Email auto-reply that answers your clients, not everyone

Describe the emails in one sentence and OLL.E replies to those, and only those, with text you approved or a short reply written for that email. It works on iPhone and Android, for Gmail.

OLL.E reads each new Gmail message for what it means and auto-replies only to the emails your watch describes, such as "clients asking for a status update" or "anyone asking for a quote". Everyone else gets nothing, and the reply is either text you approved or a short answer written for that one email.

It works the same on iPhone and Android, with no PinG keyring, because Gmail watches don't rely on phone notifications. One limit first: it works with Gmail only today. Outlook and other providers are not supported.

Gmail's vacation responder answers anyone who writes during your dates, with one fixed message, so your best client and a cold sales pitch get the same "I'm away until Monday". For anyone who sells their time, we think that is the wrong reply to send a client. A client asking about a deadline wants to hear the work is moving, not where you are.

How to set up an email auto-reply in OLL.E

1. Install OLL.E on Android, iPhone or the web and connect Gmail with Google sign-in, under Connectors.
2. Tap Monitor Now and describe the emails in plain words: "Auto-reply to clients who email asking for a status update." Add who to leave out if you like ("not newsletters", "not my accountant").
3. Pick the action Auto-reply, then either paste the text you want sent or let OLL.E write a short reply for each email. Add more actions if you want them: forward, label, call me.

From then on, each new email is checked against that sentence. A match gets the reply. A newsletter that happens to mention a status update shouldn't match, and the same goes for spam.

The auto-reply is rarely the only thing a watch does. Alongside it OLL.E can forward the email to anyone, put a label on it, summarise a long thread and send you a brief, create a Google Calendar event (holding the slot a client proposed, say), or phone you if the email is urgent.

Who uses it

A consultant going on holiday for ten days still wants clients answered, but not the forty cold emails a week that come with a public address. Her watch replies only to her clients (she names them in the sentence), says she is back on the 14th, and tells anyone with something urgent that the email has reached her. It does, because the same watch calls her if a client writes the word "urgent" or means it.

At a small agency the shared inbox gets quote requests mixed in with invoices, job applications and vendor offers. Quote requests go cold fast. Here the watch sends a holding reply to anyone asking for a price, forwards the email to whoever writes the quotes and labels it "Quote", so nothing sits unread under a pile of receipts.

A freelancer wants status-update emails answered with "On it, update by Friday." That's it. He still writes the real update himself, on Friday; the auto-reply only stops the client wondering whether the email landed.

A founder raising money gets investor emails between product questions and support tickets. The watch for investors does no auto-reply at all: it summarises the thread, sends her the brief and calls her.

Three auto-reply templates to start from

For clients asking where things stand:

Thanks, got this. The work is on track and you'll have a full update from me by Friday.

For a quote request that arrives when nobody is at a desk:

Thanks for asking us. Someone from the team will send you a price within the working day. If you have a deadline, reply with the date and we'll plan around it.

For an out of office reply that only clients see:

I'm away until the 14th and checking email once a day. Your message has reached me, and if it can't wait, reply with "urgent" in the subject.

Keep it to two facts: you saw it, and when they'll hear more.

How to set up auto reply in Gmail without OLL.E

If one message to everyone is fine, use Gmail's vacation responder. On a computer: Settings, See all settings, the General tab, Vacation responder on, then the date range, subject and message, and Save Changes. In the Android app it is Menu, Settings, your account, Vacation responder. On iPhone it is Menu, Settings, then Vacation responder under Compose and Reply.

Google says the reply usually goes to a person only the first time they write, then again if they email four days later and the responder is still on, or after you edit the message. There is a box to send it to your contacts only. Mail that lands in spam, or that comes through a mailing list you subscribe to, gets no reply.

For a Gmail auto reply to a specific sender, the free workaround is a template plus a filter. Turn on templates in Settings, Advanced, save your reply as a template, then create a filter (put the address in From) and tick "Send template". It works without dates. It only matches the words and addresses you type, though, and Google says templates can only be set up and used from Gmail on a computer.

When is Gmail the better choice? When you truly want everyone told the same thing, a two-week holiday with no clients waiting on you being the obvious case. The vacation responder costs nothing and takes a minute. For a handful of known addresses and one fixed reply, the filter and template is fine too.

What it can't do

It watches Gmail only. If your work email is on Outlook or another provider, OLL.E can't reply to it today.

It replies to what the watch describes, so a vague sentence gets vague results. "Important emails" is a guess; "clients asking when the logo files are ready" is a rule OLL.E can follow. On the Free plan you also get 10 actions a month, and each auto-reply uses one, so a busy inbox needs Pro. And if you would rather not have anything sent without you, keep the reply as a draft you read first.