Every missed call or unanswered text is a potential customer slipping away. dialnote's auto-replies send instant responses when you can't pick up, so callers know you're on it. You can also schedule messages to go out at the perfect time — no more forgetting to follow up.
Setting Up Auto-Replies#
Auto-replies are configured per phone number. Go to Settings → Phone Numbers, select a number, and scroll to the Auto-Replies section. This is the same per-number settings screen that holds your phone number settings and auto-record options.
There are two trigger types you can set up:
- Missed call auto-reply — Sends an SMS when an inbound call goes unanswered. Great for letting callers know you'll call back.
- Incoming message auto-reply — Sends a reply when someone texts your number. Useful for after-hours acknowledgments.
Each trigger type has a toggle to turn it on or off. Flip the toggle on and a text box appears where you customize the message. Keep replies within a single SMS — the same 1,600-character body limit as a regular text message applies.
SMS must be enabled
Auto-replies require SMS to be active on the phone number. If SMS isn't enabled, the section shows an "Enable SMS to configure" badge and the controls are grayed out. See getting numbers for how SMS capability is added.
Owner-only setting
Only the phone number's owner can change auto-replies. Members with Call & text or View only access can see the settings but can't edit them.
Business Hours vs. After Hours#
If you've set up business hours on your phone number, dialnote shows two separate auto-reply groups:
- During business hours — Replies sent while your team is available (e.g., "We'll get back to you shortly").
- After business hours — Replies sent outside work hours (e.g., "We're closed right now but will respond first thing tomorrow").
Without business hours enabled, only the "During business hours" group is active and it's labeled Auto-replies (always active) — those replies go out at every hour. To use a separate after-hours message, turn on business hours first.
Rate Limiting#
To avoid spamming a single contact, dialnote limits auto-replies to 3 per conversation per hour by default. The Max auto-replies per hour field at the top of the section lets you set any value from 1 to 100, or 0 for unlimited.
dialnote also has built-in loop prevention. It won't auto-reply to outbound messages, other auto-replies, or conversations where an AI Message Bot is actively handling the chat.
Pro tip
Keep your auto-reply messages short and actionable. Something like "Hey, sorry we missed your call! We'll get back to you within the hour" works better than a lengthy paragraph.
Scheduling Messages#
Want to send a text at a specific time? dialnote lets you schedule SMS messages anywhere from 15 minutes to 7 days in the future.
To schedule a message:
- Open a conversation in your Inbox.
- Type your message, then click the schedule icon next to the send button.
- Pick a time — choose from presets ("In 1 hour," "Tomorrow at 9:00 AM," "Tomorrow at 2:00 PM") or set a custom date and time.
- Hit Schedule. The message shows up in your timeline with a "Scheduled" label.
Need to cancel? Click the scheduled message in your timeline and choose Cancel before the send time.
Scheduling requirements
Scheduled SMS requires your phone number to be enrolled in a Twilio Messaging Service. You can enable this from Settings → Phone Numbers → [Your Number] → Messaging using the scheduled SMS toggle.
Default Auto-Reply Messages#
dialnote comes with sensible defaults you can customize:
| Trigger | Default Message |
|---|---|
| Missed Call | "Sorry we missed your call. We'll get back to you as soon as possible." |
| Incoming Message | "Thanks for your message! We'll respond shortly." |
You can edit these to match your brand voice. Use the customer's context — if most missed calls are from new leads, a message like "Thanks for calling! Can I help you with anything specific?" can start the conversation right away.
How Auto-Replies Work with AI Bots#
If you've assigned an AI Message Bot to a phone number, the incoming message auto-reply is automatically hidden — the bot handles text conversations instead. The Auto-Replies section shows an AI Message Bot picker at the top (with a Manage bots link) whenever the number has messaging enabled. Missed call auto-replies still work normally since they're triggered by phone calls, not texts.
This means you can have your AI bot manage incoming texts while auto-replies handle missed calls. They work together without overlapping. For pre-written manual replies you can drop into any chat, see canned responses.
What's Next#
- Canned responses — save reply templates for your team to send by hand
- SMS & MMS — send and receive text messages
- Business hours — set the schedule that drives during/after-hours replies
- Inbox — manage every conversation in one place
- AI agents — let a bot answer incoming texts automatically