Canned Responses

Overview

Canned Responses allow your team to quickly insert pre-written messages when chatting with customers. Instead of typing common responses repeatedly, agents can select from a library of pre-defined replies with just a few clicks or by using slash commands.

Key Features

Organization-Wide

Shared responses available to all users in your organization.

Categories

Organize responses by category (Greetings, Support, Sales, etc.).

Slash Commands

Type /shortcut in chat to quickly find and insert responses.

Dynamic Placeholders

Use placeholders like {{contact_name}} for personalized messages.

Managing Canned Responses

Navigate to Settings > Canned Responses to create and manage your responses.

Creating a Canned Response

1. Click “Add Response”

   Open the canned responses settings and click the “Add Response” button.

2. Enter Response Details

   Fill in the following fields:

   • Name: A descriptive name (e.g., “Welcome Message”)
   • Shortcut: Optional quick-access code (e.g., welcome)
   • Category: Select a category for organization
   • Content: The actual message text

3. Add Placeholders (Optional)

   Include dynamic placeholders in your content:

   • {{contact_name}} / {{phone_number}} — auto-filled from the contact
   • {{user_name}} (alias {{agent_name}}) — auto-filled with the signed-in agent’s name
   • Any other {{token}} — the agent fills it in the preview dialog before sending

4. Save

   Click “Create” to save your response.

Categories

Organize your responses into categories for easier navigation:

Category	Use Case
Greetings	Welcome messages, initial contact responses
Support	Common support replies, troubleshooting steps
Sales	Product information, pricing, promotions
Closing	Thank you messages, conversation endings
General	Miscellaneous responses

Interactive Buttons

A canned response can include buttons that appear under the message in the customer’s WhatsApp. Three types are supported, and the editor enforces which can be combined.

Type	What it does	How many
Reply	Sends a tappable text reply back into the chat.	1–10 per message. List format kicks in automatically above 3.
URL	Opens a link in the customer’s browser.	1 per message. Can’t be combined with reply buttons.
Call	Lets the customer place a WhatsApp voice call to you with one tap.	1 per message. Can’t be combined with reply or URL buttons.

Call buttons (click-to-call)

Add a Call button when you want the customer to be able to start a voice call with one tap — e.g. “Talk to your account manager”, “Call our support team”.

Caution

Prerequisite: the WhatsApp account sending the response must have Business Calling enabled under Settings > Accounts > [account] > Defaults. The toggle is off by default; enable it only after Meta has enrolled the phone number in the WhatsApp Business Calling API. The send will be rejected with a clear error if the toggle is off.

Routing. When the customer taps the Call button, the resulting call rings the agent who sent the button directly, skipping the IVR. The agent who originated the outreach gets the call; if they’re offline, on another call, or off-shift, the call falls back to the account’s normal incoming-call routing (IVR / team broadcast).

Configuring the button. In the editor:

• Label — shown on the button face. Max 20 characters. Supports the same {{contact_name}} / {{user_name}} placeholders as the body, resolved server-side.
• Expires after — how long the button stays clickable (1–60 minutes, default 15). After this window Meta drops the button from the customer’s chat and they can’t initiate a call from it.

See the Calling docs for the broader incoming-call flow (IVR, transfers, recording).

Using Canned Responses in Chat

There are two ways to pick a canned response while chatting:

Method 1: Picker Button

1. Click the canned responses icon (message bubble) next to the emoji button in the chat input area
2. Search or browse through your responses
3. Click a response — the preview dialog opens (see below)

Method 2: Slash Commands

1. Type / followed by your shortcut in the chat input (e.g., /welcome)
2. A picker appears showing matching responses
3. Select the response — the preview dialog opens (see below)

Tip

Slash commands are the fastest way to find responses. Create memorable shortcuts like /hi, /thanks, /hours for your most-used responses.

Preview Dialog

After picking a response, a preview dialog shows the resolved message. Auto-filled tokens ({{contact_name}}, {{phone_number}}, {{user_name}} / {{agent_name}}) appear already substituted. Any other {{token}} in the content gets its own input field — fill them in and the preview updates live. Click Send to deliver the message, or Cancel to back out without sending.

Placeholders

Make your responses personal by using dynamic placeholders. Some are filled automatically; anything else becomes an input field in the preview dialog.

Auto-Filled Placeholders

Placeholder	Source	Example
{{contact_name}}	Contact’s profile name (falls back to contact name, then there)	Sarah
{{phone_number}}	Contact’s phone number	+1234567890
{{user_name}}	Signed-in agent’s full name	Alex Doe
{{agent_name}}	Alias for {{user_name}}	Alex Doe

Custom Placeholders

Any other {{token}} you put in the content (e.g. {{order_id}}, {{tracking_number}}) shows up as a labelled input in the preview dialog. The agent fills it in before sending, and the preview updates as they type.

Example

Canned Response Content:

Hi {{contact_name}}, your order #{{order_id}} has shipped. — {{user_name}}

Preview Dialog (contact “Sarah”, agent “Alex”):

The dialog opens with one input field for order_id. Once Alex types 4521, the preview shows:

Hi Sarah, your order #4521 has shipped. — Alex Doe

Note

Auto-filled placeholders with no available value (e.g. contact with no profile name) fall back to a sensible default or empty string. Custom placeholders are required — Send is blocked until every input is filled.

Usage Tracking

The system automatically tracks how often each response is used. This helps you:

• Identify your most popular responses
• See usage counts on each response card
• Responses are sorted by usage count (most used first)

Access Control

Role	Permissions
Admin	Create, edit, delete, and use responses
Manager	Create, edit, delete, and use responses
Agent	Use responses only (cannot create/edit/delete)

Tip

Agents can use all canned responses in the chat, but only admins and managers can manage them in settings.

Best Practices

1. Keep responses concise - WhatsApp messages work best when brief and to the point

2. Use meaningful shortcuts - Choose shortcuts that are easy to remember (/hi, /price, /hours)

3. Personalize with placeholders - Using {{contact_name}} makes responses feel more personal

4. Organize by category - Group similar responses together for easier discovery

5. Review and update regularly - Keep responses current and accurate

6. Train your team - Make sure agents know about available responses and shortcuts