Overview

Amazon now offers sellers the ability to configure automated responses within the Seller Messaging Assistant (SMA), a feature designed to handle common buyer questions without requiring manual intervention. By setting up auto-responses, sellers can instantly address routine inquiries about products, shipping, returns, and more — freeing up time to focus on customer service cases that genuinely need personal attention.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Automated buyer communication — Auto-responses are displayed to buyers through SMA when they ask questions about your products, providing immediate answers without you needing to manually reply each time.
• Customizable by ASIN — Each auto-response can be linked to up to 10 ASINs, allowing you to tailor answers to specific products in your catalog.
• Topic-based organization — Responses can be categorized by topic such as Q&A, shipping, returns, warranty, pricing, and other common inquiry areas.
• Performance tracking — Amazon provides metrics showing how often your auto-responses are displayed to buyers and what percentage of buyers found them helpful.
• Pre-order and post-order targeting — You can configure whether a response appears for pre-order questions, post-order questions, or both, giving you precise control over when buyers see your automated answers.

How to Access and Create Auto-Responses

To get started, navigate to your Buyer-Seller Messaging (BSM) inbox within Seller Central and look for the auto-response option in the top-right area of the page. This will bring you to the auto-response dashboard where you can view any existing configurations or build new ones. To create a new response, click the "Add new response" button and select the ASINs the response should apply to. You'll assign a name to the configuration for your own reference — buyers will not see this label. Next, choose a relevant topic from the available options and specify whether the response should appear for pre-order inquiries, post-order inquiries, or all questions.

Writing Effective Auto-Responses

When composing your automated response, Amazon recommends using short paragraphs and placing the most important information at the top. Clarity and scannability are key — buyers are looking for quick answers, not lengthy explanations. Focus on directly addressing the question the buyer is likely asking, whether it relates to product specifications, return policies, warranty details, or shipping timelines. A well-crafted auto-response should feel like a helpful FAQ entry rather than a generic corporate statement. Once you're satisfied with the content, save and activate the response to make it live.