Free business tool
An out of office message is an automatic email or chat reply that tells senders you are away, when you will return, and who to contact for anything urgent. This free out of office message generator builds professional vacation auto-reply templates for Gmail, Outlook, Slack, and Microsoft Teams in seconds.
Pick a reason, set your dates, choose a tone, add a backup contact, and copy a ready-to-paste OOO message for any channel.
Channel-ready output
Reason: Vacation - Tone: Professional
Paste into Gmail vacation responder or Outlook automatic replies.
Subject line
Out of Office - Vacation (back May 20)
Thank you for your message. I am currently out of the office on vacation. I will be away from Tuesday, May 12 through Tuesday, May 19, returning to the office on Wednesday, May 20. I will respond to your email when I return. Best regards,
Set as your Slack status, plus a DM auto-reply via a workflow.
Slack status
:palm_tree: Out of office - back May 20
Thanks for your message. I am out of office on vacation through Tuesday, May 19. I will be back Wednesday, May 20.
Drop into the 'Send automatic replies' field in Microsoft Teams or Outlook.
Hello, thanks for your message. I am currently out of office on vacation and will have limited access to Microsoft Teams and email. I am out from Tuesday, May 12 through Tuesday, May 19, returning Wednesday, May 20. Best regards,
How it works
Step 1
Pick the reason you are away (vacation, parental leave, conference, holiday, or custom).
Step 2
Set your start and end dates - the return date is suggested for the next business day, but you can edit it.
Step 3
Choose a tone that matches the audience - professional for clients, casual for teammates, funny if your culture supports it.
Step 4
Add a backup contact and any urgent-issue instructions so senders have a clear next step.
Step 5
Copy the Email, Slack, or Microsoft Teams version and paste it into your auto-reply settings.
An out of office message is an automatic email or chat reply that lets people know you are away, when you will be back, and who to contact if their request cannot wait. It sets expectations so senders are not left wondering whether you saw their message.
Keep it short and specific. State that you are out of office, the dates you are unavailable, when you will return, and a backup contact for urgent issues. Skip personal details, and close with a clear next step so the sender knows what to do.
Include four things: the reason you are out (vacation, leave, conference), your last day in the office, the date you return, and a backup contact email or name. If your reply window will be slow on return, mention that too so people plan accordingly.
In Gmail, open Settings, scroll to Vacation responder, set the dates and message, and save. In Outlook, go to File then Automatic Replies and configure separate internal and external replies. In Slack, click your avatar, choose Set a status, and pair it with a workflow or DM auto-reply for full coverage.
Yes whenever possible. Naming a teammate (with their email) gives senders a real path forward instead of waiting for you. If you cannot name a backup, point urgent requests to a shared inbox or support channel so nothing critical stalls.
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