How to set an out of office reply in Gmail
Turn on Gmail's vacation responder on a computer or phone, plus three short messages you can copy.
Gmail calls it the vacation responder. It sends one automatic reply to people who email you while you are away.
On a computer
- Click the gear at the top right, then See all settings.
- Stay on the General tab and scroll to Vacation responder.
- Select Vacation responder on.
- Set the First day and, if you know it, the Last day.
- Write a subject and message.
- To avoid telling strangers you are away, tick Only send a response to people in my Contacts.
- Click Save Changes at the bottom.
On a phone
In the Gmail app, tap the menu, then Settings, then your account, then Vacation responder (Android) or Out of Office AutoReply (iPhone). Turn it on, fill in the dates and message, and tap Done or Save.
Things to know
- Each person gets the reply once every four days, not on every email.
- Emails in Spam and emails sent to a mailing list do not get a reply.
- A Google Workspace (work) account can also limit replies to people inside your company.
Three messages you can copy
Short: "Thanks for your email. I am away until Monday, June 8, and will reply when I am back."
With a backup: "I am out of the office until June 8. For anything urgent, please contact Alex Rivera at alex@example.com."
Honest about the backlog: "I am away until June 8 with limited email. If this still matters after that date, please send it again and it will go to the top of my list."
How to do this in Perfect Mail
Open Settings and choose Autoresponder. Turn on Send auto-replies, set the start and end dates, write the subject and reply, and choose whether it only goes to your contacts. Click Send me a preview to see it in your own inbox, then Save to Gmail.
Perfect Mail writes Gmail's own vacation responder, so it keeps working when Perfect Mail is closed.