Out of office message: 15 templates that sound like a person wrote them

A good out of office message says when you're back and who handles urgent requests. 15 templates to copy, plus the exact Gmail and Outlook setup steps.

By Al Mujahid Khan, Co-Founder & CEO, OLL.E

Published October 31, 2026

A good out of office message says when you're back and what happens to anything urgent until then. Name the person to write to instead, or say plainly that nobody is covering and give a way to reach you if it really can't wait. Everything else (where you went, how badly you needed the break, an apology for the inconvenience) is padding, and padding is what people scroll past looking for the date.

Below are 15 templates you can copy, sorted by why you're away. Then the exact steps for Gmail and Outlook, and why I'd never send the same one to everyone.

What should I say in an out of office message?

Three things, usually in three lines.

The day you're back, written as a day and a date. "Monday 10 November" works. "Next week" means nothing to someone reading it on a Friday. Then who to contact instead, with their full email address, not "my colleague". Then say if you're reading email at all, so nobody sits waiting for an answer that isn't coming.

Skip the reason unless it helps the reader. "At a conference" tells a client you might reply in the evening. "Personal matters" tells them nothing and makes them wonder.

And don't promise to answer every email the day you return. You won't, and the client who believed you will notice.

What is an example of an effective out of office message?

Here are fifteen. Swap the bits in square brackets. They're short on purpose, because nobody reads an autoresponder to the end.

Holiday

Hi, I'm on holiday until [Monday 10 November] and not checking email. If it can't wait, [Sam] at [sam@company.com] can help. Otherwise I'll reply when I'm back. [Your name]

Thanks for your email. I'm travelling with patchy signal until [date], so I won't see this before then. For anything about [project], please write to [name] at [email]. Everything else gets a reply the week I return.

Hi, I'm taking a proper break until [date]. Nobody is covering for me, so if something is genuinely urgent, text me at [number] and I'll see it once a day. Everything else waits until I'm back.

Conference or work trip

I'm at [event] in [city] until [date], so replies will be slow and mostly in the evening. If you need something today, [name] ([email]) has the details.

I'm at [event] this week. If you're there too, reply with a time and let's get a coffee. If you're not, I'm back at my desk on [date].

Parental leave

I'm on parental leave until [month]. I won't be reading email at all. [Name] is looking after my work and my clients while I'm away: [email]. If you need me personally, write again after [month] and I'll see it.

Sick day

Off sick today, back tomorrow with any luck. Anything urgent, please send to [name] at [email].

Weekends and after hours, for freelancers

Thanks for your message. I work Monday to Friday, 9 to 6 [time zone], and I'll reply on Monday morning. If a live site or a launch is broken, call [number].

You've caught me after hours. I open my inbox again at 9am [time zone] and answer clients first. No need to send it twice.

Notice period, and after you've left

I'm finishing at [company] on [date] and handing my work to [name]. So nothing gets lost, please copy [email] on anything new from now on.

I've left [company]. Nobody reads this inbox and your email has not been forwarded. Please write to [name] at [email], who has picked up my accounts. It was good working with you.

A short one for clients

Away until [date]. [Name] has your project and can answer anything: [email].

An internal one, for your team

OOO until [date]. Design questions to [name], billing to [name]. Notes for everything in flight are in [folder]. Please don't wait on me for approvals; [name] can sign off.

Two funny ones

Funny only works on people who already know you. Don't send either of these to a new client.

I'm away until [date] with no laptop, a decision I'll regret by Tuesday. If this is urgent, [name] at [email] will help. If it's a meeting that could have been an email, good news: it now is.

Your email has joined a queue of several hundred, sorted lovingly by how many times each one says "quick question". I'm back on [date]. [Name] at [email] is less sunburnt than me and can help sooner.

How do I set an out of office in Gmail?

Gmail calls it the vacation responder. On a computer:

1. Open Gmail, click Settings at the top right, then See all settings.
2. On the General tab, scroll to the Vacation responder section and select Vacation responder on.
3. Fill in the date range, the subject and the message.
4. If you only want your contacts to get it, tick the box under the message.
5. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

It starts at 12:00 AM on the start date and stops at 11:59 PM on the end date, unless you end it sooner. While it's on, a banner sits across the top of your inbox with an End now link.

A few things catch people out. In most cases Gmail sends the reply only the first time someone emails you, and again if that person writes after four days while it's still on, or after you've changed the message. Mail that lands in spam, or comes from a mailing list you're on, gets no reply at all. The Gmail app on Android and iPhone has its own version of the setting, and Google lists those steps on the same help page.

How do I turn on automatic replies in Outlook?

In the new Outlook for Windows, go to the View tab, then View settings, then Accounts, then Automatic Replies. In Outlook on the web it's Settings, then Account, then Automatic replies. Switch the toggle on, tick Send replies only during a time period and enter a start and end time. Leave the time period off and the replies run until you switch them off yourself, which is how people end up with an autoresponder still going in March.

There's a Send replies only to contacts option for outside senders, and on a work or school account you choose whether people outside your organisation get a reply at all. Outlook sends each person one reply per absence, however many times they write.

Should everyone get the same out of office reply?

An out of office that answers everyone the same way is a small lie to your best clients.

Think about who actually triggers it. The client waiting on the file you promised for Thursday. A newsletter. A receipt from a tool you pay for. A cold pitch from someone who has never heard of you. All four get the same polite paragraph, which tells your client, in your voice, that they rank alongside the receipt. It also tells every cold pitch that the inbox is live and nobody is watching it. The person who most deserved a real answer gets the least useful one, because the message had to be vague enough to send to strangers.

The contacts-only box in Gmail and Outlook helps a bit. But your contacts list is not your client list. It has your dentist, the shop that sold you a sofa, and a client from three years ago who never paid. And neither tool can tell an urgent email from a routine one, so the client whose site is down gets "back on the 10th" and nothing happens until you are.

How do I auto-reply only to clients while I'm away?

You need something that reads the email, not just the address. Here is how the three options compare.

We built OLL.E for this. It works with Gmail only for now, not Outlook. You describe clients in the watch (a list of names, or anyone writing about a live project) and it reads what each email says: clients get an auto-reply with your return date, everyone else gets nothing, and an email that says it's urgent rings your phone. Email replies work the same on iPhone and Android, and no email content is stored. More on email auto-reply for clients only and phone calls for specific emails. The Free plan has 4 watches and 10 actions a month, no card; Pro is $19.99 a month with a 7-day trial.