diff --git a/ansible/playbook.yml b/ansible/playbook.yml
index 93e2740..71986c2 100644
--- a/ansible/playbook.yml
+++ b/ansible/playbook.yml
@@ -11,6 +11,12 @@
         src: config.py.j2
         dest: autoreply-editor/config.py
 
+    - name: Create empty message file if it does not exist
+      copy:
+        content: ""
+        dest: "autoreply-editor/{{ message_file }}"
+        force: no
+
     - name: Install specified python requirements
       pip:
         requirements: requirements.txt