Default reply trigger

You have built your automations, split your words between them and written a welcome flow — and yet some messages still match nothing and go unanswered. The Default reply trigger fills exactly that gap: it runs when its turn comes, that is, when no other automation has answered. This guide covers building it, its frequency cap and how it differs from Any message.

⚠️ Note: if your account already has an Any message trigger, default reply almost never gets a turn, because that trigger already catches every idle message. Keeping both on one account gains you nothing; pick one.

In this article you will find:

• What it does
• How it differs from Any message
• Building the trigger
• Fields and buttons
• The frequency cap
• Limits and known issues
• Common mistakes and how to fix them

What it does

Default reply is the last route the engine tries. For an incoming message it tries buttons, then explicit triggers, then a session waiting for a reply, then Any message; if all of those come up empty, default reply steps in.

In practice it does two jobs. The first is not leaving the customer unanswered: it sends a nudge such as "write one of these so I can help you". The second is measurement — if default reply runs often, your keyword list has holes. Read this flow's sessions on the Logs tab to see what people actually write, then add the missing words to your lists.

How it differs from Any message

Both ignore the text and both run only while the person is idle. The difference is where they sit in the order, and their frequency caps.

• Any message runs on every idle message the person sends and has no cap of its own; you cap it with the automation's re-entry rule.
• Default reply runs only when no Any message trigger exists, or when that flow could not start because of its re-entry rule. On top of that it goes to the same person no more than once every 24 hours by default; that limit lives inside the trigger itself, independent of the automation settings.

The decision is easy: to greet the customer on every message use Any message; to say one last thing only when nothing matched, use default reply.

Building the trigger

Let us build a final safety net for a gym.

1. Open an empty flow with New automation from the Automations list.
2. Give the automation a clear name, for example "Last resort — nudge". That name makes your life easier when you search the logs.
3. On the Flow tab, click the When… box on the canvas.
4. Press Add trigger in the panel on the side.
5. Pick Default reply from the list.
6. If your account has more than one channel connected, pick the account from the Channel list or leave it on All channels.
7. Connect the start box's Next output to a Message step.
8. Write something like: "I did not quite catch that. Write Membership, Class schedule or Address and I will send the details." You can add the same three as buttons.
9. If you like, add an Action step after the message and assign the conversation to an agent, so a human knows about it too.
10. Press Publish at the top right. Your automation is now running.

Fields and buttons

The trigger card holds two items.

Channel — Which account the trigger runs on. It appears only when more than one channel is connected. Left on All channels it runs on every connected channel.

Remove — The cross at the top right of the card deletes the trigger.

The note under the card sums the behaviour up: "Runs when no other automation does; limited per person." There are no keyword, match mode or post selection fields here.

The frequency cap

Default reply is the one trigger that carries a frequency cap of its own. It goes to the same person once every 24 hours by default. If a customer writes ten messages you cannot interpret within that period, only the first gets an answer; the rest pass silently.

The rule is deliberate. Without it, the same "I did not understand" reply would go out after every unparsed message and the customer would feel like they were talking to a wall. It also protects your conversation-quality standing with Meta.

The cap has two consequences:

• If you get no answer to your second test message, that is not a fault. Use the simulator on the Test tab for further tries; the live-channel counter does not apply there.
• The Can the same person enter again? setting on the Settings tab is added to this cap, it does not replace it. Even on Every time the 24-hour rule still applies.

Limits and known issues

• It goes to the same person once every 24 hours by default.
• Added twice to one flow, the pre-publish check warns "Default reply is added twice."; the second one has no effect at all.
• If several automations hold a default reply trigger, only one runs. Their scores are equal, so the one created first wins and the other never appears.
• Comments never reach it. Comments on posts, reels and live videos need the post comment trigger.
• Story mentions do not reach it either; that event does not fall back to a message.
• It does not run while the person has a session waiting for a reply or sitting in a wait step.
• If the conversation has been handed to an agent, no trigger runs.
• The trigger only runs while the automation is Live.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

• Building it alongside Any message. With both on one account, default reply almost never gets a turn. Decide which one you want and switch the other off.
• Using it as a welcome message. Default reply is not a greeting: because of the 24-hour cap it stays silent on a new customer's second visit. Use the Any message trigger for greetings.
• Sending a long menu. This flow runs precisely when something was not understood; a ten-item list will not be read. Three options and a route to a human are enough.
• Never reading the logs. This flow's sessions are a list of the holes in your keyword lists. Read the Logs tab once a month and move the recurring words into your real flows.
• Looking in the wrong automation. When a customer did not get the expected answer, first check whether this flow ran: if the Trigger column on the Logs tab says "Default reply", the message matched none of your words.

If the flow still never runs, see the automation never starts guide or get in touch with our Support team.

Related articles

• Any message trigger
• Keyword trigger
• How triggers work
• Automation settings
• The automation answers the wrong person