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Write an out-of-office reply that sends people to the right person
Practice: Setting limits and rules. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
Write your out-of-office auto-reply in under 45 words, plain text. Give your actual return date, then route people: one contact for invoices and one for everything else, each with an email. No 'limited access to email', no 'I will respond upon my return', and no exclamation marks. Write a prompt that gets that message.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 45 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part: "3 sentences, each under 14 words."
- Using the old return date. Your notes list Jan 5 before you added the extra day. Try: Say it: "I'm back Tuesday, Jan 6."
- Vague routing. The AI writes "contact my colleagues" without who handles what. Try: Add: "Invoices: Raj Patel. Everything else: Tina Moore. Include emails, not the after-hours line."
- Stock auto-reply lines. AI writes "I'll have limited access to email and will respond upon my return!" Try: Add: "No 'limited access', no promise to reply, no exclamation marks. Plain text."
What a strong prompt includes
- Sets a word limit
- Uses the right return date
- Routes by topic
- Bans stock lines
- Asks for plain text
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