Quick Replies
Quick replies are instant canned answers. When a customer's message contains a keyword you chose, ChatGenius sends your set reply right away and skips the AI. They are perfect for the questions you answer over and over, like hours, location, or pricing.
Overview
A quick reply is a saved response tied to one or more triggers. When an incoming message matches, the reply fires instantly, with no AI processing and no delay. You manage them under Quick Replies in your portal.
Quick replies work across every channel you have connected (Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, and SMS), though some extras like media and buttons vary by channel, noted below. Your plan sets how many you can have; the count shows next to the title, and the Free plan includes a limited number with paid plans raising it.
Use quick replies for predictable, repeating questions, and let the AI assistant handle everything else. They work together: anything that does not match a quick reply falls through to the AI.
Creating a Quick Reply
Click Create Quick Reply (or the add button) to open the builder. Start with the basics:
- Title: for your own reference, for example "Opening hours".
- Category: group replies as General, Support, Sales, FAQ, Greetings, Follow-up, or Automation. Categories are just for organizing and filtering your list.
Keyword or Event
A quick reply can fire two ways. Choose a Trigger Mode:
- Keyword Match: enter comma-separated words or phrases (for example help, support, question). Partial matches count, so "hours" matches "what are your hours?". You can also turn on Send only once per customer so the same person never gets it twice.
- Event Trigger: fire on an action instead of a keyword. Useful for auto-acknowledging shared media or attachments.
| Event | Fires when |
|---|---|
| Instagram Reel Shared | Someone shares one of your reels in a DM. |
| Instagram Post Shared | Someone shares one of your posts in a DM. |
| Collab Invite & Other Unrecognized Media | A collab invite or unsupported attachment arrives. |
| Image Received | A customer sends a photo (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp). |
| Voice Note / Audio Received | A customer sends a voice note or audio. |
| Video Received | A customer sends a video. |
| Document / File Received | A customer sends a document or file. |
Message Variations
Write up to 5 message variations. ChatGenius picks one at random each time the reply fires, so repeat triggers do not sound robotic. Use {name} or {username} to personalize. A Preview button shows how the message will look. At least one message is required.
Media
You can optionally attach an image or video (JPG/PNG up to 5MB, MP4/MOV up to 25MB). It sends before the message text. Channel support varies:
- Facebook & Instagram: image and video both supported.
- WhatsApp: image supported, video skipped.
- Telegram & SMS: text only.
Buttons
Add up to 3 buttons, 20 characters each. There are two kinds:
- Action buttons send their payload text back as a message, which the AI then processes, so a tap can continue the conversation.
- URL buttons open a link.
Channel notes: on SMS, buttons are not supported and URL links are included as text. On WhatsApp, action buttons appear as reply buttons, and URL buttons appear as text links if mixed with action buttons.
Conversation Tags
Conversations a quick reply touches are tagged so you can find them in your inbox. On Free and Creator plans this is the auto-managed Quick Reply tag. On Professional and up, you can assign one of your own custom tags instead.
Managing & Organizing
On the Quick Replies page you can:
- Search by title, message, keyword, or category, and filter by category using the pills.
- Toggle a reply on or off. Active and inactive replies are grouped separately.
- Edit or Delete any reply.
- See metrics at the top: Total Uses, Active Replies, Categories, and Average Uses. Each reply also shows its own usage count, so you can tell which ones are pulling weight.
Quick Replies vs the AI
When a message comes in, ChatGenius checks your active quick replies first. If a keyword matches, the quick reply is sent immediately and the AI does not run for that message. If nothing matches, the message goes to your AI assistant as normal.
That makes quick replies ideal for two things: instant, exact answers to common questions (no waiting on the AI), and guaranteed wording where you want the exact same response every time, such as a policy, a price, or a link.
Because a matching quick reply takes priority, keep keywords specific. Very broad keywords can catch messages you would rather the AI handle.
Convert to Flow
A quick reply is a single response. When you want it to become a multi-step conversation, with branching, questions, or buttons that lead somewhere, use Convert to Flow on the reply.
Converting creates a draft flow seeded from the quick reply and opens it in the Visual Flow Builder, where you can keep building. Two things to know:
- The original quick reply is deactivated automatically, so the two do not both fire and conflict.
- A flow message holds a single message, so if your quick reply has multiple variations, only the first is carried over. You will see a warning before converting.
For everything flows can do from there, see the Visual Flow Builder guide.
Troubleshooting
My quick reply is not firing
Check that it is active, that the incoming message actually contains one of your keywords, and that you are testing from a different account. If you turned on "Send only once per customer", it will not fire again for someone who already received it.
The AI answered instead of my quick reply
The message did not match any keyword. Add the exact words customers use, remembering that partial matches count, then test again.
My quick reply is catching too many messages
A keyword is too broad. Make it more specific so only the messages you intend trigger the reply and the rest go to the AI.
Buttons or video did not show up
Support varies by channel. SMS does not show buttons (links appear as text), and WhatsApp skips video. See Media and Buttons above.
FAQ
How is a quick reply different from a comment trigger?
A quick reply answers a DM that contains a keyword. A comment trigger fires when someone comments on your post. Use quick replies for inbox FAQs and comment triggers to turn post engagement into DMs.
Do quick replies use my message quota?
They send a message like any other reply, so each one counts toward your monthly conversation usage.
Can one quick reply have several trigger words?
Yes. Add as many comma-separated keywords as you like; any one of them fires the reply.
Will the same person get the reply every time they use the keyword?
By default yes. Turn on "Send only once per customer" to limit it to one send per person.
Can I send an image with a quick reply?
Yes, on Facebook and Instagram (image or video) and WhatsApp (image only). Telegram and SMS receive the text.
Next Steps
- New to automations? Start with Your First Automation.
- Turn comments into DMs with Comment Triggers & Rewind.
- Build multi-step conversations in the Visual Flow Builder.
- Browse every guide in the documentation hub.