How to Set Out of Office in Gmail
The Out-of-Office feature in Gmail is a perfect one to set up if you are out of the office and don’t want to keep your prospects hanging with no response. You can set it up using the toggle in Gmail settings. As a business owner, engaging leads/prospects as quickly as possible is vital as their attention span is minimal.
The out-of-office auto-response feature on Gmail provides senders with much-needed information about your availability, and the good news is you can set it up on the Gmail mobile app or your desktop. This guide will walk you through everything you’ll need to do so.
How to Set “Out of Office” in Gmail Desktop
You can set up the automated message on your PC using your web browser. To do this,
- Open Gmail on your preferred browser
- Sign in if you aren’t already logged in
- Navigate to the top-right corner of your screen (towards your profile) and click the gear icon, which stands for settings
4. Next, select the See All Settings bar
5. Scroll down to find the vacation responder section at the bottom
6. Once found, click the circle next to Vacation Responder On
7. You’ll see the option to set the start and end date of the autoresponder. Fill them using the drop-down calendar provided therein
8. Next, fill in the auto out-of-office response you want to use in the message section
9. Add a subject or title
10. To personalize the autoresponder, click the box next to Only Send a Response to People in my Contacts to enable it.
11. Finally, click Save Changes to complete the setup
How to Set Out of Office on Gmail Mobile App
Setting up the out-of-office auto-responder is just as easy on a mobile phone, regardless of the operating system (OS). To do so,
- Open the Gmail app on your Android Smartphone or iPhone
- Tap the hamburger button in the top-left corner of the screen
3. Tap Settings from the menu
4. Select the email address in which you want to enable the out-of-office auto-response
5. On the next screen, scroll down to and tap Vacation Responder
6. Turn on the vacation responder using the slider
7. Set the start and end time for the autoresponder
8. Type in the message and subject line using the provided texts boxes
9. As available on the desktop version, if you want only your contacts to get an out-of-office response, check off the box next to Send Only to my Contacts
10. Tap the save button in the top-right corner to save all changes.
How Out of Office Responder on Gmail Works
To make this feature work as efficiently as possible, a lot goes into the backend commands, which you’ll find quite handy. They’re there to regularize your auto responders so that they don’t come off as spammy, redundant, or forced.
They are as follows:
- You can only set the start and end date but not the time. As such, the automatic start time for the autoresponder is 12:00 at midnight, and it ends at 11:49 PM of the end date
- A sender will only get the auto-response once when you’re out of the office, provided they don’t send another email in four days
- If, after four days, the same sender messages you again, they’ll get the auto-response
- If you change your auto-response message, the four-day timer resets for all senders. Therefore, if anyone of them sends you another message within the stipulated message, they’ll get the new auto-response regardless of when they got the previous one
- Once you’ve enabled the vacation auto-response, other Gmail users can see your out-of-office status when composing their messages to you. Sadly, this feature is not available to those messaging you from apps such as Outlook
- Any email that finds its way into your spam folder or mailing list you subscribed to will not get an auto-response
Related: How to Delete a Gmail Account: A Step-by-Step Guide
How to Share Your “Out of Office” Status
Other users can see your out-of-office status as aforementioned is only possible when you permit it on your Google calendar. Here’s how it works: You’ll need to create an out-of-office event on Google Calendar and share it with your co-workers or anyone you want to see your status.
There’s a catch, however; the out-of-office event needs to extend past your working hours or span an entire day. Once done, the people you permit will see your Status when sending you an email.
How to Get a Beefier Out of Office Response on Gmail
The out-of-office reply is smarter than you think. By diving deeper into the settings and enabling certain filters, you can create more personalized responses with different messages for specific senders. To do this,
- Compose the auto-response in a new email
- While doing so, click the vertical three dots at the bottom-right corner
- Select Templates
- Next, click Save Draft as Template and then Save as New Template
- Name the template in the window that pops up next
- Now, go to Gmail Settings
- Go to the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab
- Scroll down this page and click Create a New Filter
9. In the From field, input the email address you want to send a personalized auto-response to
10. Next, click Create Filter
11. Now, in the Create Filter window, mark the checkbox next to Send Template
12. Select the recipient that you input in step 9
13. Finally, click Create Filter to save all the changes
Now, anytime the sender in step 9 sends you an email, they’ll get the auto email saved as a template in step 4.
How to Turn Off Auto Reply in Gmail
You might want to turn off the auto-response when you return to work. Google has made things easy as you can see your status right above your inbox and the option to turn it off. Simply click End Now to turn it off.
If you’d prefer to turn it off in Settings or are on the Gmail mobile app, open Settings in Gmail. Scroll down to the Vacation Responder section and turn it off.
