Auto-reply to Facebook and Instagram messages for your shop in Nepal
If your page answers the same questions all day, an assistant can answer them for you in seconds, in Nepali or English, and pass the chat to you when a person is needed. This guide covers your options, what Meta allows, what it costs to run, and what to prepare before you switch it on.
Updated
Signs you need it
- The same questions come in all day: the price, the delivery charge to a town, how to pay.
- Messages arrive at night, and by the time you reply in the morning the customer has bought elsewhere.
- Customers write in Nepali, English and Romanised Nepali ("yo kati ho?"), and simple keyword replies miss them.
- You lose track of who asked, who you promised a reply to, and who actually bought.
Your three options
Meta's free automated replies
In Meta Business Suite you can set an instant reply, an away message and answers to a few frequent questions. It is free and takes minutes. It only matches fixed questions, so a customer who writes "Pokhara ma delivery kati?" may not get the right answer.
A ready-made chatbot app
Menu and keyword bots for a monthly fee. They work when questions are predictable, and most are built for English first.
An assistant set up for your shop
It answers from your own price list, products and delivery rates, understands mixed Nepali and English, sends product photos and your payment QR, hands the chat to you, and keeps every lead in one place. It costs more to set up, so it pays off when you get many messages or each sale matters.
What Meta allows, so your page does not get blocked
- A business can reply freely within 24 hours of the customer's last message. Each new message from the customer restarts the 24 hours.
- After 24 hours, normal messages are not allowed. A person on your team can still reply by hand within 7 days, and a few update types are allowed, but never promotions.
- So a follow-up to a customer who went quiet has to go out inside the 24 hours. Our assistant sends one, about 20 hours after the customer stops replying.
- Promotions to people outside the window need Meta's paid or opt-in products, not the chat.
What it costs to run
Meta does not charge per message for Messenger and Instagram replies. The running costs are the AI that writes the replies (small for each conversation) and the hosting that keeps it online. We use paid hosting plans, because free plans stop under real customer traffic.
You pay a fixed price to set it up, agreed in writing before we start, and you see the running costs before you agree. Monthly care, where we keep it running and fix what breaks, is optional.
What to prepare before you switch it on
- Your price list, with the names customers actually use for each product.
- Delivery charges by town or area, and delivery times inside and outside the valley.
- How customers can pay: eSewa, Khalti, a bank QR, or cash on delivery.
- What the assistant must never do. Ours never confirms a payment: your team checks it, then the customer is told.
- Turn off Meta's own instant reply, or customers get two answers.
- Twenty real questions from your inbox to test it with before customers see it.
What we built for Divyanta
A Messenger and Instagram assistant for a herbal incense brand in Kathmandu. It replies in Nepali and English, quotes the delivery charge for about 584 towns, sends product photos and the payment QR, follows up once inside Meta's 24-hour window, and shows every lead in one dashboard. It is built and tested with the client's team, and goes live for every customer once Meta approves the app.
See what we automateQuestions owners ask
Will it reply in Nepali?
Yes. It replies in Nepali, English or the mix your customers write in. We tune it with your team until the replies sound like your shop.
Can it take the order as well?
Yes. It can ask whether the customer wants cash on delivery or to pay first, and record the order for your team. It never confirms a payment on its own.
Can I still reply myself?
Yes. You can read every chat and take any of them over at any time.
Do I need a website?
No. It works on your Facebook page and Instagram account.