Chat auto-response rules

Q: What does the semicolon in a condition value do?

It separates alternatives. Text Contains return;refund matches a message containing either word. With Does not contain, none of the values may appear. Replyco ignores upper and lower case and spaces in both the message and the values.

For: Account owners, administrators and team leads who set up automatic replies for chats and the live chat widgetRequires: The Automation permission in the Chat Tools section of user permissions, with edit rights to change rulesScreenshots show sample data

The Auto-response Rules tab of the chat automation screen holds the rules that answer chat messages by themselves: a welcome for every new live chat visitor, an out-of-hours note on Messenger and Instagram, the returns policy when someone writes “refund”. Each rule sends one chat template to the chats of the accounts and live chat widgets you choose, when its schedule and conditions match. Open it from Chat ToolsAutomation and select the tab Auto-response Rules. This page explains the screen and every field; how Replyco decides which message gets an automatic reply, across every channel, is in Auto-responses for chats.

Availability: chats and the live chat widget are part of every plan; companies on an older plan may not have them. The tab is shown to users with the Automation permission in the Chat Tools section of their permissions; creating, changing, switching and deleting rules needs its edit level. See User permissions and roles and What each plan includes.

What you can do here

See every chat rule and read one. Rules are listed in an Active and an Inactive group; a click shows a rule’s accounts, widgets, template, schedule, delay and conditions. See your rules and read one
Create a rule in four parts: what it sends and where, when, how quickly and how often, and for which messages. Create a rule
Choose where a rule answers. A rule listens to the Messenger, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok Shop accounts and live chat widgets you pick; WhatsApp chats are not answered automatically. Choose the accounts and widgets
Decide when it answers. A date range, days and hours, a range across the week, or only outside your company’s working hours. Set the schedule
Set a delay and how often it answers. Wait a fixed or random time before replying, and answer only the first message or every one. Set the delay and frequency
Answer only some messages. Conditions on the text, the customer’s name or email, combined with AND and OR. Write the conditions
Know which rule answers. Replyco sends at most one automatic reply per customer message, and the tab has no order to set. Which rule answers
Change, copy, switch off or delete a rule, and give several rules a new account at once. Edit a rule · Copy a rule · Switch a rule off or on · Add accounts to several rules at once · Delete a rule
See who changed a rule, with every changed field. See who changed a rule

The screen at a glance

The Auto-response Rules tab under Chat Tools, Automation in Replyco, with the heading Chat Auto-response Rules. The group Active - 3 lists Welcome message, Out of hours and Return questions, each with a check box, clock, pencil, copy and bin icons and a blue switch that is on. The group Inactive - 1 lists Easter delivery notice with its switch off. Both group headers have a check box and fold away when selected. At the top right the Create New button is highlighted; it opens the empty rule form. — Chat auto-response rules are listed in an Active and an Inactive group; Create New starts a rule.

Region	What it shows	What you do there
Tabs, left	Automation with Templates and Auto-response Rules	Switch to the chat templates the rules send
Header, top	The heading Chat Auto-response Rules, a description and Create New	Start a new rule
Bulk action, above the list	Add Accounts, shown only while rules are ticked	Add chat accounts to all ticked rules
Active group	Every rule that is switched on, with the count	Open, tick, edit, copy, delete, switch off
Inactive group	Every rule that is switched off, with the count	Switch rules back on or clean up
Details panel, right (after a click)	The rule’s accounts, widgets, template, dates, frequency, delay, days and hours, and conditions	Read a rule, then act on it

A group appears only when it has rules. With no rules at all, the list reads No rules found..

See your rules and read one

The list has no search box and no sorting: rules appear in the order Replyco stores them, and a new rule is added at the end of its group. Each group header shows its count, for example Active - 3, and folds the group away when you select it.

Open Chat ToolsAutomation and select the tab Auto-response Rules.
Select a rule’s name. The details panel opens on the right.
Read the panel from the top: Accounts with the chat accounts as chips, Widgets, Template, Working Dates, Frequency, the delay, then either Days and Working Hours, Active between, or Outside working hours, and at the bottom Conditions.
Select Edit, Copy or Delete at the bottom of the panel.

The Auto-response Rules tab of Chat Tools in Replyco with the rule Return questions selected and highlighted in the list. The details panel on the right shows Accounts: Northwind Electronics (Messenger) and northwind.electronics (Instagram), Widgets: Northwind Live Chat, Template: Returns, Working Dates: 01/01/2026 - 31/12/2026, Frequency: Continuous (every response), Delay From (minutes): 1, Delay To (minutes): 3, Days: Monday to Friday and Working Hours: 09:00 - 17:30. At the bottom the Conditions box begins with its description, "Set the criteria an incoming chat message or its customer must meet to trigger this rule."; scrolling down shows both condition groups. — Select a rule's name to check its accounts, widgets, template, schedule, delay and conditions at a glance.

The conditions read as sentences, for example Where Text Should Contains return;refund, with AND between the conditions of a group and OR between groups. Working Dates shows All time for a rule without a date range, and the first and last date for a rule with one.

Create a rule

On the tab Auto-response Rules, select Create New. The form Create Chat Auto-response Rule opens, with a contents list on the right: General Info, Schedule, Delivery, Conditions.
Under General Info, enter the Rule Name and pick the chat template under Template to Send. The template must exist first; see Chat templates.
Pick the chat accounts under Accounts, the live chat widgets under Widgets, or both.
Under Schedule, set when the rule may answer: set the days and Working Hours, or switch on Send Outside Working hours of Company, for the times the rule should answer.
Under Delivery, set the delay and the frequency.
Under Conditions, choose a field, a mode and a value for the first condition.
Select Save.

The form Edit Chat Auto-response Rule in Replyco for the rule Return questions, with Back and Save at the top and a contents list General Info, Schedule, Delivery, Conditions on the right. Under General Info the Rule Name field holds Return questions. The highlighted Template to Send select shows Returns. Accounts holds Northwind Electronics and northwind.electronics, each with a cross, and Widgets holds Northwind Live Chat. The Schedule section starts below. — General Info decides what the rule sends and where it listens; pick the template, then accounts, widgets or both.

Replyco returns you to the list at once, saves the rule switched on, and shows Success. The new rule appears at the end of the Active group.

Nothing is saved when a check fails, and a message appears in the top right corner:

Message	Cause
All fields must be completed.	No name, no template, neither an account nor a widget, no day under Days, or no delay
The End Date must be greater than the Start Date	Date Range is on and the end date is not after the start date
The Delay To must be greater than the Delay From	Delay Range is on and the second time is not later than the first
Please enter valid conditions.	A condition has no value

Back leaves the form without saving and does not ask first.

Example: the rule Return questions sends the template Returns to chats from the Messenger account Northwind Electronics, the Instagram account northwind.electronics and the Northwind Live Chat widget, Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 17:30, one to three minutes after a customer writes return or refund.

Choose the accounts and widgets

A rule answers a chat when the chat’s account is in Accounts or its live chat widget is in Widgets. You need at least one of the two.

Accounts lists your Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok Shop accounts, with Select all at the top.
Widgets lists your live chat widgets by their chat title; to set up a widget, see Live chat widget.
WhatsApp accounts are not in the list, and WhatsApp chats never receive an automatic chat reply. Answer WhatsApp chats by hand, with a chat template if you like.

Set the schedule

The Schedule and Delivery sections of the rule form Edit Chat Auto-response Rule in Replyco for Return questions. The highlighted Date Range switch is on, with the range 2026-01-01 — 2026-12-31. Send Outside Working hours of Company and Use Working Time Range are off, so Days shows Monday to Friday and Working Hours 09:00 — 17:30. Under Delivery, Delay shows 00:01 — 00:03 with Delay Range switched on, and Frequency is Continuous (every response), with the description Limit how often this rule replies within the same chat, to avoid duplicate replies. — Schedule sets when the rule may answer; Delivery sets how long it waits and whether it answers once or every time.

The Schedule section decides when a rule may answer. It offers three ways, and the fields change with the switches:

Setting	What the rule does
Days and Working Hours (both switches below off)	Answers on the chosen days, within the time window; 00:00 — 23:59 covers the whole day. An end time earlier than the start time spans midnight, for example 18:00 — 08:00 for evenings and nights
Use Working Time Range on	Answers in one stretch from Active From (a day and a time) to Active To, for example Friday 18:00 to Monday 08:00; the days in between count whole
Send Outside Working hours of Company on	Answers only outside your company’s working days and hours and on its holidays, as set in Working time; the day and hour fields disappear

Date Range limits any of these to a period, both dates included. The times are entered in your computer’s time zone.

Example: a welcome for every live chat visitor at any time: Date Range off, all seven days, Working Hours 00:00 — 23:59.

Set the delay and frequency

Under Delivery:

Delay is the time, in hours and minutes, Replyco waits before sending; 00:00 sends at once. With Delay Range on, you enter two times and Replyco picks a random wait between them for each reply, so the answer feels less automatic.
Frequency is Once (1st response only) or Continuous (every response); the form describes it as Limit how often this rule replies within the same chat, to avoid duplicate replies. Once answers only the very first message a customer sends in the chat; when the chat reopens weeks later, it does not answer again. Continuous answers every message that matches.

While a delayed reply waits, the chat shows it with the time it is scheduled for and a red cross to cancel it. As soon as someone in your team replies in the chat, every waiting automatic reply of that chat is cancelled, so customers do not get a welcome after the real answer. In the chat, a sent automatic reply is marked with the rule’s name; see Chat list and conversations.

Write the conditions

The Conditions section of the rule form Edit Chat Auto-response Rule in Replyco for Return questions, headed "Set the criteria an incoming chat message or its customer must meet to trigger this rule." The first group, in a dashed box, has one condition: the field Text, the mode Contains and the value return;refund, with a bin icon, and Add New below it for another condition in the same group. An OR divider separates the second group, Text Contains send back. Each group has its own bin on the right. At the bottom, Add New Group is highlighted; it adds another group joined by OR. — Conditions in one group must all match; groups are alternatives joined by OR.

The section’s description sums it up: Set the criteria an incoming chat message or its customer must meet to trigger this rule. Every rule needs at least one condition. A condition has three parts:

Part	Choices
Field	Text (the customer’s message), Client name, Client email
Mode	Equals, Contains, Does not contain, Starts with, Ends with
Value	One or more values separated by `;`

Conditions in one group, added with Add New, must all match (AND). Groups, added with Add New Group, are alternatives (OR): the rule answers when any group matches.
return;refund with Contains matches a message that contains either word. With Does not contain, none of the values may appear.
Replyco ignores upper and lower case and spaces when it compares, so send back also matches SENDBACK.
The form starts with one condition whose field is empty. Choose a field for every condition.
Client email is empty for customers who have not given an email address, as on most messenger channels, and a condition on it never matches them. Use it for live chat visitors.
To answer every message, use a condition every message meets, such as Text Does not contain unsubscribe.

The bin next to a condition removes it, and the bin next to a group removes the whole group. A group must keep at least one condition (Every group must contain at least one condition.), and Add New Group asks you to fill in the last group first (Please finish creating the last Group before adding another.).

Customer’s message	Rule Return questions: group 1 Text Contains `return;refund`, OR group 2 Text Contains `send back`
Can I get a Refund for the speaker?	Matches group 1
How do I send it back?	Matches group 2
Where is my parcel?	No match; no automatic reply from this rule

Which rule answers

Replyco sends at most one automatic reply to each customer message. It checks the switched-on rules of the chat’s account or widget, and the first rule whose schedule, frequency and conditions all match sends its template; the others do not. The tab has no order, priority or drag handle, so you cannot choose which of two matching rules answers. Keep rules for the same accounts from overlapping: give them different schedules, or conditions that exclude each other.

Edit a rule

Select the rule, then Edit in the details panel; or select the pencil icon on its card.
Change any field in the form Edit Chat Auto-response Rule. Save pulses while you have unsaved changes.
Select Save.

The change applies to the next customer message. Replies already scheduled keep their time and text.

Copy a rule

Select the copy icon on a card, or Copy in the details panel. The form Create Chat Auto-response Rule opens with the rule’s name followed by (copy) and every other field as in the original. Save creates a new rule, switched on, and leaves the original unchanged.

Switch a rule off or on

The switch on each card turns a rule off or on. It saves at once, shows Success and moves the card to the other group. A switched-off rule keeps all its settings and answers nothing until you switch it on again; replies it had already scheduled are still sent.

Add accounts to several rules at once

Tick the check box on each rule card, or the check box of a group header to tick the whole group. Add Accounts appears above the list.
Select Add Accounts. A panel opens: Select channel accounts to assign to all currently selected auto-response rules.
Pick one or more chat accounts under Filter by Account.
Select Apply.

The Auto-response Rules tab of Chat Tools in Replyco with two rules ticked, Welcome message and Out of hours, now behind the panel. The Add Accounts button has appeared above the list, and its panel is open: the heading Add Accounts, the explanation "Select channel accounts to assign to all currently selected auto-response rules.", an empty Filter by Account select, and the highlighted Apply button, which adds the chosen accounts to both ticked rules and keeps the accounts they already have. — Tick rules and use Add Accounts to give them a new chat account in one step.

Replyco adds the accounts to every ticked rule, keeps the accounts they already have, reloads the list and shows Success. The panel adds accounts only, not live chat widgets, and it never removes one; to remove an account or add a widget, edit the rule. This action writes no line in the rules’ history.

Example: Northwind connects a TikTok Shop account. Tick Welcome message and Out of hours, add Northwind TikTok Shop, and both rules answer its chats.

See who changed a rule

Select the clock icon on a card. The details panel lists the rule’s history, one line per change with the person and the date:

The history of the chat rule Return questions in the details panel of the Auto-response Rules tab in Replyco, opened from its clock icon. Rows from oldest to newest: Chloe Osborne created this autoresponse on 05/01/2026; Laura Graf updated this autoresponse. Click on this row to see changes, on 09/02/2026, highlighted and expanded to show Property Delay To (minutes) was changed from 10 to 3; Chloe Osborne turned off this autoresponse on 27/02/2026 and turned on this autoresponse on 02/03/2026. Close is at the bottom. — The clock icon lists who created, changed, switched off and on a chat rule, with what changed.

Line	When it is written
[name] created this autoresponse	The rule was created
[name] updated this autoresponse. Click on this row to see changes	Someone saved changes; select the line to see each changed field with its old and new value
[name] turned off this autoresponse or turned on this autoresponse	Someone used the switch

A rule with no recorded changes shows No changes were made to this item yet. Close returns to the details.

Delete a rule

Selecting the header folds the group away or opens it. The check box on the left ticks every rule of the group for Add Accounts.

Why

Fold away switched-off rules; tick a whole group to give it a new account.

Rule card

Control	What it does	Why
Check box	Ticks the rule for Add Accounts	Act on several rules at once
Name	Opens the details panel	Read before you change
Clock icon	Opens the rule’s history	Find out who changed what
Pencil icon	Opens the form Edit Chat Auto-response Rule	Change the rule
Copy icon	Opens a filled form that saves as a new rule	Write a variant quickly
Bin icon	Asks Are you sure you want to delete this rule? and deletes on Yes	Remove a rule for good
Switch	Switches the rule on or off; saves at once	Pause a rule without losing it

Frequency

Where

Delivery, a select below the delay.

What

Once (1st response only) answers only the customer’s first message in the chat; Continuous (every response) answers every matching message. The preset is Once.

Why

Greet once; repeat only replies that each message deserves, such as a returns answer.

Conditions

Control	What it does	Why
Field select	Text, Client name or Client email; several fields in one condition count as alternatives	Decide what the rule looks at
Mode select	Equals, Contains, Does not contain, Starts with, Ends with	Decide how the value is compared
Value	One or more values separated by `;`; required	Catch several wordings in one condition
Bin next to a condition	Removes the condition; the last one of a group cannot be removed	Tidy up
Add New	Adds a condition to the group (AND)	Narrow the group
Bin next to a group	Removes the whole group	Drop an alternative
Add New Group	Adds a group (OR)	Add an alternative

Save, Back and the contents list

Where

Back and Save at the top of the form; once you scroll down, a back arrow and Save stay in the right column under the contents list.

What

Save runs the checks, closes the form and saves. Back returns without saving and without asking. The contents list jumps to General Info, Schedule, Delivery or Conditions.

Why

The form is long; jump straight to the part you want to change.

Who sees what

Part	What shows it
The tab, under Chat ToolsAutomation	The Automation permission in the Chat Tools section of the user’s permissions
Saving, copying, switching, deleting, Add Accounts	The edit level of that permission; otherwise You don't have enough rights
Automatic replies in chats	Every user who can open the chat

The Admin and Moderator presets in Users do not include the Automation permission of the Chat Tools section; an admin ticks it for each person who should manage chat rules.

What you need to know

Topic	Fact
Channels	Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok Shop and live chat widgets; not WhatsApp
Replies per message	At most one; no order or priority between rules
Required	Name, template, an account or a widget, at least one day, at least one condition with a value
Presets	Date range off, days all week, hours 00:00 — 00:00, delay 00:00, frequency Once, one condition without a field
Date range	Off: every date. On: from the first to the last date, both included
Delay	Up to 23:59; an agent’s reply cancels waiting automatic replies
Once	Only the customer’s first message in the chat
Conditions	AND within a group, OR between groups, `;` between values, case and spaces ignored
Order in the list	As stored; new rules at the end; no search
Delete	Permanent; scheduled replies still go out; deleting the template deletes the rule

Frequently asked questions

General

What is a chat auto-response rule?

A chat auto-response rule sends one chat template automatically when a customer writes in a chat of the accounts or live chat widgets you choose, at the times and for the messages you set. Rules are managed under Chat ToolsAutomation, tab Auto-response Rules. The full sending behaviour is explained in Auto-responses for chats.

Are chat rules the same as the auto-response rules for tickets?

No. Chat rules answer chats and live chat visitors and send chat templates; the rules under the Tools menu answer tickets and send ticket templates, with placeholders. Each kind has its own list, and neither affects the other; for tickets, see Auto-response Rules.

Why can’t I pick our WhatsApp account in a rule?

The Accounts field of a chat auto-response rule lists Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok Shop accounts only, and WhatsApp chats never receive an automatic chat reply. Answer WhatsApp chats by hand from Chats, with a chat template from the form icon next to the reply box if you like.

Setting up a rule

Why won’t Replyco save my rule?

All fields must be completed. means the name, the template, the accounts and widgets (at least one), the days or the delay are missing. Please enter valid conditions. means a condition has no value. The two other messages are about a date range whose end is not after its start, or a delay range whose second time is not later than the first.

My rule is switched on but never answers. Why?

Check four things in the rule’s form. The days and Working Hours must include the time of the message. A switched-on Date Range must cover today. The chat’s account or widget must be in the rule. And with Once (1st response only), only the customer’s first message in the chat is answered.

How do I make a rule answer every message, at any time?

Leave Date Range off, keep all seven days, set Working Hours to 00:00 — 23:59, choose Continuous (every response), and use a condition every message meets, such as Text Does not contain unsubscribe. A rule always needs at least one condition with a value.

How do I reply only outside our opening hours?

Switch on Send Outside Working hours of Company in the rule’s Schedule section. The rule then answers outside the working days and hours and on the holidays set for your company under Working time, and the rule’s own days and hours disappear from the form.

Conditions

What does the semicolon in a condition value do?

It separates alternatives. Text Contains return;refund matches a message containing either word. With Does not contain, none of the values may appear. Replyco ignores upper and lower case and spaces in both the message and the values.

How do AND and OR work in chat rule conditions?

Conditions you add inside one group with Add New must all match. Groups you add with Add New Group are alternatives: the rule answers when any one group matches completely. The details panel shows the result with AND and OR between them.

Why doesn’t a condition on the client email match Messenger customers?

Client email is the email address stored for the customer, and customers who write on messenger channels usually have none. A condition on an empty field never matches. Use Client email for live chat visitors, who give their email address, and Text or Client name for the other channels.

Timing and order

Two rules match the same message. Which one answers?

Only one of them: Replyco sends at most one automatic reply per customer message, and the tab has no order or priority to decide which. Make rules for the same accounts and widgets exclusive, with different schedules or conditions, so that only one can match a given message.

Does the customer still get the automatic reply if we answer first?

No. When anyone in your team replies in the chat, every automatic reply still waiting in that chat is cancelled. Set a delay of a few minutes under Delivery to give your team the chance to answer in person first.

Changing and deleting

Does switching a rule off cancel replies it already scheduled?

No. Switching a rule off, or deleting it, stops it from answering new messages, but automatic replies it had already scheduled are still sent. To stop one, open the chat and select the red cross next to the scheduled time, or reply in the chat yourself.

Can I get a deleted rule back?

No. Deleting a chat auto-response rule is permanent. If you might need a rule again, switch it off with the switch on its card instead; it waits in the Inactive group with all its settings.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	What to check
A switched-on rule never answers	1. The days and Working Hours include the time of the message. 2. A switched-on Date Range covers today. 3. The chat’s account or widget is in the rule. 4. With Once, only the first message of the chat is answered.
WhatsApp customers get no automatic reply	WhatsApp is not supported by chat auto-response rules; answer those chats by hand.
A different rule answered than expected	Only one rule answers per message and there is no order; make the rules’ schedules or conditions exclusive.
A condition on the client email never matches	The customer has no email address; use Text or Client name.
You don't have enough rights when saving or switching	Under Users, the user has the edit level of Automation in the Chat Tools section.
A rule has disappeared	Its chat template was deleted, which deletes the rule; create the template and the rule again.
The customer got the automatic reply after our answer	The reply was sent before your agent answered; a reply in the chat cancels only replies that are still waiting.

Auto-responses for chats: how Replyco decides which chat message gets an automatic reply
Chat templates: the texts the rules send
Live chat widget: the widgets a rule can answer
Working time: the company hours behind the outside-hours option
Chat list and conversations: where automatic replies appear
Auto-response Rules: the rules for tickets
Chat tools

Chat auto-response rules

What you can do here

The screen at a glance

See your rules and read one

Create a rule

Choose the accounts and widgets

Set the schedule

Set the delay and frequency

Write the conditions

Which rule answers

Edit a rule

Copy a rule

Switch a rule off or on

Add accounts to several rules at once

See who changed a rule

Delete a rule

Every control, explained

Auto-response Rules tab

Create New

Group headers

Rule card

Add Accounts

Details panel

Rule Name

Template to Send

Accounts and Widgets

Date Range

Send Outside Working hours of Company

Use Working Time Range, Active From and Active To

Days and Working Hours

Delay and Delay Range

Frequency

Conditions

Save, Back and the contents list

Who sees what

What you need to know

Frequently asked questions

General

What is a chat auto-response rule?

Are chat rules the same as the auto-response rules for tickets?

Why can’t I pick our WhatsApp account in a rule?

Setting up a rule

Why won’t Replyco save my rule?

My rule is switched on but never answers. Why?

How do I make a rule answer every message, at any time?

How do I reply only outside our opening hours?

Conditions

What does the semicolon in a condition value do?

How do AND and OR work in chat rule conditions?

Why doesn’t a condition on the client email match Messenger customers?

Timing and order

Two rules match the same message. Which one answers?

Does the customer still get the automatic reply if we answer first?

Changing and deleting

Does switching a rule off cancel replies it already scheduled?

Can I get a deleted rule back?

Troubleshooting

Related