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10 min fix 3 min read Recently reviewedBeginner

By , IT support technician

Quick Answer

In Outlook, click File > Automatic Replies to set up your message. In Gmail, click the Settings gear > See all settings, scroll down to Vacation responder, and turn it on with your custom message.

How to Create an Email Autoresponder for Your Business ​

Estimated Time to Fix: 10 minutes

Applies to: Outlook, Gmail
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-07-21

Summary ​

When a new client emails your business, they want to know you received their message. Instead of manually replying "Got it, I'll review this soon" to every inquiry, you can set up an autoresponder to do it for you instantly.

Prerequisites ​

  • An active Outlook or Gmail account.

Instructions ​

Method 1: Set up an Autoresponder in Outlook (Desktop App) ​

  1. Open Outlook and click File in the top left corner.
  2. Click Automatic Replies (Out of Office).
  3. Select Send automatic replies.
  4. Since you want this to run constantly (not only for a vacation), do not check the "Only send during this time range" box.
  5. In the text box at the bottom, type your auto-response message. For example: "Thank you for reaching out! We have received your email and will get back to you within 24 hours."
  6. If you use Microsoft 365, you will see two tabs: Inside My Organization and Outside My Organization. Make sure you copy your message into the Outside My Organization tab so clients actually receive it.
  7. Click OK.

Method 2: Set up an Autoresponder in Gmail ​

  1. Open Gmail in your web browser.
  2. Click the Settings gear icon in the top right, then click See all settings.
  3. Scroll all the way down to the Vacation responder section.
  4. Select Vacation responder on.
  5. Set the First day to today, and leave the Last day blank.
  6. Enter a Subject (e.g., Thank you for contacting us!) and type your message in the Message box.
  7. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the screen.

3. Verify Success ​

  1. Use your personal email address (like a personal Yahoo or iCloud account) to send a test email to your business address.
  2. Wait a few moments. You should receive the automatic reply in your personal inbox.

Troubleshooting ​

WARNING

If you are using Outlook for Microsoft 365, your IT administrator may have disabled the ability to send automatic replies outside the organization to prevent spam loops.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
I'm not getting the auto-reply when I test it a second timeSpam preventionBoth Outlook and Gmail only send the auto-reply once per email address every few days. This is normal behavior to prevent infinite loops.
External clients aren't getting the reply (Outlook)Wrong tab or IT policyEnsure you pasted the message into the "Outside My Organization" tab. If it still fails, IT may need to enable external forwarding/replying for your account.