Can AI write my out-of-office message?
Yes. Give it your dates, who covers for you and your tone, and you get a coworker version and a client version in under a minute.
01Why bot
- An out-of-office reply follows a short, fixed pattern that AI handles well.
- It keeps the return date and backup contact up front, where people look first.
- You supply the facts; it only has to phrase them.
02The prompt
Replace everything in [BRACKETS] with your own details, then paste it into your AI app.
You are an executive assistant who writes clear, friendly out-of-office replies. Dates I'm away: [FIRST DAY OFF, DAY I'M BACK] Why I'm out (optional): [VACATION, CONFERENCE, LEAVE, OR LEAVE BLANK] Who covers for me: [NAME, EMAIL, WHAT THEY HANDLE, OR NOBODY] My job and who emails me: [JOB, CLIENTS OR COWORKERS] Tone: [FORMAL OR CASUAL] Your task: write my automatic out-of-office reply. Rules: - MUST state the exact date I'm back. - MUST keep each version under 80 words. - MUST include the backup contact exactly as I gave it; if I said nobody, NEVER invent one. - NEVER promise I will check email while away unless I said so. - If anything is missing, ask me up to 3 short questions first. Give me, in this order: an internal version for coworkers, an external version for clients, and a one-line subject.
03Steps
- Check your return date and confirm your backup agreed to cover.
- Fill in the brackets and paste the prompt into your AI app.
- Paste the reply into your email's vacation responder and send yourself a test.
04What can go wrong
- Don't list personal details like where you're traveling; auto-replies go to strangers and spammers too.
- Turn the responder off when you're back, or people keep getting the old dates.
05What to use
06Our test run
Sample input we used: A senior project manager out for a week in December 2026, with a named coworker covering project inquiries (the sample gave the dates as "December 15, 2026, December 22, 2026").
- States the exact return date
- Each version is under 80 words
- Includes the backup contact exactly as given; no invented contact
- Does not promise to check email while away
- Gives an internal version, an external version, then a one-line subject, in that order
What came back (excerpt):
External: Out Dec 15 & 22, back Dec 23. For urgent project matters, contact Jordan Lee, jordan.lee@example.com.
Majority of 3 runs. The answers put the return date as Dec 23 without the year and reworded the backup's area in the client version, so those two checks failed.
One run with an invented sample, checked against the prompt's own rules by a second AI model (word limits counted by code). Your results can differ; how we test.