How to auto-reply to texts and WhatsApp on iPhone and Mac

On iPhone, the built-in way to auto-reply to texts is the Driving Focus: go to Settings > Focus > Driving > Auto-Reply, choose who gets the reply and edit the message. To answer one person, or messages that contain a certain word, build a Shortcuts automation with the Message trigger. Messages on a Mac has no auto-reply setting, and for WhatsApp and Telegram, away messages come with WhatsApp Business and Telegram Business.

This guide walks through each option (checked against Apple’s, WhatsApp’s and Telegram’s help pages on 21 October 2026), gives auto-reply messages you can copy, and explains why an AI that replies for you needs more care than a fixed away message.

Auto-reply options by app (checked 21 October 2026)

There’s no single switch that covers every app. Here’s what each one offers.

App	Built-in auto-reply	Where to set it	Good to know	Source
Messages on iPhone (iMessage and texts)	Yes, in the Driving Focus	Settings > Focus > Driving > Auto-Reply	Also silences or limits notifications while it’s on	Apple
Messages on iPhone, with Shortcuts	Yes, with a personal automation	Shortcuts > Automation > Message trigger	Works only on that iPhone; asks before running unless you change it	Apple
Messages on Mac	No setting in Apple’s Messages guide	Set it up on the iPhone	Notification settings only mute	Apple’s Messages guide for Mac
WhatsApp	None described in WhatsApp’s help center for the regular app	Not available	Unofficial apps that add it risk a ban	WhatsApp
WhatsApp Business app	Yes, away messages	Tools > Away message	Schedules and recipient lists; needs an internet connection	WhatsApp
Telegram	Yes, with Telegram Business (free for Premium subscribers)	Settings > Telegram Business	Greeting and away messages	Telegram
Telegram, any account	A bot connected to your profile can answer for you	Settings > Chat Automation	Needs a bot built for it; it replies in your name	Telegram

How to auto-reply to texts on iPhone with the Driving Focus

The Driving Focus is where Apple’s iPhone guide describes a built-in auto-reply. It sends the message you write to the people you choose while Driving is on (Apple).

1. Open Settings and tap Focus, then Driving. If Driving isn’t listed, tap the add button and choose Driving.
2. Tap Auto-Reply and choose who should get an auto-reply when they contact you.
3. Edit the auto-reply message, then go back.
4. Under Turn On Automatically, tap While Driving and pick Automatically, When Connected to Car Bluetooth, Manually or Activate With CarPlay.

Using it when you aren’t driving. With Manually selected, Driving only turns on when you switch it on in Control Center, and the auto-reply goes out whenever it’s on. Two catches: Driving silences or limits texts and other notifications, and incoming calls only come through when the iPhone is connected to CarPlay, a car’s Bluetooth or a hands-free accessory. Edit the message so it doesn’t claim you’re driving when you’re not.

If you are driving, let the auto-reply do the talking. Apple’s guide says the Driving Focus “is not a substitute for following all the rules that prohibit distracted driving”, and our texting etiquette guide has the numbers on why no message is worth it.

A quieter alternative: when a Focus or your sleep schedule pauses notifications, Apple says your status appears in the Messages app “to let people know you’re not receiving messages”, unless you turn off Share Focus Status (Apple). Nobody gets a reply, but they know why you’re quiet.

How to auto-reply to one person or certain words with Shortcuts

For anything more targeted than Driving, use a Shortcuts personal automation. Its Message trigger runs when you receive a message from senders you pick, or a message containing a phrase you set; if you add both, the message has to match both (Apple).

1. Open Shortcuts and tap Automation. If you already have automations, tap the add button at the top right.
2. Tap Create Personal Automation and choose Message.
3. Set Sender (who it applies to) and, if you like, Message Contains (a word such as “urgent”). Tap Next.
4. Tap Add Action and add an action that sends your reply; Apple’s guide names Send Message as the action that sends content to your recipients (Apple). Write your reply and pick who gets it (for a one-person automation, the same person you set as Sender). Tap Next, then Done (Apple).
5. By default you get a notification asking whether to run the automation. To have it reply on its own, open the automation, turn off Ask Before Running and tap Don’t Ask. Apple notes you may also need to set individual actions to run automatically (Apple).

Apple’s Shortcuts guide adds that personal automations belong to one device: they’re backed up to iCloud but don’t sync to your other devices. Test yours with a friend before relying on it, and switch it off when you’re back (open it and turn off Enable This Automation).

Can you auto-reply to iMessages on a Mac?

Not with a built-in setting. Apple’s Messages guide for Mac covers muting and notifications but has no auto-reply (checked 21 October 2026). The practical answer is to set the reply up on your iPhone with the Driving Focus or Shortcuts, as above.

Some third-party Mac apps send automatic iMessage replies. To do that they need to read your Messages history, which on a Mac means the Full Disk Access permission (what that permission allows), and they send in your name without you seeing each reply. Read what an app does with your messages before installing one; our guide on whether it’s safe to let AI read your messages lists the questions to ask.

WhatsApp: away messages need the WhatsApp Business app

WhatsApp’s help center describes away messages only for the WhatsApp Business app, where they’re meant for people who message a business (WhatsApp). On iPhone:

1. Open the Tools tab and tap Away message.
2. Turn on Send away message.
3. Tap the message to edit it, then tap Save.
4. Tap Schedule and choose Always send, Custom schedule or Outside of business hours (only available once you’ve set business hours in your business profile).
5. Tap Recipients and choose Everyone, Everyone not in address book, Everyone except… or Only send to….

Your phone needs an internet connection for away messages to go out.

On a regular WhatsApp account, there’s no away message to switch on. Be careful with modified WhatsApp apps and add-ons that promise auto-replies: WhatsApp’s help center warns that using unofficial apps can get your account banned (WhatsApp).

Telegram: greeting and away messages with Telegram Business

Telegram’s ready-made auto-replies are part of Telegram Business, announced on 31 March 2024 (Telegram):

• Greeting messages go to people who contact you for the first time, and again if they write after a period you choose.
• Away messages go out “when your business is closed or while you’re on vacation”.
• Quick replies are saved messages you send by typing / in a private chat. They aren’t automatic, but they save typing.

In that 2024 launch post, Telegram said that for the moment all Business features are free for Premium subscribers, under Settings > Telegram Business.

Chat Automation, for any account. Since 7 May 2026, every Telegram user can connect a bot to their profile and let it answer messages on their behalf, choosing which chats it can access (for example, leaving out chats with your contacts), in Settings > Chat Automation (Telegram). You need a bot built for this, and it replies in your name, so the cautions about AI replies below apply.

Auto-reply messages you can copy

A good auto-reply says when you’ll answer and what to do if it can’t wait. Examples, made up for this guide:

Situation	Auto-reply
In meetings	“In meetings until 5 and not checking my phone. I’ll reply this evening. If it’s urgent, call me.”
Driving	“Driving right now. I’ll text you when I’ve stopped.”
On holiday	“I’m away until Monday with patchy signal. I’ll reply when I’m back. For anything urgent, call.”
Focus time or studying	“Heads down until 3 pm. I’ll get back to you after that.”
Evening off	“My phone’s away for the night. I’ll reply in the morning.”
A small business (WhatsApp Business)	“Thanks for your message. We’re closed right now and reply within one working day. Our hours are 9 to 6, Monday to Friday.”

Keep it short, say when you’ll be back, and skip the apology: an auto-reply that explains too much reads as more absent than one that doesn’t.

Auto-replies vs AI that replies for you

A fixed away message says the same thing to everyone, so it can’t get anything wrong. An AI tool that writes and sends replies in your name can: it can agree to a plan you’d refuse, answer a serious message breezily, or reply to someone you’d rather not hear from. A slow reply costs less than a wrong one. If you try AI for replies, three checks help:

• Does it send on its own, or wait for you? Prefer tools where you read every reply first.
• What can it read, and where does that text go? Our guide to AI that replies to texts in your style compares the options and how each handles your messages.
• Not on dating apps. Tinder’s and Hinge’s terms restrict third-party AI tools that interact with the service, so automatic replies there put your account at risk. See is it against Tinder’s rules to use AI?

Tera Chat, our free Mac app for iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and Tinder, takes the draft-first approach. Its Autopilot is off until you turn it on for a platform or a single chat, and by default it writes replies ready to send: they wait in Pending drafts for you to edit, dismiss or send with one click. Sending automatically is a separate per-chat switch marked Beta, with a warning that Tinder’s and Hinge’s terms don’t allow third-party AI tools, and we don’t recommend turning it on. Autopilot isn’t available for iMessage, keeps quiet hours (10 pm to 8 am by default), has rate limits and an emergency stop, and runs on your ChatGPT account through Codex or any Tera Chat AI plan (in 5 chats on AI Plus, every chat on AI Pro and AI Max). Tera Chat needs a Mac with Apple silicon on macOS 15 or later. The details are in our Tera Chat Autopilot guide.

The short version

• iPhone, everyone: Driving Focus > Auto-Reply, switched on by hand from Control Center when you need it.
• iPhone, one person or a keyword: a Shortcuts automation with the Message trigger and Ask Before Running off.
• Mac: no auto-reply in Messages; set it up on the iPhone.
• WhatsApp: away messages only in the WhatsApp Business app; skip unofficial add-ons.
• Telegram: greeting and away messages with Telegram Business, free for Premium subscribers, or a bot connected through Chat Automation.
• AI: let it draft, and send the reply yourself.