Automatic birthday cards that still sound like you

• Add the person: name, mailing address and birthday. Import from your phone contacts or a calendar file to save time.
• Give us a detail or two: what they’re into, what happened this year, how you usually talk to each other.
• Switch on autopilot for that person and that date. It’s off until you turn it on.
• About ten days before the card is mailed, you get a heads-up email with the message and the mail date.
• Tap “Looks good,” “Edit message” or “Skip this one.” Do nothing and the card goes out as planned.
• The card is written with a real pen, stamped and mailed to arrive around the day.

This is the part that makes automatic cards safe. Nothing goes out without you hearing about it first. The heads-up shows you exactly what the card will say and when it will be mailed. If the message is right, tap “Looks good.” If you want to add an inside joke or fix a detail, tap “Edit message.” If you already took him to dinner, tap “Skip this one,” and nothing is mailed or charged.

Everything in the email also works from your account, so if the email gets buried, you can still approve, edit or skip from there.

Autopilot is opt-in for each person and each date. Turning it on for your dad’s birthday doesn’t turn it on for his anniversary, or for anyone else. When you switch it on, you see the words you’re agreeing to and the price per card. You can pause everything at once, or switch off one person, whenever you like.

• Off by default. You choose who gets autopilot.
• One heads-up per card, about ten days before it’s mailed.
• Skip any single date without touching the rest.
• Pause all autopilot cards with one switch.

There’s no subscription. Reminders are free. Autopilot cards are pay-per-card, with the stamp included, and your saved card is charged only when a card is actually sent. If you skip a date, you pay nothing for it. The current price per card is on the pricing page.

It’s a real card, not a printout. The message is written with a real pen in a handwriting style, so the ink has the small variations of real writing. The cover has a simple hand-drawn design. It arrives in an envelope with a real stamp, like a card you mailed yourself. The words are warm, short and specific to the person, built from the details you gave, so it sounds like you on a good day.

Here’s the kind of thing autopilot writes from a detail or two. You can always edit it in the heads-up.

• Detail: “Dad just retired”

  “Happy birthday, Dad. First one as a retired man. Hope you’re sleeping in and the fish are biting. Love you.”

• Detail: “Brother, big football fan”

  “Happy birthday. May your team cover the spread and your fantasy lineup finally show up. Talk soon.”

• Detail: “Mom loves her garden”

  “Happy birthday, Mom. Hope the tomatoes are behaving and you take a day off from the weeds. Love you lots.”

• Detail: “Friend moved to Denver”

  “Happy birthday from back home. Denver’s lucky to have you. Next time you’re in town, dinner’s on me.”

• Detail: “Grandma, makes the best pie”

  “Happy birthday, Grandma. Nobody else’s pie even comes close, and I’ve checked. Thinking of you today.”

• Detail: “Nephew turning 10”

  “Happy 10th birthday, buddy. Double digits. You’re officially old enough to beat me at video games. Have a great day.”

• Detail: “Business partner”

  “Happy birthday. Building this thing with you has been the best call I’ve made. Here’s to another good year.”

It’s for the guy who travels for work and loses track of the week. The founder whose calendar is booked solid. The dad juggling three kids’ schedules. The son who loves his mom and still forgot last year. It’s also for anyone who just wants the dates they care about to be handled. It isn’t meant to replace calling your mom or taking your partner to dinner. It’s there so the card is never the thing that slips, even in the busiest weeks of the year. Start with how to never forget a birthday again, then add your anniversary with the anniversary reminder guide.