# Creating an auto responder automation **URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-an-auto-responder-automation/285031 **Category:** Site Management **Tags:** automation, how-to **Created:** [November 10, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-an-auto-responder-automation/285031 "2023-11-10T01:27:17Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 12
### Author: ![SaraDev](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/saradev/32/335139_2.png) [@SaraDev](https://meta.discourse.org/u/SaraDev) #### Post date: [September 15, 2025, 10:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-an-auto-responder-automation/285031/12 "2025-09-15T22:38:51Z")
Currently, Use `%%KEY%%` in the `value` field as a placeholder for the detected trigger word is the only template variable available for us in the auto responder automation. There doesn’t seem to be a built-in variable for accessing the username of the person who PM’ed a group in the auto responder automation. This is a limitation in the current implementation, as other Discourse features (like email templates, AI personas, and the “Send PMs” automation script) do have various user-related variables available. With that in mind, this is similar to a few other requests we’ve had for this type of feature. 1. A [request to add variables for users’ real names](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-variable-for-users-real-name-to-send-pms-script/268498) to the “Send PMs” script 2. A [feature request for canned reply variables](https://meta.discourse.org/t/canned-reply-variable-for-direct-message-recipient/168115) for direct message recipients If this is a feature you’re interested in, I would encourage you to create a #Contribute > Feature topic, with more information about what type of template variables you would like to see added to this automation. The more people who show interest in a feature, the more likely it is to make it into Discourse. This sounds like a neat idea and we’d love to know more about what you are looking for. 🙂 --- _[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-an-auto-responder-automation/285031)._