✨ When You’ll Use This Guide
Use this guide if you're:
Setting up an auto-reply when your office is closed
Going on vacation, out for lunch, or covering non-business hours
Asking, “How do I turn on an away message?” or “How do I make Aloha reply automatically when I’m gone?”
Wondering how to pause live replies without missing patient messages
Auto-attendants keep things running even when you’re not at your desk, helping patients know when they can expect a reply—and keeping your inbox manageable.
What You’ll Need First
Before setting your Auto-Attendant:
Your office hours should be set correctly in Aloha
You’ll need access to the CONTACTS > CONVERSATIONS and SCHEDULING > SETTINGS pages
No extra features or packages are required—this is available to all Aloha users!
What This Covers (And What It Doesn’t)
This guide walks you through:
How to set auto-attendants based on your schedule
How to manually toggle away messages on and off
Where to select or customize your away message text
It doesn't cover:
Creating general templates (see: [Creating Saved Messages])
Sending bulk messages (see: [How to Send Campaigns])
Option 1: Automatically Send Away Messages After Hours
Go to SCHEDULING > SETTINGS
Turn ON the Auto-Attendant toggle
Review your business hours on the calendar
Blue shaded hours = your business hours
White areas = off-hours when the away message will auto-trigger
Then, go to CONTACTS > CONVERSATIONS
Click to choose the message you want to send when you're out
Aloha has a default "Out of Office" message
You can edit this or create your own under CONTACTS > SAVED MESSAGES
🛎️ During off-hours, Aloha will now auto-send your selected message when patients reach out.
Option 2: Manually Turn Auto-Attendant On or Off
Prefer to control it yourself?
Go to CONTACTS > CONVERSATIONS
Toggle the Auto-Attendant switch ON (top of the page)
Select the message you’d like Aloha to send
💡 Remember to turn the switch OFF when you’re back in the office—Aloha will keep sending your away message until you toggle it off!
🎉 You'll Know It Worked When:
Patients receive your selected auto-response during the correct time window
You see the Auto-Attendant banner/message active in the Conversations page
The inbox stays quiet with fewer real-time response needs
✅ Example of a message you could send:
"Hi there! 👋 Our office is currently closed. We’ll get back to you during our regular hours. If this is urgent, please call us at {out of office number}."
🛠️ Editing Your Away Message
Want to use your own language or include specific instructions?
Go to CONTACTS > SAVED MESSAGES
Find the “Out of Office” message or click + Create Message
Give it a clear name and write your custom reply
Return to CONTACTS > CONVERSATIONS and assign this message as your auto-attendant message
Need Help? We’re Here!
📞 Call us at 1-800-563-0469
💬 Chat with us in-app (⏱ Avg reply: 30 minutes during business hours)
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