Quick replies & templates

A quick reply is a message you save once and reuse in any chat. You give it a short keyword, its shortcut. From then on, typing / and that shortcut in the reply box puts the whole message in for you.

Four things are worth knowing from the start:

• One library for the whole team. Quick replies belong to the workspace, not to you. Everyone types the same shortcuts, and an edit or delete changes it for everyone.
• The text is fixed. There are no blanks like a customer’s name. Every customer gets the same words, which you can still tweak in the box before sending.
• One file, if you want. A quick reply can carry one image or one document, like your fee schedule.
• They only work while you can reply freely. On WhatsApp Business, once 24 hours pass since the customer’s last message, you need a WhatsApp template instead. That’s the last section.

Three short steps, and the whole team can use it straight away.

That’s it. Your quick reply is live for the whole team the moment you save. The page lists them as cards, A to Z by shortcut.

The quick reply only fills the box. Nothing is sent until you press Send (or Enter), so you can add a name or a “see you then!” first.

Prefer clicking? The same list is in the + menu at the left of the reply box.

Quick replies also work in the message box when you send to several contacts at once from Contacts, and in the mobile Inbox.

The list is picky on purpose, so it never jumps in while you write a normal message. Two rules explain all of it: it only opens when the box starts with / and has no space yet, and it only shows shortcuts that start with what you typed.

Back in Settings → Quick Replies, each card shows the shortcut, the start of the message and, if there is one, the file. The search box looks inside both the shortcut and the message.

Delete asks once more before it goes.

On WhatsApp Business (the official API), you can write freely for 24 hours after the customer’s last message. After that, WhatsApp only lets you send a template: a message Meta has approved in advance. The reply box changes to say so, and quick replies can’t be used until the customer writes again.

Both are saved messages, but they do different jobs:

A starter set worth saving on day one. Change the words to sound like you; the shortcuts are only suggestions.

• Shared, not personal. The whole workspace uses one library. Name shortcuts clearly, and remember an edit or delete changes it for everyone.
• Fixed text only. No blanks for a name or a date. Personalise it in the box before you send.
• Shortcuts are letters and numbers, lowercase, up to 25 characters. Anything else is removed as you type.
• Two replies can share a shortcut. Exabloom doesn’t stop you, and both then show in the list. Keep them unique.
• The list opens only at the start. Type / first, with no space. A space closes it and turns it into a normal message.
• Picking one replaces the whole box. Insert first, then edit.
• One file per reply, an image or a document. For more, send a second message.
• Not while the AI has the chat. When an AI agent is handling a conversation, the reply box is replaced by its bar. Take over first. See Work your Inbox.
• Not after the WhatsApp window closes. Past 24 hours on WhatsApp Business, only a template gets through.
• Not in internal notes. The / list belongs to the Reply tab. The Internal note tab uses @ for mentions instead.