Set up your message before turning it on
Gmail calls its out of office feature Vacation Responder. It sends an automatic reply to people who email you while it is enabled, so they know you are unavailable and can see when you expect to return.
Before you turn it on, write the subject and message you want people to receive. You can also choose a start date, an optional end date, and whether Gmail should send the reply to everyone or only people in your contacts.
Video Tutorial
Turn on the Gmail Vacation Responder
- Open a browser and go to gmail.com.
- Sign in to the Gmail account where you want to set the auto reply.
- Select the gear icon in the top-right corner.
- Select See all settings.
- Scroll down near the bottom of the settings page until you find Vacation Responder.
- Enter a subject for the automatic email. Keep it clear, such as “Out of Office” or “Away Until [Date].”
- Write the message people should receive in the body field.
- Select Vacation responder on after you have finished configuring the message.
- Select Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
Your Gmail out of office auto reply is now active. Gmail shows an Out of office notice at the top of your inbox while the responder is on.
Choose the start and end dates
Use the date options in the Vacation Responder section to control how long the automatic reply stays enabled. Set the first day to the date you want Gmail to begin replying.
If you do not set a last day, the Vacation Responder remains on until you turn it off yourself. This can be useful if you are away for an unknown amount of time, but it also makes it easy to forget that the reply is still active.
For a planned vacation or time away from work, select Last day and choose the date when you want Gmail to stop sending replies automatically. This prevents your out of office message from being sent after you have returned.
Check the selected dates before saving. The automatic message is meant to help people set expectations, so make sure the dates match the availability stated in your message.
Write an effective out of office message
Your auto reply does not need to be long. It should tell the sender that you are away, give them an expected response date if you have one, and direct urgent requests to another person when appropriate.
For example, your subject could be Out of Office Until June 12. In the message body, explain that you have limited access to email and will respond after you return. If a coworker is covering urgent issues, include their name and contact details in the body.
A simple message works well:
Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office and will reply when I return on June 12. For urgent assistance, please contact [Name].
Change the return date and alternate contact information before each time you use the responder. Avoid promising a reply time you cannot meet.
Limit replies to your contacts if needed
At the bottom of the Vacation Responder settings, Gmail includes an option to send automatic replies only to people in your contacts. Select this option if you want to keep the message limited to people you already know.
Leave it unselected if you want anyone who emails you during the selected period to receive the out of office response. This may be useful when customers, clients, or people outside your organization need to know that you are unavailable.
Think about the information in your message before choosing. If it includes personal travel details, a private phone number, or internal contact information, limiting replies to contacts can be the safer choice.
What happens after you save changes
After selecting Save Changes, Gmail begins using the Vacation Responder according to the dates and options you selected. When a person emails you during that time, Gmail sends them your subject and message automatically.
Gmail does not send the same auto reply every time the same person emails you. It limits replies to once every four days, which helps prevent repeated messages from filling someone’s inbox if they send several emails while you are away.
You can still use Gmail normally while the responder is active. The feature simply handles the initial notification for incoming email.
Turn off the out of office reply early
If you return sooner than expected, open Gmail and look for the Out of office notice at the top of the inbox. From there, you can select End now to stop the automatic replies right away.
You can also select the option to go back to the settings, update your message or dates, and save the changes again. This is useful if your return date changes or you need to adjust who should receive the reply.
Once the Vacation Responder is off, Gmail stops sending your out of office message to new emails.
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