Auto-reply to texts, WhatsApp and Telegram, only for the people who matter

Describe who should get an answer in one sentence, and OLL.E replies to them with text you approved or a short reply that fits, and can phone you for the urgent ones. On Android it sends the reply for you; on iPhone it is a draft you send with one tap.

Tell OLL.E which people should get an answer, and on Android it replies to their texts, WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, Slack and Fiverr messages, and to nobody else. You describe them, or the kind of message, in one sentence. It reads what the message means, so "a client asking when the files are ready" gets your reply and the family group gets nothing.

iPhone first, because it changes what you get. iOS doesn't let any app reply inside another app, so on iPhone our replies arrive as drafts you send with one tap, and watching other apps' messages needs the OLL.E PinG keyring. On Android the reply goes out for you.

How does the auto-reply work?

You write a watch. A watch is a sentence about what you're waiting for, and the auto-reply is an action you attach to it.

1. Install OLL.E. On Android, give it notification access; on iPhone, pair the PinG keyring, which relays your notifications to OLL.E.
2. Tap Monitor Now and type who should get a reply: "clients on WhatsApp after 7pm", "my partner Dan on Telegram", "anyone texting to ask if something is in stock".
3. Attach the reply. Paste text you approve once, or let OLL.E write a short reply that fits each message. Add a phone call or an alarm for the ones that can't wait.

On Android the reply is sent through the notification's own reply action, the same box you use from the lock screen, so it shows up in the chat as if you typed it. You don't need WhatsApp Business or a second number.

Which kind of reply to pick depends on how much control you want over the words. Approved text is the safe choice: you write it once, you know exactly what every client will read, and it never says anything you didn't mean. A reply written to fit the message is warmer. If a client asks "are the banner files ready?", it can answer about the banner files and say when you'll be back, instead of a line that ignores the question. You can mix the two in different watches, approved text for new leads and fitted replies for clients you already know.

Most text message auto responder apps work on that same notification trick, then match a keyword. A keyword rule for "price" fires on a spam text about prices and misses "how much for the logo?". OLL.E matches on meaning, so both of those come out right.

Who sets up an auto reply text message on Android, and why

A freelance designer has six clients on WhatsApp and a phone that also carries her sister, her landlord and two school groups. Her watch says: when a client asks about a deadline or the files, reply that she's on it and will send an update by 5. Nobody else hears from the bot. When a client writes "urgent" or "the launch is tomorrow", the same watch sounds an alarm, because a holding reply is not enough for that one.

Telegram is louder. A trader sits in four signal groups that post every few minutes, and his business partner messages him in the middle of that noise. He wants the partner to know he's seen it, without answering a single group post. So the watch replies "Seen, give me ten minutes" to the partner only, and calls him if the partner says to close a position.

A shop owner gets texts at 11pm asking whether a jacket comes in medium.

OLL.E doesn't know her stock, and we won't pretend it does. What it can do is answer the question it was asked: "Thanks for asking about the jacket. We're closed now, I'll check sizes when we open at 9 and text you back." Customers asking about returns get a different reply. Her supplier gets none, just a note on the silent Shortlist for the morning.

An agency in Dhaka has clients in New York and Berlin who write on Slack and Telegram while the team sleeps. Their watch sends a holding reply with the time the team is back, calls the account lead if a client reports something broken, and, when a client proposes a meeting time, holds the slot in Google Calendar so nobody books over it.

Auto-reply message templates you can copy

Short, sounds like a person, and gives a time. Anything longer than two lines reads like a response bot.

• Got your message. I'm with another client until 4 and I'll reply properly then.
• Saw this, thanks. It's late here, so I'll pick it up first thing tomorrow, around 9 my time.
• On it. You'll have an update from me before end of day, and if it can't wait, call me.

Pick one and change the wording until it sounds like you.

Put the real time in. "I'll get back to you soon" tells the client nothing, and they'll message again in an hour to find out what soon means.

WhatsApp autoresponder options compared

A reply that goes to everyone answers the wrong people first: your mum, the group chat, the stranger who now knows your number is live. The client who asked a real question gets the same "I'm away" and can tell.

The alternatives are sometimes the better pick. If you already run your number on WhatsApp Business and want the same away message for every customer, the Business app is free and official, and it's WhatsApp's own tool. If you only ever need "driving, back soon", your phone may already do that. A keyword app is fine when the trigger really is one word, like a customer texting "MENU".

What OLL.E's auto-reply can't do

It answers messages that arrive as a notification with a reply option, and that's it. It doesn't text back missed calls, forward your SMS, schedule messages for later or send bulk messages to a list, and it doesn't reply to Instagram DMs. It isn't a WhatsApp Business API tool either. If a chat is muted so hard that no notification appears, or an app's notifications are off, OLL.E never sees it.

On iPhone, nothing is sent without your tap. That's Apple's rule for every app, not a setting we can change.

You can start on the free plan, no card needed. Pro is $19.99 a month for 25 watches, with a 7-day free trial. PinG is sold separately, and you only need it on iPhone.