Decide exactly which conversations Bob is allowed to jump into — from replying to everyone, to only specific tagged chats, plus two independent safety nets that work no matter which mode you pick.
Four Reply Modes — pick one per agent
Set under WhatsApp → Reply Mode. This is the main dial for how broadly Bob can auto-reply.
All Chats
Reply to every incoming message. The default — best for full 24/7 coverage.
New Only
Reply only to the first message from a brand-new contact. Existing/returning contacts are left to your team.
Keyword Triggers
Bob stays silent on a chat until the customer sends one of your configured keywords (e.g. "HI") — that activates AI replies for that conversation going forward.
Tagged Chats
Bob only replies to chats carrying one of your configured tags. If you turn this on without adding any tags, Bob replies to nobody rather than everybody — it fails safe.
In your WhatsApp settings, under Reply Mode, choose one of the four modes above. This is the main switch that decides how broadly Bob is allowed to take over conversations.
Go to Tags in your agent sidebar to create custom, colored tags. Apply them to individual chats from your WhatsApp inbox — tags aren't just for auto-reply, they're also used to organize your inbox.
If you're using Tagged Chats mode, add the specific tags that should activate Bob under the Targeting section — e.g. tag new leads "AI OK" and only those chats get an automatic reply.
Excluded Tags are independent of whichever Reply Mode you picked — a chat with an excluded tag never gets an AI reply, even in All Chats mode. Use this to keep specific conversations 100% human (VIP customers, active disputes) without switching your whole agent out of full coverage.
There's one tag that always works, in every mode, with zero configuration: tag any chat "stop ai" and Bob will not reply to it. It's a hardcoded safety net — use it any time you need to be absolutely sure Bob won't jump into a conversation.
This is the fastest way to pull Bob out of a specific conversation — faster than changing your agent's Reply Mode, which affects every chat.
Order of operations: Excluded Tags and the "stop ai" tag are checked before your Reply Mode logic — so they always win. A chat can be in "All Chats" mode and still never get an AI reply if it's tagged "stop ai" or one of your excluded tags.
What's the difference between Excluded Tags and the "stop ai" tag?
Excluded Tags are a list you configure yourself (any tag name you choose). "stop ai" is a fixed, built-in tag name that always blocks AI replies with no setup — think of it as the emergency brake, and Excluded Tags as your own custom rules.
Can I use Tagged Chats mode without setting up any tags?
You can turn the mode on, but Bob will reply to nobody until you add at least one included tag — this is intentional, so you don't accidentally expose every chat to AI replies by forgetting to configure tags.
If I use Keyword Triggers, does the customer need to send the keyword every time?
No — once a chat is activated by a matching keyword, it stays active for that conversation going forward.
Do tags do anything besides controlling auto-reply?
Yes — tags are also how you organize and filter your WhatsApp inbox generally, independent of whether auto-reply is involved.