Canned Responses & Templates

Canned responses are short replies you reuse across conversations. Templates are full-message drafts (typically email). Both support placeholders that auto-fill from the contact, the conversation, or the agent.

When to use what

Tool	Best for
Canned responses	One- or two-paragraph replies in chat / email — “Refund processed”, “Thanks for waiting”.
Email templates	Full structured emails — receipts, password resets, escalation acks.
Email signatures	Per-agent and per-team signatures appended automatically.
Snippets	Small reusable pieces — your support hours, a help center link.

Placeholders

Both canned responses and templates support placeholders in {{ }} syntax:


Hi {{contact.first_name}},

Thanks for reaching out about order {{conversation.order_id}}.
I've processed your refund of {{conversation.refund_amount}} —
you should see it in {{contact.account.bank_name}} within 3-5 business days.

— {{agent.first_name}}

Available placeholder namespaces:

Namespace	Examples
`contact`	`first_name`, `email`, `phone`, custom fields
`contact.account`	Company name, tier, owner
`conversation`	Channel, started_at, custom fields
`agent`	Name, email, team
`workspace`	Company name, support email, hours

If a placeholder has no value, Omniflow falls back to a configurable default — typically the customer’s email address for missing names, or empty string for missing custom fields.

Build a canned response

Open settings

Go to Settings → Canned responses → New.

Pick a shortcode

A short trigger you can type in the inbox to insert this response — /refund, /escalate, /hours. Shortcodes are case-insensitive.

Write the message

Use placeholders, formatting, and links. Preview shows what a real customer would see with sample data.

Set scope

Scope	When
Workspace-wide	Everyone can use it.
Team-only	Limited to a team.
Personal	Only you.

Save

Build an email template

Templates are richer — they support a subject, a body with HTML, attachments, and conditional sections. Build them under Settings → Email templates.


Subject: Your refund for order {{conversation.order_id}}
 
Hi {{contact.first_name}},
 
{{#if conversation.refund_amount}}
We've processed a refund of {{conversation.refund_amount}}.
{{else}}
We're processing your refund and will update you shortly.
{{/if}}
 
Best,
{{agent.first_name}}
{{agent.signature}}

Email signatures

Each agent has a default signature, set under Settings → Profile → Signature. Workspace admins can also define team-wide signatures that override per-agent ones.

Use them in the inbox

Action	How
Insert canned response	Type `/` in the reply box and pick from the autocomplete.
Insert template	Templates dropdown above the reply box.
Insert snippet	`/snippet-name` in the reply box.

Versioning and audit

Each save creates a new version. The audit log shows who edited what and when, and you can roll back any template from the version history.

Avoid baking PII into templates. Use placeholders instead of typing customer data directly — placeholders are dynamic, baked-in data goes stale and can leak across customers.

Open in Omniflow

To…	Go to
Use templates in routing	Routing Rules
Personalize email signatures	Settings overview
Use them inside an agent’s tool	Tools & Actions