How do I set up automatic replies while I'm on a job?
Short answer
Create an instant reply for inbound texts and chats that acknowledges the message, says when a human will respond, and offers a booking link. Vary it by business hours so daytime messages promise minutes and after-hours messages offer to book the first slot tomorrow.
Before you start
- Business hours defined in the platform.
- A booking link customers can use.
- A realistic response-time promise.
- Who handles escalations.
Step by step
- 1
Write a human acknowledgement
Thanks for reaching out, we are on a job and will reply shortly. Sound like a person, not a system.
Acknowledgement buys patience; silence spends it.
- 2
Promise a time you can keep
Within the hour during the day, first thing in the morning after hours. Never say immediately.
A broken promise is worse than no promise.
- 3
Include a self-service option
Add the booking link so an urgent customer can schedule without waiting for you.
Some customers would rather book than talk.
- 4
Vary by hours and holidays
Separate daytime, evening, weekend, and holiday versions driven by your business hours.
A daytime promise sent at midnight destroys trust.
- 5
Stop the auto-reply once a human replies
Make sure a person answering the thread cancels any further automated messages.
Nothing feels worse than a robot talking over your rep.
- 6
Escalate if no one responds
If the thread is untouched past your promise window, alert the owner and create a task.
The auto-reply is a promise; escalation is how you keep it.
What good looks like
- Every inbound message gets a response in seconds.
- Customers know when to expect a human.
- Urgent people can book themselves immediately.
- Broken promises trigger an alert instead of a bad review.
Common mistakes
The ways this goes wrong in communication, and what to do instead.
One auto-reply for all hours›
Promising a fast reply at 11pm sets you up to fail.
Do this instead: Branch the auto-reply on business hours and holidays.
Robotic wording›
Your message has been received reads as a wall, not a welcome.
Do this instead: Write it the way you would answer the phone, in one sentence.
No human follow-through›
An acknowledgement without a reply is just a slower way to lose the job.
Do this instead: Add an escalation task that fires when the promise window passes.
Frequently asked
5 questions about set up auto-repliesRelated guides
Pick the next thing to set up, or back up a step if something here assumed work you have not done yet.
Do this next
The natural follow-on tasks once this one is working.
More in Communication
Nearby tasks that share the same setup and vocabulary.
Was this guide helpful?
Tell us what worked and what didn't. It shapes what we rewrite next.
You didn't get into business to be in the tech business.
Managed Tech clients hand this to us. We build it, test it, maintain it, and add to it as the business changes, so nobody on your team has to become the person who knows how the system works.