Automatic Replies in Gmail

So here I was, applying for some internship posts via email, when I got replies from each of them within seconds informing me that they are not in Office, and would attend to my messages as sson as they found the time for it. This intrigued me in the following respects, which I have discussed in detail below:

1. Is it possible to set automatic replies for certain durations (vacations)
2. Is it possible to set automatic reply to certain senders, or for certain purposes