If your business runs on WhatsApp in Mexico and customers write in both English and Spanish, here is what to set up and what to copy. Two of these go out on their own. The rest you send, and the ones you repeat you save as shortcuts. Swap the bracketed parts for your own details.
In short:
- The app sends the greeting and the away message for you. Everything else here, you send.
- WhatsApp's Help Centersays the greeting also goes out when someone writes again after 14 days of inactivity in that chat.
- Its setup steps describe a single greeting message you edit and save, so write that one for a reader in either language.
- Six templates, ready to paste, plus a short checklist before you switch anything on.
| Message | Who sends it | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting | The app | Also goes out after 14 days of inactivity in that chat |
| Away | The app | Replies to what arrives outside your business hours |
| Quick reply | You | A shortcut you pick, in a few taps |
Start with the two messages the app sends for you
The WhatsApp Business features pagedescribes the greeting as a custom welcome sent automatically to new customers who start a conversation, and away messages as an automatic reply to messages received outside your business hours. Those are the two you write once and leave running.
- Greeting:"Hi, thanks for messaging [your business]. This is an automatic reply, [someone will be with you shortly / we reply as soon as we open]. While you wait, here is what we do: [link to your catalog or site]."
- Away:"Thanks for writing. We read messages [Monday to Friday], [time] to [time], [time zone]. We'll reply when we're back."
Running one WhatsApp account in English and Spanish
The Help Center's steps describe one greeting message, plus a Recipients setting with four choices: everyone, everyone not in your address book, everyone except the people you pick, or only the people you pick. Plan around that.
- Write the greeting in the language most of your first messages arrive in, and keep the other language as a quick reply you send once you see how the customer writes.
- Keep a matching pair of quick replies for the questions you get most, one in each language.
- State your hours in local time and name the time zone, so nobody has to guess.
Quick replies for the questions that repeat
The features page describes quick replies as shortcuts, in just a few taps, for messages you send regularly. Two to start with:
- Price:"[Product or service] is $[price]. Want the full list, or a quote for your case?"
- Directions:"Here's the route on Google Maps: [link]. Message us if you get turned around on the way."
If your catalog is not inside WhatsApp yet, here is how to build one step by step.
The messages you still send by hand
Payment and account messages are ones you write and send when the moment comes. Save the ones you repeat as quick replies.
- Payment reminder:"Quick reminder: your payment for [item] is due [date]. Here's the payment link: [link]. Any questions, just ask."
- Account help:"Send us your customer number or the email you signed up with and we'll look it up. [We reply within 24 hours.]"
To tell several customers the same thing, the features page describes Business Broadcasts as private 1:1 messages sent to several people at once, and notes the feature is available to eligible users in select countries. For the whole billing flow, here is a guide to automated collections and the CFDI de pago.
What to check before you switch anything on
- Read your greeting out loud in both languages. If it sounds like a form, rewrite it.
- Put a real next step in every message: a link, a question or a time.
- Bracket anything you are promising, so you do not commit to a deadline you cannot keep.
- Decide what a person should answer instead. Here is a practical guide to what to leave to a person, and the step-by-step setupif you want the exact taps.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have one greeting in English and another in Spanish?
The Help Center's steps describe a single greeting message that you edit and save, with a Recipients setting to choose who receives it. Write that one in the language most of your first messages arrive in. Keep the second language as a quick reply you send once you see how the customer writes.
Does the greeting go out every time a customer writes?
No. The Help Center states a 14-day rule: greeting messages are only sent to customers who message you for the first time or after 14 days of inactivity, and a customer who wrote within the last 14 days will not receive one.
Can I send the same reminder to several customers at once?
The features page describes Business Broadcasts as private 1:1 messages sent to several people at once, with scheduling so they arrive when people are most likely to notice. That same page says the feature is available to eligible users in select countries, so check your own account before you plan around it.
What if a customer writes in a language I did not plan for?
Keep the greeting short and plain, so it reads fine either way. Add a quick reply that asks which language the customer prefers, and answer in that one from there. Write both versions before you need them, not while somebody is waiting.
If you want more than templates, an assistant that greets, replies, takes orders and flags payments while you get on with the day, book a free 30-minute call, in Spanish, with real people. You leave with a map of what a ready-made product solves, what has to be built and what is not worth it yet, not a locked-in quote.
Want your customers to get an answer even when nobody is at the phone? See how WhatsApp automation for your business works: what it includes, what it costs and how long it takes.
