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    Free auto reply email generator

    Write the “we got your message” reply your customers should get, in a friendly and a short version, with the steps to switch it on in Gmail or Outlook.

    Write my auto reply

    The ClearMakes Inbox team · Last updated 22 October 2026

    Does this happen in your inbox?

    • Customers write at night and hear nothing?
    • People email twice to ask if you got it?
    • You're away, and nobody knows when you're back?
    • Every reply you type sounds a bit different?

    One clear reply that goes out by itself.

    Fill in a few boxes below. You get the message, and the exact steps to switch it on in your email.

    Nobody waits in silence

    The reply says the message arrived and when they'll hear back.

    No second emails

    A real time, like “within one working day”, so they don't chase you.

    Your return date, clearly

    Out of office and holiday replies name the day you're back.

    The same words every time

    Write it once, set it up once, and every customer gets the same clear reply.

    Write your auto reply

    Pick the situation and fill in the boxes. The message and the set-up steps change as you type. Nothing you type leaves this page: it is kept only in this browser, so a reload doesn't lose it.

    What is the reply for?

    Left a box empty? The message shows a [gap in brackets] so you can fill it in later.

    Friendly version

    Subject: We got your message

    Hi,

Thanks for getting in touch. This is a quick note to say your message reached us, and a person will reply [when they'll hear back].

Thanks,
[your name or team]

    Short version

    Subject: We got your message

    Thanks, we got your message. We'll reply [when they'll hear back].

[your name or team]

    Switch it on

    Gmail: a template and a filter

    1. Open Gmail on a computer. Click Settings (the gear), See all settings, then Advanced. Next to Templates, choose Enable, then Save Changes.
    2. Click Compose and paste the message. Click More options (the three dots), Templates, Save draft as template, Save as new template, and give it a name.
    3. Click the search options button in the search box and say which emails get the reply, for example To: your support address.
    4. Click Create filter, tick Send template, choose your template, and click Create filter.

    A filter answers every matching email, every time, including people who write twice. Templates work in Gmail on a computer, not in the phone app.

    Want this done for you?

    An auto reply only says “we got it”. ClearMakes Inbox does the next part: posts the request to Slack or Teams, adds it to HubSpot, and answers the questions you get every day with your saved answer.

    Try Inbox free

    What is an auto reply email?

    An auto reply email is a message your mailbox sends by itself when an email arrives. It tells the sender their message got through, when they'll hear back, and what to do if it's urgent. Gmail and Outlook both have one built in: Gmail's vacation responder and template filters, and Outlook's automatic replies and rules.

    What a good auto reply says

    Say that the message arrived, when a person will reply, and what to do if it can't wait. Everything else is optional, and shorter is better.

    • It arrived. “Thanks, we got your message” stops people from sending it twice.
    • A real time. “Within one working day” or “by Monday 3 November”, not “as soon as possible”. Pick a time you can keep.
    • A way out for urgent things. A phone number or another address, if you have one.
    • One useful line. Ask for the order number, or link to your opening hours or prices.
    • Who it's from. A name or a team, so it doesn't read like a machine.

    Writing answers to the questions you get every day, not just “we got it”? The guide to auto-replying to common customer questions has 8 free templates.

    How to set up an auto reply in Gmail

    Gmail has two ways. The vacation responder is for being away between two dates; a template with a filter answers matching emails all the time.

    For being away: the vacation responder

    1. Open Gmail on a computer. Click Settings (the gear), then See all settings.
    2. On the General tab, scroll to Vacation responder and choose Vacation responder on.
    3. Set the First day, and the Last day if you know it. Paste the subject and the message.
    4. Optional: tick the box to send the reply only to people in your Contacts.
    5. Click Save Changes at the bottom.

    Gmail sends it once to each sender, and again if they write after four days. Emails in Spam and from mailing lists get no reply.

    For every request: a template and a filter

    1. Open Gmail on a computer. Click Settings (the gear), See all settings, then Advanced. Next to Templates, choose Enable, then Save Changes.
    2. Click Compose and paste the message. Click More options (the three dots), Templates, Save draft as template, Save as new template, and give it a name.
    3. Click the search options button in the search box and say which emails get the reply, for example To: your support address.
    4. Click Create filter, tick Send template, choose your template, and click Create filter.

    A filter answers every matching email, every time, including people who write twice. Templates work in Gmail on a computer, not in the phone app.

    How to set up automatic replies in Outlook

    Outlook's automatic replies work with Microsoft 365, Exchange and Outlook.com accounts. Set a time period for being away, or leave it on with no end date.

    For being away: automatic replies with a time period

    1. Outlook on the web or Outlook.com: click Settings (the gear), then Account, then Automatic replies. New Outlook for Windows: View, View settings, Accounts, Automatic replies. Classic Outlook: File, Automatic Replies.
    2. Turn on Automatic replies.
    3. Tick Send replies only during a time period and set the start and end, so it switches off by itself.
    4. Paste the message. Optional: Send replies only to contacts. Work accounts can set a separate reply for people outside the organization.
    5. Click Save (OK in classic Outlook).

    Built-in automatic replies work with Microsoft 365, Exchange and Outlook.com accounts. A Gmail or other IMAP account added to Outlook needs a rule instead, and Outlook must stay open for it to work.

    For every request: automatic replies left on, or a rule

    1. Outlook on the web or Outlook.com: click Settings (the gear), then Account, then Automatic replies. New Outlook for Windows: View, View settings, Accounts, Automatic replies.
    2. Turn on Automatic replies, and leave Send replies only during a time period unticked, so it stays on until you turn it off.
    3. Paste the message. Work accounts: put the same message in the reply for people outside your organization, because that's where customers are.
    4. Click Save.
    5. Classic Outlook for Windows, Microsoft 365 or Exchange account, to answer every email instead: File, Manage Rules & Alerts, New Rule, Apply rule on messages I receive, pick which emails, then have server reply using a specific message, write it, Save & Close, Finish.

    Work accounts send customers the reply for people outside your organization, which Microsoft says also answers newsletters and junk; Send replies only to contacts avoids that.

    After the auto reply: the next step

    An auto reply tells the customer you have their message. Someone still has to see it, pass it on and answer it.

    That is what ClearMakes Inbox does. It can post each new request to the right Slack channel or Teams channel, add the sender to HubSpot, and answer everyday questions with your saved answer (Smart FAQ). You describe each workflow in one sentence. The free plan has 3 apps, 2 new workflows and 100 runs a month.

    Questions people ask

    What should an auto reply email say?

    Four things: that the message arrived, when they'll hear back, what to do if it's urgent, and who it's from. Keep it short, give a real time (“within one working day”), and don't promise what you can't keep.

    Is this auto reply generator really free?

    Yes. There's no sign-up and no limit. It runs in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to us or anyone else. Copy or download the result and use it however you like.

    Can Gmail send an auto reply only outside working hours?

    No. Gmail's vacation responder works by dates, and a template filter replies all the time. Outlook's automatic replies take one start and end time, not a daily schedule. So most teams keep the reply on and write their hours in it.

    Will an auto reply answer the same person every time?

    It depends on the method. Gmail's vacation responder replies once, and again after four days. A Gmail template filter replies to every matching email. Outlook rules in classic Outlook reply to every email that matches the rule.

    Does an auto reply go to newsletters and spam?

    Gmail's vacation responder skips Spam and mailing lists. Outlook's reply for people outside your organization can reach newsletters and junk; Microsoft suggests sending it only to your contacts instead.

    Sources

    The steps were checked on 22 October 2026 against Google's and Microsoft's help pages: Gmail, set up an out of office reply, Gmail, message templates, Outlook, send automatic out of office replies. Menus move now and then; if a name doesn't match, those pages have the newest wording.

    Keep reading

    Got the reply? Now handle the request.

    ClearMakes Inbox posts it to Slack or Teams, adds it to HubSpot, and answers everyday questions.

    Try Inbox free

    Free plan: 3 apps, 2 new workflows and 100 runs a month.