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Free tool

Out of office message generator

Write an out-of-office email, an after-hours chat reply, a holiday notice or an away message for WhatsApp and Instagram. Pick the kind, add when you will be back, and get three versions to copy.

ResultExample

Version 1

Subject: Out of office until Monday, March 9 Hi, thanks for your email. I am out of the office and back on Monday, March 9, and I will reply then. If it is urgent, Amira Haddad can help at amira@northwind.example. You can track an order any time at northwind.example/track. Daniel Okafor, Northwind Supplies

Version 2

Subject: Back on Monday, March 9 Thank you for your message. I am away until Monday, March 9 and not checking email. For urgent matters, please contact Amira Haddad at amira@northwind.example. Order tracking is at northwind.example/track. Daniel

Version 3

Subject: Away until March 9 Thanks, your email arrived. I am back on Monday, March 9. Urgent? Contact amira@northwind.example. Track orders at northwind.example/track.

Written by AI. Read it before you send it.

What to write in an out of office message

An out of office message is an automatic reply that tells people their message arrived, when you will reply, and who to contact if it cannot wait. Keep it to three or four short sentences: the date you are back, one urgent contact, and where to find answers in the meantime. Leave out why you are away, and never promise a reply time you cannot keep.

Pick the kindOut of office for email, after hours for website chat or a phone line, holiday for a closure, away for WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook.
Say when you will replyType a date or a time, such as "Monday, March 9" or "9 a.m. tomorrow". Leave it empty and the reply gets a [back on date] slot to fill.
Add an urgent contact and any self-serviceA colleague, a support address or a help page. Only what you type goes in; nothing is made up.
Choose a tone and copy a versionYou get three versions. Fill any [square-bracket] slots, read it once, and paste it into your email, chat or WhatsApp settings.

What every auto-reply needs

Whatever the channel, a good automatic reply does the same four jobs. Anything more is usually noise.

Confirms the message arrived, so nobody sends it twice.
Says when a person will reply: a date, a time, or "next business day".
Gives one route for urgent matters, if there is one.
Points to self-service that answers common questions: order tracking, a help page, booking online.

Kind	Where it goes	Length	Must include
Out of office	Email auto-responder for a person or a team	Three to five sentences, with a subject line	Return date, urgent contact
After hours	Website chat, contact form, phone line	Two to four sentences	Opening hours, when you reply
Holiday	Email and chat, during a planned closure	Three to five sentences	Closed dates, reopening date, order or delivery notes
Away	WhatsApp Business, Instagram, Facebook	Under 60 words	When you reply, one link at most

Out of office message examples

Copy one, then replace the [square-bracket] slots with your own details.

Standard out of office email

Subject: Out of office until [return date]

Thank you for your email. I am out of the office and back on [return date], and I will reply then. For anything urgent, please contact [colleague name] at [colleague email].

Short and professional

Subject: Away until [return date]

Thanks for your message. I am away with limited access to email until [return date]. I will reply when I am back.

Team or shared inbox

Subject: We received your message

Thanks for writing to [team name]. Our team is out until [return date], and we will answer messages in the order they arrived. You can track an order at [order tracking link]. For an urgent issue, email [urgent email] with "URGENT" in the subject.

Travel or a conference

Subject: Traveling until [return date]

Thank you for your email. I am traveling for work until [return date] and checking messages only once a day. If your request is time-sensitive, [colleague name] ([colleague email]) can help.

Extended leave

Subject: On leave until [return date]

Thank you for your message. I am on leave until [return date] and will not see email before then. Your message will not be forwarded. Please contact [colleague name] at [colleague email], who is handling my work while I am away.

You do not need to say why you are on leave.

After hours message examples

An after-hours message is what a customer sees when they reach you outside opening hours: in a website chat, through a contact form or on the phone.

Website chat, outside opening hours

Thanks for your message. Our team is offline right now and back at [opening time] on [next business day]. Leave your email and your question here, and we will reply first thing.

Contact form confirmation

We have your message. Our hours are [days and hours], and we reply within one business day. If you need [common task], you can do it now at [self-service link].

Phone line, after hours

You have reached [business name]. We are closed now. Our hours are [days and hours]. Please leave your name, number and a short message, and we will call you back on the next business day. For [urgent situation], call [urgent number].

Holiday auto-reply examples

A holiday auto-reply covers a planned closure. Customers mostly want three facts: when you close, when you reopen, and what happens to their orders.

Holiday closure email

Subject: Closed [first closed date] to [last closed date]

Thank you for your email. [Business name] is closed for the holidays from [first closed date] to [last closed date]. We reopen on [reopening date] and will reply to every message then. Orders placed during the closure ship from [shipping date].

Holiday notice for website chat

We are closed for [holiday name] until [reopening date]. You can still place orders and find answers in our help center at [help link]. Leave a message and we will reply when we are back.

One-day public holiday

Subject: Closed today for [holiday name]

Thanks for getting in touch. Our office is closed today, [date], for [holiday name]. We will be back on [next business day] and will reply then.

Away message examples for WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook

Messaging apps feel like a conversation, so away messages there are shorter and warmer than email. No subject line, and under 60 words.

WhatsApp Business away message

Hi, thanks for your message. We are away right now and will reply by [time] on [day]. To book, use [booking link].

Instagram or Facebook away message

Thanks for reaching out. We reply to messages between [opening time] and [closing time], [days]. We will get back to you then.

Away with an urgent option

Thanks for your message. We are closed until [opening time] tomorrow. If your [order or booking] is today and something is wrong, call [urgent number].

Which kind to use, by channel

Email

Out of office for a person or a team.
Holiday for planned closures.
Always a clear subject line.
One urgent contact, not a list.

Website chat

After hours, shown when nobody is online.
Ask for an email so you can reply later.
Link to answers people can use now.
An AI agent can answer the question itself.

WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook

Away message, under 60 words.
Say when you reply, in hours or a day.
At most one link.
Set it up in the app's own business tools.

Common mistakes

No return date. "I am out of the office" alone leaves people guessing when to expect a reply.
A promise you cannot keep, such as "we reply within an hour" on a weekend.
Too much personal detail. Where you are and why is not needed.
Several urgent contacts. Give one person or address, or people will email them all.
Forgetting to switch it off. Set an end date when your email or app lets you.
Jokes in a business reply. They rarely read well to an upset customer.

After hours, an AI agent can answer instead of saying you are closed

An auto-reply only tells people to wait. Many after-hours questions do not need a person at all: opening times, prices on your pages, delivery, returns, how to book.

A LuckPanda support agent answers those questions on your website at any hour, from your own pages and documents. You set your business hours. Outside them the agent still answers. When a question needs a person, it says a person will reply when the team is back, asks for an email, and the chat waits for your team in the morning.

A website chat at 11:40 p.m., outside opening hours

Do you deliver on Saturdays?

Yes. Saturday delivery is available for orders placed by 2 p.m. on Friday, as our delivery page says. Would you like the link to place an order?

My last order arrived damaged though.

Sorry about that. A person on our team handles damaged orders. We open at 9 a.m. tomorrow. If you leave your email and order number, they will reply first thing.

Handed to the team: a person will reply when the team is back

Answer customers after hours, not just tell them to wait

Build a support agent from your website and test it free before it goes live.

See the AI customer service agent

Questions people ask

What should I say in an out of office message?

Say that the message arrived, the date you are back, and who to contact if it is urgent. Add a link to self-service if it answers common questions. Three or four short sentences is enough.

How do I write a professional out of office message?

Use a clear subject line such as "Out of office until [date]", keep it short, give one named contact for urgent matters, and leave out personal details about why you are away.

What is an after hours message?

It is the automatic reply a customer gets when they contact a business outside opening hours, in a website chat, a contact form or on the phone. It gives the hours and says when someone will reply.

How long should a WhatsApp away message be?

Short: one to three sentences, under 60 words. Say when you will reply and, at most, add one link where people can book or find answers.

Can an automatic reply answer customer questions?

A fixed auto-reply cannot; it says the same thing to everyone. An AI agent on your website can answer questions from your own pages at any hour and leave the rest for your team.

Keep reading

For AI agents

Build it with your AI agent

Give an agent your site and it can create the chatbot, read your pages and test it through LuckPanda's API and MCP. It prepares the work; going live stays with you.

Use LuckPanda's MCP server (https://luckpanda.app/mcp) to build a website chatbot for me. Ask for my website address, call chatbot_create_from_website with it, wait until the pages are learned (chatbot_source_list), then run a few test questions with chatbot_test_message and show me the answers. Do not put it live: I will do that myself.

Instructions for AI agents

Needs a LuckPanda agent key (Settings › Developers) with the chatbot.manage grant. MCP endpoint: https://luckpanda.app/mcp (Streamable HTTP, bearer key).

chatbot_create_from_website { url }: creates a draft chatbot named after the site and starts reading it.
chatbot_source_list: pages learned, failed or skipped, with a reason for each.
chatbot_test_message: asks the bot a question as the owner. Test chats never email anyone.
Going live (chatbot_update with status live) is a person's action; an agent gets APPROVAL_REQUIRED.

Try it on your website

Paste your address and watch the chatbot learn your pages. No account and no card.

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