It's likely that it's a polite way to turn people down, specially for people without much experience... however, a polite response from your part which includes a sincere "thank you" for consideration will help if they actually do hold applicant's CVs.

Always reply... and depending on who is receiving the messages, you might make a better impact than others who either did not respond or put in less effort.   

That's an insurance-company-recommended response.  Anti-discrimination laws require companies to keep resumes on file for a year.  If more positions open up during that time period they're supposed to consider qualified applicants from among those resumes, along with any new candidates.

A brief thank you response is fine and can't hurt.  Sometimes jobs do open up and firms do contact people from their files.

You can usually tell by the response you get.

Does it sound genuine? Is it actually from an individual in the office expressing interest in your work? This response would usually indicate that they are genuinely interested in your background and profile, and if they had an opening at the time they would want to interview you. In this scenario, you do want to respond with a sincere thank-you and follow up in a few weeks.

If it sounds like an automated message, then I would recommend pursuing other offices. The auto-generated responses go out to everyone who applies, bu the subtext is that you aren't getting a direct response from someone in the firm because your application didn't cause anyone to actually want to hire you - which is fine. You can't get in everywhere.

It's quite standard to send such automated responses, remember some firms receive so many applications that it is almost undoable to reply in person. There are times I receive a couple of these emails per day and I'm a nobody, the amount of applications real and successful firms in New York receive must be overwhelming at times. Don't take it personal, keep trying and it doesn't hurt to send a thank you reply at all, maybe even with a link to your online resume and portfolio, just to increase the chance of an actual person reviewing your work.

Unless you really like the firm, don't bother. They do not care, and you shouldn't either

Respond in GIF format

I would not dismiss that sort of response as 'boilerplate' - during the years when I was the hiring manager at our firm I would see resumes every week that I found interesting. If I wasn't hiring at that particular tine I would send similar letters to those candidates.

Hiring needs can occur without much warning. People resign or get fired. New projects arise without advance notice or stalled projects suddenly start back up. When these things happened I always started my recruitment efforts first with resumes already in my file.

We are small office so take this for what it is worth

We get applications every week. This is what I do:

1. if its a bcc mail sent to several offices i erase the email without opening, or reading

2. if its directed to the office or to me then i look at the portfolio and then maybe the cv if the work is interesting. I'm looking for evidence of attitude mostly. We are an informal place and try to push things with clients and ourselves. Sense of humor, great presentations, self-awareness are important. 

3. If we have a position open then i contact them and go from there

4. If there is no position available I would indeed write that there is no position. If I thought the person was someone we might want to talk to later then I keep things open. If not, then I tell them only that there are no positions and good luck. I do not leave any door open if I do not want to. That would be a wast of my time for everyone. For a larger company I expect it would be even more of a waste. 

I would presume the mail says exactly what it means and that it will almost certainly not lead to a position. Be polite and thank them if you want. Or don't. From my side, it does not offend nor impress me if people do not follow up regarding an unsolicited application. Don't worry about it and keep looking.

We don't consider any applicant above summer student level if they don't bother following up within a couple of weeks, even if we are interested. It's not my policy but it makes sense with how many applicants we get.

I would thank them and if you're genuinely interested in working there, and don't have another position in a few weeks, I'd follow up , letting them know you're still interested and available.