Out-of-office auto-reply prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this before a vacation, a trade show, a family emergency or a holiday week, when one person's inbox is the business's inbox. The auto-reply has to tell people three things: when you're back, who can help now, and what to do if it can't wait. AI drafts tend to promise too much ("we'll respond within 24 hours") or too little ("I'll reply when I return"). This prompt uses your real coverage plan and keeps the reply short enough that people actually read it.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You write a short out-of-office auto-reply for [BUSINESS]. Context: Away from: [DATES AWAY]. Who covers what while I'm out: [COVERAGE]. For anything urgent: [URGENT OPTION]. When people will hear back after I return: [REPLY TIMING]. Promise nothing beyond these facts. Don't mention why I'm away unless I include it here. Task: Write the auto-reply. Thank them for writing, say when I'm away and back, who can help now and how, the urgent option, and when they'll get a reply. Format: Under 90 words. No subject line (the email tool adds one). Dates with the weekday. Plain, friendly, no exclamation marks. Sign with [SIGN OFF].
Fill in the blanks
[BUSINESS]- Your business name and what you do.
[DATES AWAY]- First and last day away, and the day you're back, with weekdays.
[COVERAGE]- Who handles what, with how to reach them: a coworker's email, the main line, the booking form. Write "nobody" if that's the truth.
[URGENT OPTION]- What a customer with a real problem should do, such as call the main line or the after-hours number.
[REPLY TIMING]- An honest promise, such as "within two business days of my return."
[SIGN OFF]- Your name and business name.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format. Summit Lawn Care is the made-up lawn company in Prompt Writing 101, run from Harrisburg, PA. In this made-up case, the owner is away at a trade show during the aeration season.
Role: You write a short out-of-office auto-reply for Summit Lawn Care, a small family-run lawn company in Harrisburg, PA. Context: Away from: Wednesday, October 7 through Friday, October 9, back Monday, October 12. Who covers what while I'm out: my brother Dave handles scheduled mowing and aeration visits, call or text the main line at (555) 013-4410. For anything urgent: call the main line. When people will hear back after I return: within two business days. Promise nothing beyond these facts. Don't mention why I'm away unless I include it here. Task: Write the auto-reply. Thank them for writing, say when I'm away and back, who can help now and how, the urgent option, and when they'll get a reply. Format: Under 90 words. No subject line (the email tool adds one). Dates with the weekday. Plain, friendly, no exclamation marks. Sign with Mike, Summit Lawn Care.
What a good answer looks like
- "I'm away Wednesday, Oct 7 through Friday, Oct 9, and back Monday, Oct 12."
- Dave named with the main line, and what he handles: scheduled mowing and aeration.
- The reply promise as given: within two business days of Monday.
- No trade show story, since the facts didn't include one.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Check every promise and date. "Dave can also give quotes" is new information; if he can't, delete it.
- Confirm the weekdays on a calendar before you turn it on.
- Send yourself a test email to see the reply as a customer would.
- Set a reminder to turn it off. An auto-reply that says you're away two weeks after you're back is worse than none.
Why this prompt works
Four short Context items do the work here, one per thing a reader needs, and "promise nothing beyond these facts" stops the most common add-ons. It's the four-part structure from Prompt Writing 101 in its smallest useful form.
Practice it in the free lesson
Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format: Ask ChatGPT for the same customer email twice, once vaguely and once with a four-part prompt, and see exactly why structure gets a better answer. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Reply Faster: Turn a Messy Customer Email Thread into a Clear, Friendly Reply
Terms used here
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