Facebook Messenger Auto Reply That Answers the Question
A Facebook Messenger auto reply is the message your Page sends back when someone writes to you. Most Page auto replies say “Thanks, we’ll get back to you soon”. AeroChat answers the question itself, from your FAQs, price list and policies, kept in its knowledge base, a Google Sheet, Notion or Airtable. It logs any question it could not answer and hands the conversation to your team when a person is needed.
What happens today
The Page’s instant reply thanks the customer and promises an answer later. The customer still waits, and often asks again or leaves.
The same ten questions come in every day: price, opening hours, location, delivery, stock. Someone on your team types the same answers by hand, and nobody keeps track of the questions the FAQ page does not cover.
How it runs on Messenger
- A customer messages your Page. AeroChat replies as the message arrives, in the customer’s language.
- It reads the answer from your knowledge base, or looks it up in your Google Sheet, Notion page or Airtable base, such as today’s prices or this week’s opening hours.
- It answers the question in one or two short messages and asks if there is anything else.
- If it cannot find the answer, it says so plainly and writes the question to a Google Sheet of unanswered questions, with the date.
- If the customer wants to buy, book or talk to someone, it moves to that workflow or hands the conversation to your team in the AeroChat inbox.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When someone messages our Facebook Page with a question, follow these steps.
- Answer from our knowledge base. For prices, read the Price List tab of our Google Sheet (example) and quote the current price.
- For opening hours, read the Hours tab (example). If today is a public holiday listed there, give the holiday hours.
- Keep each answer to two or three sentences and end by asking if there is anything else.
- If the answer is not in the knowledge base or the sheet, say you will pass the question to the team, and add a row to the Unanswered tab (example) with the date and the question.
- If they ask to speak to someone, hand the conversation to our team.
Never guess a price, a date or a policy. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the tab names to the ones in your sheet. Review the Unanswered tab each week and add the answers to your knowledge base.
Connect the systems behind it
- Google Sheets: holds prices and hours AeroChat reads live, and collects the questions it could not answer. Connect your Google account.
- Notion: if your FAQs and policies live in Notion, AeroChat reads the page before it answers.
- Airtable: product, menu or service details AeroChat looks up by name.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
Meta’s rules on Messenger
Your Page can reply to a customer within 24 hours of their last message, and each new message opens the window again. Replies typed by a person on your team have a separate 7-day window, which automated replies cannot use. Meta expects automated replies within 30 seconds of the customer’s message, or it can limit your messaging. An auto reply that answers straight away keeps you inside both rules.
Also on WhatsApp, TikTok and web chat
The same auto replies run on WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok (direct messages and TikTok Shop buyer chat), Telegram, web chat and email, from the same knowledge base and the same sheets. Update an answer once and every channel uses it.
Who uses it
Any business that answers the same questions every day, including restaurants answering menu and dietary questions, salons answering price and service questions and hotels answering facility and policy questions.
Questions
How do I set up an auto reply on my Facebook Page?
Connect your Facebook Page to AeroChat, add your FAQs to the knowledge base or point it at your Google Sheet, and paste the recipe. AeroChat then answers every Page message.
Can a Facebook Page auto reply answer different questions?
Yes. AeroChat reads each message and answers that question, rather than sending the same greeting to everyone.
Is there a time limit for replying on Messenger?
Yes. Automated replies must go within 24 hours of the customer’s last message, and Meta expects bots to respond within 30 seconds. A person on your team can reply within a separate 7-day window.
What happens when it doesn’t know the answer?
It tells the customer it will pass the question on, logs it in your sheet, and hands the conversation to your team. It does not make up an answer.
Answer the question, not just the message
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On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.
Related: Messenger customer service and after-hours replies.