Out-of-Office Message Generator
Set it once, log off properly.
An out-of-office message needs exactly three facts: that you're away, when you're back, and who to contact meanwhile. Everything else is tone, and tone is where most auto-replies go wrong — either over-apologizing (you're allowed to have a holiday) or over-sharing (nobody needs your itinerary). This generator front-loads the logistics, matches the voice you pick, and keeps the whole thing under eighty words so the sender gets their answer in one glance. Pick a tone, fill in two fields, and go pack.
What a good out-of-office actually needs
- Return date in the first line, not the third. The sender's only real question is “when will I hear back?” — answer it before anything else, including the greeting.
- Name a backup only for genuinely urgent paths. Routing every email to a colleague buries them; “for urgent invoice issues: maria@” routes the one thing that can't wait and nothing else.
- Skip the apology entirely. “Sorry for any inconvenience” frames your holiday as a malfunction. You're a person taking leave, not a server going down.
- Set the re-entry expectation honestly. “I'll reply the week I'm back” buys you a sane first day; promising same-day responses on your return guarantees you'll break your first promise of the trip.
- If you go funny, keep the joke to one line and the facts up top. Clients hitting the auto-reply at a stressful moment should get logistics first, personality second.
Example output
Dates / backup / tone: Aug 12-23, back Monday Aug 26. Urgent invoices: maria@company.com. Tone: warm and human.
Subject: Away until Aug 26 Hi — I'm out of office through Aug 23 and back Monday, Aug 26. I'll reply to your email that week. If it's about an invoice and can't wait, Maria has you covered: maria@company.com. Everything else will keep — thanks for your patience, and talk soon.
Frequently asked questions
- What should an out-of-office reply include?
- Return date, a backup contact for genuinely urgent things, and — optionally — a line of expectation-setting like “I'll reply the week I'm back.” Skip the apology; being away is not a malfunction that requires contrition.
- Is a funny out-of-office unprofessional?
- Depends on who emails you. If clients and strangers hit this inbox, keep the joke gentle and the facts up top. The “funny” option here front-loads the logistics and limits the humor to a single line for exactly that reason.
- Should I say where I'm going?
- No — it adds nothing the sender needs and broadcasts an empty house to strangers. “Out of office” is a complete thought; the beach doesn't need a credit.
- Why is this free — what's the catch?
- No catch and no signup. This tool is funded by EaseClaw, an AI agent that finds people publicly asking for what you sell and drafts your replies. If the free tool is useful, some people try the $9 trial. That's the whole business model.