Free Out-of-Office Message Generator

An out-of-office message is often the first impression you make when you are unavailable, and a poorly written one can create confusion, frustration, or doubt about your professionalism. Colleagues who email you during your absence need to know three things immediately: that you are away, when you will return, and who to contact if their matter is urgent. A vague or missing OOO reply leaves senders guessing, which leads to follow-up emails, escalations to the wrong people, and a backlog of misrouted requests waiting for you when you return. A well-crafted auto-reply, on the other hand, sets expectations clearly, routes urgent matters to the right person, and projects confidence even in your absence. It takes less than a minute to get right -- but most people rush through it on their way out the door. This generator handles the structure and wording so you can focus on actually disconnecting.

Enter the dates you will be away and when you will return in the fields above. Optionally add the reason for your absence (vacation, conference, medical leave) and an alternate contact for urgent matters. Select a tone -- formal for client-facing roles, casual for internal teams, friendly for a warmer touch -- or let the AI choose a professional default. Click Generate and within seconds you will have a complete out-of-office message with a subject line suggestion. The generated message includes your dates, routes urgent inquiries to your alternate contact if provided, and closes with an appropriate sign-off. Use the copy button to move the message to your clipboard, then paste it into your email client's auto-reply settings. Your details are processed in memory and never stored.

Keep your OOO message concise -- three to five sentences is the sweet spot. State your absence dates clearly, including the date you will begin responding to emails again. If you have an alternate contact, provide their name and email so the sender does not have to search for it. Avoid oversharing the reason for your absence: 'I am currently out of the office' is sufficient for external contacts, though you can be more specific with internal teams. Set expectations about response time: 'I will respond to your email when I return on March 3' is better than 'I will get back to you as soon as possible'. For roles that handle urgent requests, include a clear escalation path. Finally, remember to actually turn on the auto-reply in your email client -- the best-written OOO message helps no one sitting in a draft folder.