Set Up Automatic Replies (Out of Office) in Outlook
Set an Out of Office message so Outlook answers your mail automatically while you’re away, then turns itself off on the date you choose.
Why: Automatic Replies is a server-side feature on Microsoft 365 and Exchange accounts — once it’s on, the server sends the reply even when your PC is off. POP/IMAP accounts (most Gmail/Yahoo) don’t have this button and need a workaround (see the FAQ).
Step 1: Turn on Automatic Replies and write your message
- In classic Outlook, go to File → Automatic Replies. (If you don’t see this button, your account isn’t on Exchange/Microsoft 365 — jump to the FAQ.)
- Select Send automatic replies.
- On the Inside My Organization tab, type the message your coworkers should see.
- Select OK.
A banner appears below the ribbon while replies are active; select Turn off there to stop them at any time.
Step 2: Schedule a start and end time (optional)
If you don’t want replies to start immediately:
- In the same dialog, tick Only send during this time range.
- Set the Start time and End time.
- Select OK.
Outlook turns replies off automatically at your end time, so you won’t come back to find them still running.
Step 3: Send a different reply to people outside your company
- In the Automatic Replies dialog, open the Outside My Organization tab.
- Tick Auto-reply to people outside my organization and type a separate (usually shorter) message.
- Choose My contacts only so the reply doesn’t fire at newsletters, mailing lists, and spam — Microsoft recommends this. Select OK.
FAQ
There’s no Automatic Replies button — where is it? Your account is POP or IMAP, which has no server-side replies. You can build a rule (File → Manage Rules & Alerts → New Rule → reply using a specific template), but Outlook must stay open and online for it to send.
Does my computer need to stay on? No. On Microsoft 365/Exchange the mail server sends the reply, so you can shut down and travel.
Will one person get spammed with replies? No — the server sends only one auto-reply per sender per “on” period.
Sources: Microsoft Support — How to set up out of office automatic replies in Outlook