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.
There are two trigger types you can set up:
- Missed Call — Sends an SMS when an inbound call goes unanswered. Great for letting callers know you'll call back.
- Incoming Message — 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, plus a text area where you customize the message (up to 1,600 characters).
SMS must be enabled
Auto-replies require SMS to be active on the phone number. If SMS isn't enabled, the auto-reply options will be grayed out.
Business Hours vs. After Hours#
If you've set up business hours on your phone number, dialnote shows two separate auto-reply sections:
- 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 configured, the "during hours" set acts as your always-on default.
Rate Limiting#
To avoid spamming a single contact, dialnote limits auto-replies to 3 per conversation per hour by default. You can adjust this in the auto-reply settings — set it anywhere from 1 to 100, or use 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 like "In 1 hour," "Tomorrow 9 AM," or "Tomorrow 2 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. 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.