How to set up a Gmail auto reply
To set up a Gmail auto reply on a computer, click Settings, then See all settings, stay on the General tab and scroll to Vacation responder. Select Vacation responder on, fill in the first day, last day, subject and message, and click Save Changes. On the Gmail app, the same switch sits under Settings. For a standing reply to specific senders, save your reply as a template and create a filter that sends it.
Gmail calls its auto reply the vacation responder. It covers time away: you pick the dates, write one message, and Gmail sends it to people who email you while it's on. For anything else, such as a reply to every email sent to a support address, you combine two other settings: templates and filters.
This guide covers both, on desktop and phone, with eight auto reply email templates you can copy. The last part covers where Gmail's auto reply stops, which matters if the replies in your inbox come from cold email.
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Checklist
- A Gmail or Google Workspace account you can sign in to on a computer. Templates and filters can only be set up on Gmail for the web.
- The Gmail app on your iPhone, iPad or Android phone, if you want to switch the reply on or off from your phone.
- Your dates: the first day the reply should go out and the last day you're away.
- The message itself. Two to four lines with your return date and a backup contact is enough. The templates below are ready to edit.
Step 1. Open Gmail settings
Open Gmail on your computer. At the top right, click the Settings gear, then See all settings. The vacation responder lives on the General tab.
- Settings gear
- See all settings
- General tab
- Vacation responder
Stay on the General tab and scroll down until you reach the Vacation responder section. Everything in the next two steps happens there.
Step 2. Turn on the vacation responder
Select Vacation responder on. Then fill in the four fields Gmail shows: first day, last day, subject and message. The subject is what people see in their inbox, so make it plain, like "Out of office until Monday".
Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page. A banner then shows across the top of your inbox while the reply is on, with an End now link to switch it off early. If you use a Gmail signature, it's added below the reply.
If you're stuck on the wording, the holiday out of office message examples cover Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, and the templates further down this page cover everyday cases.
Step 3. Set dates and limit to contacts
The dates decide when Gmail replies. The reply starts at 12:00 AM on the first day and stops at 11:59 PM on the last day, unless you end it earlier. That means it works in whole days: you can't use the vacation responder to reply only outside office hours.
Always set a last day. Without one, the reply keeps going until you switch it off by hand, and the person who emails you on your first morning back gets told you're away.
Limit the reply to your contacts
Under the message there's a box to send the reply only to people in your contacts. Tick it when your return date and backup contact shouldn't go to strangers. The trade-off: anyone you haven't saved as a contact, including new clients and prospects, gets no reply at all.
How often each person gets it
Gmail doesn't answer every single email. In most cases a person gets your auto reply the first time they write to you. They get it again only if they email after four days with the reply still on, or if you've edited the message since. Emails that land in spam and emails sent to a mailing list you're on get no reply.
Step 4. Set it up on iPhone and Android
The Gmail app has the same vacation responder with the same fields: date range, subject, message and the contacts-only option. The menu path differs between iPhone and Android.
On iPhone or iPad
- Menu
- Settings
- Compose and Reply
- Vacation responder
Open the Gmail app and tap Menu at the top left, then Settings. Under Compose and Reply, tap Vacation responder and turn it on. Enter the date range, subject and message. To limit it, tap Send only to my Contacts. Then tap Save at the top right.
On Android
- Menu
- Settings
- Your account
- Vacation responder
Open the Gmail app, tap Menu at the top left, then Settings, and choose the account you want. Tap Vacation responder and turn the switch on at the top. Fill in the date range, subject and message, tick the contacts box if you want it, and tap Done.
To stop the reply from either phone, go back to the same screen and turn Vacation responder off.
Step 5. Auto reply to specific senders with filters and templates
The vacation responder answers everyone, or everyone in your contacts. To reply automatically to specific senders only, you need a filter that sends a template. This works all year, not just while you're away. Typical uses are an acknowledgement on a shared address like jobs@ or support@, or a standing reply to one client's domain.
Set this up on a computer. Google's help is clear that templates can only be turned on and used in Gmail on a computer, not in the phone apps.
Turn on templates
- Settings gear
- See all settings
- Advanced
- Templates: Enable
Click Settings, then See all settings, then the Advanced tab. Next to Templates, click Enable, then Save Changes at the bottom.
Save your reply as a template
Click Compose and type the reply in the compose window. At the bottom of the window, click More options, then Templates, then Save draft as template, then Save as new template. Give it a name you'll recognise in a list, such as "Jobs inbox acknowledgement".
Create the filter that sends it
- Show search options
- Your criteria
- Create filter
- Send template
In the search box at the top of Gmail, click Show search options. Enter who or what should trigger the reply: a sender in From (for example @clientdomain.com), an address in To, or words in the subject. Click Search first if you want to check which emails match. Then click Create filter, tick Send template, choose your template, and click Create filter.
If your filters route replies elsewhere too, our guide to cold email follow up timing explains what to send once a lead writes back.
Auto reply email templates
Each template below fits either the vacation responder or a filter. Swap the brackets for your details. Keep the return date and a backup contact in every out of office version. If you'd rather fill in your dates and get a finished message, the free out of office message generator writes one in your choice of tone.
Subject: Out of office until [return date]
Thanks for your email. I'm out of the office from [start date] and back on [return date], with limited access to email.
For anything urgent, please contact [name] at [email]. I'll reply to everything else when I'm back.
Away until [return date]. For urgent requests, email [name] at [email].
Thank you for your message. I'm on leave until [return date] and won't be reading email during that time.
My work is covered by [name], who can be reached at [email]. Your email won't be forwarded, so please resend it to them if it needs action before I'm back.
I'm at [event] until [date] and checking email once a day, so replies will be slower than usual.
If you're at [event] too and want to meet, reply with a time that suits you.
Subject: We have your message
Thanks for writing to [company] support. This is an automatic reply to confirm your email reached us. Someone from the team will answer in this thread on the next working day.
To help us sort it out, reply with your account email and a screenshot if something isn't working.
Thank you for applying to [company]. This automatic reply confirms we received your application for [role or "the role you applied for"].
We read every application and will contact shortlisted candidates directly. If you don't hear from us within [time frame], the role has been filled.
Hi, thanks for your email. I've got it and will reply today.
If it's urgent, call or text me at [number] and I'll pick it up straight away.
Thanks for your email. I no longer handle [area or account] at [company].
Please contact [name] at [email], who has taken this over. I won't be forwarding messages from this address.
Template 7 promises a same-day reply, so use it only when you can keep that promise. A filter sends it at any hour, including weekends.
Replies to your cold email landing in Gmail? Revbound sorts each one by intent and drafts the right answer.
Try it free for 3 daysWhere Gmail's auto reply stops (it cannot read intent or book meetings)
Both Gmail options send fixed text. The vacation responder sends one message to everyone in the date range. A filter sends one template to every email that matches its words or addresses. Neither reads what the person actually asked.
That's fine for time off and acknowledgements. It breaks down when the replies in your inbox come from cold email, because those replies need different answers. "Sounds interesting, can we talk next week?" needs times to meet. "Talk to Sam, she runs this" needs a new email to Sam. "Not interested" needs nothing at all, and your cold email sequence should stop for that lead the moment any of these replies lands.
| Gmail auto reply | Intent-based reply (Revbound) | |
|---|---|---|
| What decides the answer | Your dates, or the filter's words and addresses | What the reply says: interested, meeting requested, out of office, referral, not interested |
| Message sent | The same text to everyone who matches | A draft written for that reply, which you review or send automatically |
| Meeting times | None | Offers times that are free on your Cal.com or Google Calendar |
| Booking | No | Books the meeting when the lead says yes |
| Out of office replies from leads | Not handled | Writes back when the lead returns |
| Where it works | One Gmail account | Replies from Instantly, Smartlead, Email Bison, PlusVibe, SendKit and ArcSend in one inbox |
Gmail behavior from Google's own help pages. Revbound connects Gmail and Outlook mailboxes.
Revbound is a reply inbox for cold email. It pulls every reply from your sequencers into one list, sorts each reply with AI by what the lead meant, and drafts or sends the answer. When a lead wants to talk, it offers times that are actually free on your calendar and books the meeting when they say yes. It does not reply to LinkedIn messages or texts. Plans and the free trial are on the Revbound pricing page, and if you're still choosing a sender, see our comparison of the best cold email software for agencies.
Summary table
| Task | Where in Gmail | On the phone app |
|---|---|---|
| Turn on an auto reply | Settings, See all settings, General, Vacation responder | Yes, under Settings |
| Set start and end dates | First day and last day fields | Yes |
| Reply to contacts only | Box under the message | Yes |
| Turn it off early | End now in the inbox banner | Switch Vacation responder off |
| Save a reply template | Advanced, Templates, then compose and save | No, computer only |
| Auto reply to specific senders | Show search options, Create filter, Send template | No, set it up on a computer |
Every row follows Google's Gmail help pages for the vacation responder, filters and templates.
FAQ
How do I put a vacation message on Gmail?
On a computer, open Gmail, click Settings, then See all settings, and scroll to Vacation responder on the General tab. Select Vacation responder on, add the first day, last day, subject and message, and click Save Changes. In the Gmail app, the same option is under Settings.
How to set Gmail to auto-reply?
Gmail's auto-reply is the vacation responder. Turn it on under Settings, See all settings, General, set the date range and message, and save. It replies from 12:00 AM on the first day to 11:59 PM on the last day. For a reply that runs all year, use a filter that sends a template instead.
How to automate mail in Gmail?
Gmail automates mail with three built-in settings. The vacation responder sends an automatic reply while you're away. Filters label, archive, delete, star or forward incoming mail that matches criteria you set. Templates let you save a reply and, combined with a filter, send it automatically to matching emails.
Can Gmail auto reply to specific senders?
Yes. Turn on templates under Settings, Advanced, and save your reply as a template. Then click Show search options in the search bar, put the sender's address or domain in From, click Create filter, tick Send template, choose the template and create the filter. Every new email from that sender gets the reply.
Can I set up auto-reply texts in Google Messages?
Gmail's vacation responder only answers email, not text messages, and Google's Gmail help covers email only. To reply to texts automatically, look in your phone's own messaging and focus settings, which vary by phone maker. Your Gmail auto reply keeps answering email either way.
Why is my Gmail auto reply not working?
Check the dates first: the reply only runs between 12:00 AM on the first day and 11:59 PM on the last day. Gmail also skips emails that go to spam and emails sent to mailing lists, sends each person the reply only once every four days, and skips anyone outside your contacts if you ticked the contacts-only box.
Does Gmail's auto reply go to everyone who emails me?
No. In most cases each person gets the reply the first time they email you while it's on, and again only after four days or after you edit the message. Emails in spam and emails to mailing lists get no reply, and you can limit it to people in your contacts.