How to Set an Out of Office Email in the New Outlook

To set an out-of-office email in New Outlook, open Settings, go to Accounts > Automatic replies, turn on automatic replies for the right account, write your message, and save it. You can also set a start and end time and choose whether people outside your organization receive a reply. Before you begin, make sure the account supports automatic replies; the setting is available for supported Microsoft 365, Exchange, and Outlook.com accounts, but may not be available for Gmail or other IMAP and POP accounts.

What You’ll Need

Access to the correct account: If you have more than one mailbox in New Outlook, identify which one should send the reply. Automatic replies are configured per account, not necessarily for every mailbox shown in the app.
A supported mail account: Microsoft 365 work or school, Exchange, and Outlook.com accounts generally support server-managed automatic replies. For an account from another provider, you may need to set the vacation responder in that provider’s website instead.
Your dates and message: Decide when the reply should start and stop, what colleagues or customers need to know, and who should receive the message. If you do not set a schedule, remember to turn the reply off yourself.

Step-by-Step

Open New Outlook and check the account. Start the New Outlook app for Windows and confirm that the mailbox you intend to use is connected. If you see several accounts in the left navigation, note the correct address. This matters because a reply enabled on your personal mailbox will not automatically apply to your work mailbox, or vice versa.
Open the automatic-replies settings. Select the gear icon in the upper-right corner to open Settings. Choose Accounts, then Automatic replies. If the page asks you to choose an account, select the mailbox that should send the out-of-office message. The labels or layout can vary slightly as Outlook updates, but look in Settings under Accounts for Automatic replies.
Turn on automatic replies. Switch on Turn on automatic replies or the equivalent toggle shown on the page. Do not stop at opening the settings or typing a message: the feature must be enabled for replies to go out. If the toggle or automatic-replies page is missing, use the troubleshooting section below to check the account type and available settings.
Choose whether to set a time period. To have Outlook start and stop the reply automatically, enable the option to send replies only during a time period. Enter the start date and time, then the end date and time. Check the displayed time zone and use the time zone that applies to your mailbox or organization. For example, if you will be away from Monday morning through Friday afternoon, set both boundaries so the reply does not begin early or continue into the following week. If you leave scheduling off, the reply can remain active until you return and switch it off manually.
Write the message for people in your organization. Enter a concise reply in the message box. State that you are away, give the date you expect to return if useful, and name a colleague or shared inbox for urgent matters only if that person or team has agreed to be the contact. Keep the wording suitable for anyone who may email you, including people you do not know well. Avoid adding private travel details, personal phone numbers, or information that should not be shared broadly.
Decide whether to reply outside your organization. If you want customers, suppliers, or other external senders to receive a response, enable the option to send replies outside your organization. Depending on the screen, Outlook may offer a choice between replying only to people in your contacts and replying to all external senders. Choose contacts only for a more limited audience, or all external senders if people who are not in your contacts need confirmation that you are away. If external replies are unnecessary, leave this option off. Some organizations restrict external automatic replies, so follow your workplace policy.
Enter a suitable external message, if offered. If Outlook provides a separate box for people outside your organization, write a version that makes sense to customers and other external contacts. It can be less detailed than the internal message. Include a general route for urgent requests, such as a team address, only when it is appropriate to share. Do not assume the internal message will be sent externally; review the external setting and its message separately.
Review optional calendar controls. Some versions of the settings offer choices such as blocking your calendar for the period, automatically declining new meeting invitations, or declining and cancelling meetings already on your calendar. These options affect calendar activity, not just the email reply. Turn them on only if they match your plans. If you will still attend some meetings or need to keep existing appointments, do not select a broad decline option without checking its effect.
Save or confirm your changes. Select Save if the page shows a Save button. Some versions apply changes as soon as you switch a setting, but wait for the page to confirm or finish saving before closing Settings. Reopen Automatic replies briefly to verify that the toggle, dates, message, and external-recipient choice are still correct.
Check that the reply works and remember the end date. If the schedule starts in the future, do not expect a reply before that start time. When practical, test by sending a message from a separate account that is eligible to receive an automatic reply. Automatic replies are not necessarily sent for every message: Outlook may send one reply per sender during an active period rather than one for each email. When the scheduled period ends, check the setting and your calendar to confirm that the reply is off and any optional meeting controls behaved as intended.

Common Mistakes

Setting it on the wrong mailbox: A reply for one account does not automatically cover other connected accounts. Verify the selected address in Automatic replies, particularly if New Outlook combines work, personal, and shared mailboxes.
Forgetting to enable or save it: Writing the message is not enough if the automatic-replies switch is off. Likewise, leaving the page before a Save action completes can discard changes. Confirm both the enabled status and the saved settings.
Leaving out the schedule or using the wrong dates: Without a time period, automatic replies may stay active after you return. A start time in the wrong time zone can also make the message go out earlier or later than expected. Check the dates, times, and time zone before saving.
Assuming external senders are included: Replies to people outside your organization may be disabled by default or controlled separately. Review the external-reply option and its audience. Conversely, choosing all external senders when you only intended to reply to contacts may share your absence message more widely than planned.
Writing a message that reveals too much: Automatic replies can reach unexpected senders and may be forwarded. Avoid giving detailed travel plans, sensitive project information, or a personal number. Keep the message useful without disclosing more than necessary.
Turning on meeting declines without checking: Calendar options can decline invitations or affect existing meetings. They are separate from the email response. Review the options before enabling them, especially if your calendar includes meetings you still plan to attend.

Tips

Keep the reply short enough to scan quickly. A useful pattern is: your absence dates, whether you will have limited email access, and the right alternative contact for urgent work. For example, you could say that you are away through Thursday, expect to return Friday, and that urgent billing questions should go to the shared finance inbox. Only name a colleague if they have agreed to cover for you.

Consider using different wording for internal and external senders. Coworkers may need to know how to route a task, while an external customer may only need to know when you expect to respond and how to reach the general support team. Check that each message is understandable on its own; do not refer to details in the other version that the recipient will not see.

For a one-day absence, a scheduled reply is still useful because it turns itself off. For an unexpected absence with no known return date, give a cautious expectation rather than a date you may not meet, and arrange for someone to update the message if circumstances change. If the absence is recurring or the account is managed by your employer, check organizational rules before enabling replies to external senders.

New Outlook for the web uses a similar Settings-based approach, though the exact labels can differ. In classic Outlook for Windows, the controls are different: the Automatic Replies command is generally on the File page for Exchange accounts. Do not follow classic Outlook instructions if you are using the New Outlook app. On Mac, the layout may vary by release; look in Outlook’s Settings for the account’s automatic-replies controls. If the setting is not present, check whether that account supports the feature or configure it with the mail provider.

Troubleshooting

The Automatic replies option is missing: Check that you are in New Outlook and have opened Settings > Accounts. Confirm that you selected the intended account. Some account types, including many Gmail, IMAP, or POP connections, do not provide server-managed automatic replies through Outlook. Sign in to the provider’s own website and look for its vacation responder or out-of-office setting. A work administrator may also restrict the feature.
The setting is on, but nobody receives a reply: Check that the schedule has started and that the correct mailbox is enabled. Verify that the sender is within the selected audience: an external sender will not receive a response if external replies are disabled or limited to contacts. Ask the sender to check junk mail, and remember that an automatic reply may be sent only once to that person during the active period.
The reply starts or ends at the wrong time: Reopen the setting and check the start and end dates, time values, and time zone. If you changed time zones or set the schedule while travelling, compare the displayed zone with the one your organization uses. Correct the schedule and save it again.
Only some people receive the message: Check whether you selected contacts only for external replies. Also check whether the recipients are actually considered external by your organization; partner or guest addresses may still be treated as outside senders. Ask your Microsoft 365 or Exchange administrator whether a mail-flow rule or organizational policy is limiting automatic replies.
You cannot turn the reply off: Return to Settings > Accounts > Automatic replies, select the same account, and switch the feature off or adjust its time period. If the control will not save, close and reopen New Outlook, check your connection, and try again. If the account is managed by your organization and the problem remains, contact IT support with the account address and the error message.
Meeting invitations are still arriving: Automatic email replies do not automatically block your calendar or decline meetings unless you separately selected those calendar options and they are available for your account. Review the calendar controls and handle existing invitations directly if needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does New Outlook need to stay open for automatic replies to work?
For supported Exchange, Microsoft 365, and Outlook.com accounts, automatic replies are generally managed by the mail service, so Outlook does not need to remain open. For other account types, check the provider’s vacation-responder settings; a local rule may behave differently.

Can I set an out-of-office reply for only one account?
Yes. Choose the specific account in the Automatic replies settings and enable the reply there. Repeat the setup for any other supported account that needs its own message or schedule.

Will Outlook reply to every email from the same person?
Usually not. Automatic replies are commonly sent once to a sender during an active period, rather than every time that person emails you. This prevents someone who sends several messages from receiving a repeated copy of your absence notice.

Can I send different messages to coworkers and customers?
If your settings show separate internal and external message boxes, yes. Write and review each message separately, then enable external replies and choose the audience you want. If there is no separate external box, the account or version may offer fewer controls.

What if I use Gmail in New Outlook?
New Outlook may not offer its automatic-replies feature for a Gmail account. Sign in to Gmail on the web and set its vacation responder there. That lets the mail provider manage the reply even when New Outlook is closed.

Can I schedule an out-of-office reply without declining meetings?
Yes. The email schedule and calendar actions are separate choices. Set the automatic-replies period and leave calendar blocking or meeting-decline options off if you want invitations to continue as usual.

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