law. Meta suggests separate opt-ins for each message category.
• The 24-hour window. Outside it, you may only message people with approved templates.
• Opt-out. You must honour requests to stop, however they are made, including by removing that person from your contacts list.
• Escalation. Automated responses must come with prompt, clear and direct ways to reach a person, such as an in-chat transfer to a human, a phone number, an email address or a form.
• Data. You may not forward or share information from one customer's chat with another customer.
• Restricted content. The policy lists categories that are barred or restricted, such as alcohol, tobacco, medical products, dating services, payday loans and debt collection. Read the list if you sell anything near them.

What about AI chatbots?

Meta's Terms for WhatsApp Business Platform bar AI providers from the platform when AI is the primary, not the ancillary, thing on offer, as Meta decides. You may still use an AI provider as your solution provider, but platform data may not train AI models, except to fine-tune a model for your exclusive use. A support or sales bot for your own business should count as ancillary.

Meta introduced this policy in October 2025, and its terms update took effect on 15 January 2026. Europe has since moved on. On 9 June 2026 the European Commission ordered Meta to restore free access for rival general-purpose AI assistants until its antitrust case ends, and Meta's developer pages list Cyprus among the markets where AI providers may operate, with no Meta charge from 13 May 2026. Check the current position before you build on it.

Do not take our summary as the contract. Ask your provider in writing how its AI features comply, and read the current terms yourself.

What does it cost?

Meta charges per message delivered, by category, and the rate depends on the recipient's country. Marketing, utility and authentication messages are charged. The two Meta pages we read give different pictures of service messages, so budget carefully:

• The platform pricing page describes service messages, the replies you send inside the 24-hour window, as free, and says messages to a customer who arrived from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or page button are free for 72 hours.
• The developer documentation says each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month and that from 1 October 2026 service messages beyond that are charged. It also says the free entry point window can last up to 7 days. Cyprus is not named on that page, and Meta says unlisted countries use the Other rate, so we read Cyprus as Other.

We could not reconcile the two pages, so check your provider's invoice in the first month. We checked both in November 2026.

A worked example: appointment reminders

This is illustrative arithmetic. Twilio's page, current as of September 2026, lists a USD 0.005 fee and Meta fees from USD 0.0034 for a utility template. Check the rate for Cyprus, because Meta updated its rates on 1 October 2026.

• At that starting rate, one reminder is 0.005 + 0.0034 = USD 0.0084.
• 300 reminders a month: 300 x 0.0084 = USD 2.52.

At that scale the messages cost almost nothing. The real cost is the platform fee and your time. Our comparison of WhatsApp automation tools shows what each provider charges on top.

Why WhatsApp matters in Cyprus

Customers here expect to message. The Cyprus Statistical Service reported that 96.2% of internet users aged 16 to 74 used instant messaging in the first quarter of 2025, covering platforms such as WhatsApp, Messenger and Viber, so the figure covers more than WhatsApp. It still suggests that a business with no messaging channel looks hard to reach.

Two local points matter in practice. Customers write in Greek, English and mixed languages, often in one conversation, so test your flows with all of them. And many Cypriot businesses take bookings at the counter, so build opt-in into that moment: a short sign or a form that records the person's consent and the date.

Which flows are worth automating?

Automate the repetitive, low-risk ones first:

1. A greeting and an away message. Free in the Business app. Say when you will reply.
2. Frequently asked questions. A short menu: opening hours, location, prices, booking.
3. Appointment reminders and rescheduling. A utility template the day before, with a reply to move the booking.
4. Order or job status. A message when a job is dispatched or ready.
5. Lead capture from adverts. A first reply that asks two qualifying questions and alerts a person.
6. Review requests. One message after a completed job, with a single link.

Keep complaints, refunds and anything sensitive with a person, and never message a bought list.

Data protection in Cyprus

Messages are personal data, and you are responsible for them. This is general information, not legal advice.

• Consent for marketing. A Cyprus guide from Chambers and Co says marketing by SMS or email generally requires prior consent under Law 112(I)/2004, with a narrow existing-customer exception. Treat promotional WhatsApp messages the same way, and keep a record of when and how each person opted in.
• Processors. Meta and your provider both handle the messages. Ask each for a data processing agreement and tell customers in your privacy notice. Our GDPR guide for Cyprus business websites covers notices.
• Deletion. Know how to remove a person's data from your provider's system when they ask.

What breaks

Templates can be rejected, so allow time to get them approved before launch. Messages sent outside the 24-hour window fail unless they use a template. People reply to a reminder with a question and nobody sees it, so route replies to a person. And a bot that keeps replying after someone writes stop breaks the opt-out rule, so test it.

Where to start

Turn on the Business app's greeting and away messages this week. If you need reminders or a CRM link, pick a provider using the best WhatsApp automation tools page. Our guides on lead follow-up and AI customer service agents show what to put behind it. For help setting it up, see our AI automation service.