An automatic reply method is disclosed, including: receiving a message from an interlocutor and determining a time when the messages are received as a starting time; by means of a pre-trained classifier, obtaining a type of the message; setting a reply time according a preset reply interval and the starting time; when the reply time is reached, invoking a reply message corresponding to the type, making a reply to the message from the interlocutor therefor. An automatic reply device having the same is further disclosed, with the automatic reply method and device to control automatic reply speed of the chatting application software, closer to the speed of artificial reply, and to improve authenticity of simulating the artificial reply and personification of the chatting application software.