A chatbot for your Page: what Meta gives you for free, no coding needed

“Chatbot” is a common search: small businesses want questions answered even at night. Much of that bot is already built into Meta’s tools. Everything here comes from Meta’s and WhatsApp’s help centers as of November 2026.

1 / 5Free automations in Meta Business Suite

1. 01
   Where

   Business Suite › Inbox › Automations › Create automation. Automations work for Facebook Pages, Instagram business accounts and WhatsApp Business — replying to both messages and post comments.

2. 02
   Ready-made templates

   Instant reply, away message (only during the hours you set), frequently asked questions (up to 5), location, contact info, hours — with an image, video or website button.

3. 03
   Custom keywords

   Up to 5 words or phrases per rule; only exact, case-sensitive matches count. The reply goes out after 15 minutes if you haven’t answered yourself. Keywords and “comment to message” can only be set up on desktop.

4. 04
   Which one wins

   If a template (say, an away message) and a keyword both trigger, the template is sent.

5. 05
   Instagram in the app

   Messages › Tools › Frequently asked questions — up to 4. If you don’t add your own, Instagram suggests four for business accounts, which you can turn off.

2 / 5Meta Business Agent: an AI bot

1. 06
   What it is

   Meta’s AI that replies to customers in Messenger and WhatsApp on a business’s behalf — real conversation instead of templates. It used to be called Business AI; the new name was announced in June 2026.

2. 07
   What it learns from

   Your catalog, description, address and hours; you can give it your website and documents too. It answers questions on prices, products, delivery and payment.

3. 08
   When it doesn’t know

   The agent only replies when it knows the answer; otherwise it brings you in. You can take over a chat any time, and customers can ask for a person. Meta itself warns that answers can be inaccurate.

4. 09
   In Georgia?

   Meta doesn’t publish a country list — it says the feature is available “in limited countries to select businesses.” Check Business Suite or Tools in the WhatsApp Business app to see if you have it. Georgian isn’t promised: not all languages are supported.

5. 10
   What it turns off

   Turning the agent on pauses greeting and away messages, and in WhatsApp also broadcasts, disappearing messages and linked devices.

3 / 5WhatsApp Business

1. 11
   The free app

   A greeting on the first message and after 14 days of silence; away messages always, on a schedule or outside business hours; up to 50 quick replies via “/”; a catalog with photos on your profile.

2. 12
   The API is paid

   Since July 2025, the WhatsApp Business Platform charges per delivered message, with prices by category and recipient country. 1,000 service messages a month are free.

3. 13
   24 hours

   Free-form messages can only go out as a reply, within 24 hours; to message someone first you need an approved template and their consent.

4. 14
   A path to a person

   WhatsApp’s rules require that, alongside automation, customers can reach a human: an agent, phone, email, website or form.

4 / 5Bot rules on Messenger and Instagram

1. 15
   The 24-hour window

   A bot can message a customer within 24 hours of their last action — up to 7 days after a click on a Click-to-Messenger ad. Promotional content is allowed inside that window.

2. 16
   Outside the window

   Only with the Human Agent tag — a manual reply within 7 days. Several older tags were retired on April 27, 2026.

3. 17
   From comment to DM

   You can send just one private reply to a comment, within 7 days.

4. 18
   Consent

   Meta’s rules say you may only message people with their consent and must stop as soon as they opt out. Automated bots must respond to any input, and on Instagram a path to a human is mandatory.

5 / 5Third-party bot services

1. 19
   How they connect

   A legitimate service connects to your Page through Facebook Login with specific permissions and passes Meta’s review — it never asks for your password.

2. 20
   Minimum access

   To handle messages, task access to Messages on the Page is enough — full admin isn’t needed.

3. 21
   How to remove one

   Settings & privacy › Your activity › Business integrations › Remove. Note that data it already received may stay with the service.

✓The bottom line

Most of a Page bot is already free in Business Suite: instant reply, away message, FAQs, keywords and “comment to message.” Meta Business Agent handles real conversations, but its country list isn’t public — check whether you have it. A bot works within the 24-hour window, with consent and always with a path to a person. Never give an unfamiliar service your password.

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