Canned responses that don't feel canned

Build them on the right twenty questions

Start with data, not assumptions. Export last month's conversations, group them by topic, and pull out the twenty most common questions. For most businesses, that covers more than half of total volume.

Write a base answer for those twenty. Leave everything else free-form — a macro there is just dead weight.

Build them as building blocks, not letters

A macro should do one thing: deliver the factual part of the answer. The greeting, the acknowledgement of the situation and the sign-off should still be typed by the agent themselves.

• Keep macros short — two to four sentences.
• Use variables for name, order number and date, never for tone.
• Write them in your brand's own voice, not policy jargon.

Maintenance is half the job

An outdated macro is worse than no macro at all — it confidently sends out the wrong shipping rate. Block half an hour every quarter to review everything, and feed changes to prices, delivery times or terms through immediately.

Test the effect

Measure both response time and CSAT before and after. If speed goes up and satisfaction goes down, your macros are too long or too formal. If both go up, you've found the right balance.