Advisor, Secretary or Auto-Reply — which should I use?
Updated 20 October 2026
The Short Answer
Pick Advisor if you want questions answered while you are busy. Pick Secretary if it should answer only from what you have published and pass the rest to you. Pick Auto-Reply if you want it to say one preset thing and nothing else. Secretary is the default.
The three modes are a single choice: how much should your bot say when you are not there?
What is the difference between the three?
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Advisor | Answers any property related question |
| Secretary | Answers from your listings, track record, page and documents; passes everything else to you |
| Auto-Reply | Replies with what you have preset |
They run from most talkative to least. Secretary is the default.
When is Advisor right?
When a client asking "what did the last unit go for?" at 10pm is better served by an answer than by silence.
It answers property questions and refuses what it should refuse. Use it if you are often mid-viewing and slow to reply.
When is Secretary right?
When you would rather do the talking, but not at the cost of losing someone who wrote at midnight.
It answers from what you have published (your listings, track record, page, FAQs and documents) and takes down what they want and how to reach them. Anything else, such as what a home is worth, is passed to you with a promise that you will reply today. Nobody gets a figure or a view you did not publish.
When is Auto-Reply right?
When you want exactly one thing said and nothing else — an out-of-office, a launch notice, a "call me on this number".
It replies with what you have preset. It does not improvise, so it never says something you have not read first.
Can different clients get different modes?
Yes. In Extensions → Reply Assistants the list is a row per who, each with its own mode: Everyone and New Leads are always there, and New Assistant adds one for a group or for one client.
So Past Clients can get Advisor while everyone else gets Secretary. A person's own row comes first, then their group, then New Leads, then Everyone.
Each mode keeps its own welcome, skills and files, set in ⋯ → Configure Assistants. See Choose who your assistant answers.
What if I want none of them?
Turn answering off. It is not a fourth mode in this list — it is a Turn Off switch.
- On a row in Extensions → Reply Assistants, it silences your assistant for the people that row covers. Its switch goes off and its mode pill turns grey; your assistant leaves those people to you.
- On the WhatsApp line itself, it stops your assistant answering on that number for everyone.
See How do I turn my bot off?