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Inquiries and follow-up

Write an out-of-hours reply

Let people know you've got their message and when you'll be back.

Best for
Owners and small teams with no one on call
Est. time saved
45–60 minutes
Works with
ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini

When to use it

  • Inquiries come in evenings and weekends, when nobody's around.
  • You want one honest reply you can set as an auto-reply.

When not to

  • For emergencies. If you offer an emergency service, give people your real emergency number yourself.

What to have ready

  • Your opening hours
  • When you'll realistically reply
  • What you offer and where
  • How people book or get a callback
  • How you like to sound

The prompt

Fill in the [BRACKETS], then paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.

› the prompt
You're helping me write the reply people get when they contact my business outside opening hours. Write drafts for me to check. Don't send or set up anything.

About my business:
- What we offer: [WHAT YOU OFFER]
- Where we work: [AREA YOU COVER]
- Opening hours: [E.G. MONDAY TO FRIDAY, 8AM TO 6PM]
- When we'll reply to out-of-hours messages: [E.G. BY 10AM THE NEXT WORKING DAY]
- What happens next: [HOW PEOPLE BOOK OR ASK FOR A CALLBACK]
- How we sound: [E.G. WARM AND SHORT]

Please write:
1. A short reply for email or web forms: thank them, say we're closed now, say when we'll get back to them, and give the next step above.
2. A shorter version for text messages or social media.
3. A list of what I should check before using them.

Rules:
- Use only the facts I've given you. Don't invent opening hours, reply times, prices, availability or an emergency service.
- Don't say someone is looking at their message now.
- A booking link is a way to ask for a slot, not a confirmed slot. Don't word it as one.
- Mark both versions DRAFT. I'll check them before using them.

Example input

A made-up example of what the brackets might say.

What we offer: office IT support. Where we work: downtown Portland. Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Reply by: 10am the next working day. Next step: request a callback at [your callback link]. How we sound: calm and short.

Tips

  • Set it as your email auto-reply or your form's thank-you message, so it goes out the moment someone gets in touch.
  • Only promise a reply time you can keep in your busiest week.

Reply to a new inquiry

A quick, friendly first reply to a new inquiry, using only the facts you give it.

Open prompt: Reply to a new inquiryEst. time saved: 20–30 minutes per reply

Want prompts built around your business?

Our AI Tool Audit finds the jobs worth handing to AI, and writes ready-to-use prompts for your top three.