Are you fed up with the large inflow of Emails when you are on vacation ? Scared of crafting replies to every mail and want to stay away from your inbox? Feel like having an assistant to help you in drafting replies for your mails but worried about finding the right assistant that works around the clock and all 365 days. What if you get an assistant who works all 365 days precisely? It’s like ahh moment right! Excited to meet your writing assistant, let me introduce you to “Automatic reply Outlook”, this is a feature of Microsoft 365 outlook mail which drafts Automatic reply for your mails, and allows you to check and modify responses before sending. 

In this digital world, being fast and accurate email management is very crucial. No matter whether you are heading out on vacation, attending a conference or simply need to be away from your inbox, automatic reply outlook can be a life saver. The automatic reply feature allows you to send messages automatically to your incoming emails and ensures your customers or clients receive notifications promptly while maintaining professionalism even when you are not available to respond personally. 

Understanding Automatic replies:

Before we dive into setting up automatic reply in Outlook let us understand what exactly automatic reply means and how it works. BY the name itself you can understand that Automatic reply features is something that gives reply to your mails automatically. This feature is sometimes referred to as out of office messages or auto responses that act as virtual assistants for managing your inbox. 

Outlook mail mainly has two types of automatic replies, They are out of office replies and custom auto responses.Out- of office replies are used when you are away from the office for an extended period while custom auto responses can be personalized to Certain circumstances or two specific recipients. This kind of automated message helps to maintain good communication and manage your work and expectations smoothly even if you are away from your desk. 

How to set a automatic reply in outlook

So by now you are aware of the automatic reply Outlook feature, types of automatic replies  now let us understand how to set automatic replies in Outlook. The process of setting automatic reply in Outlook is very simple and straightforward. Let me break down the process in simple points for better understanding. 

• Open your Microsoft 365 outlook app  and login to your account.
• Then, navigate to the “File” option present at the Top left corner of the outlook window.

• Now click on the file tab to access the menu option. 
• From the drop down menu locate automatic reply or out of office assistant and click on it now you will be directed to open automatic reply settings window.

• In the automatic replies settings window you will find an option to enable automatic replies check the box next to send automatic replies to activate automatic replies.

•  Then, specify the duration for which you want the automatic replies to be activated. you can also choose to set a start and end time or date for the automatic reply period.

• After setting that time and date you have to craft your automatic reply message in the text box type the message that you want to be sent automatically in response to incoming emails. Make sure that your message should include relevant information such as your unavailability dates or any other important details.

• If you want to make your message more professional you can format your automatic reply message using the formatting options available in the outlook.with those options you can change the font style, size, color and alignment. 

• Advanced version of Outlook even allows you to create different automatic replies in outlook for both external (Outside my organization) and internal (Inside my organization)contacts. 

• Once you are done with your automatic reply message and configured all the settings,  you have to save your changes. You probably find the save or okay button at the bottom of the automatic reply outlook settings, just simply click on that button.

• Finally activate your automatic reply by clicking on the turn on or apply button. This will activate automatic reply for the specified time Prem and Outlook will start sending your predefined messages in response to incoming emails.

That’s it you have successfully set up automatic reply  in Outlook now anyone who sends you an email during the specified period will receive your automatic message informing them of your absence and give them relevant information and instructions. 

Best tips for writing effective automatic reply Outlook:

Writing an effective and clear automatic reply is very important for good communication and for maintaining professional standards among your contacts ( Both external and internal ). Some best tips for writing effective automatic replies in Outlook or outline below.

• When crafting automatic messages make sure to keep your message clear, concise and informative.
• Always start your message by acknowledging the recipient of the email and expressing appreciation for the sender’s message.
• Now give details about your absence including your expected return or available date and other relevant information about whom to contact in your absence. 
• Finally as in all regular replies include your greetings and signature. 
• It is important to maintain the perfect balance between professionalism and approachability in your automatic reply message to ensure your recipients feel informed and valued. 
• Here I am providing some templates of Out of office automatic reply outlook messages  for better understanding and clarity,  have a look at them. 

How to personalize automatic replies in Outlook?

However, automatic reply in Outlook is an easy and convenient way to inform your absence or Unavailability to your recipients.  Personalizing these messages will increase their effectiveness and make them more engaging for your recipients. So consider writing custom or personalized automatic replies based on the  nature of your relationship with the recipient. 

For example you may draft different auto responses for internal colleagues, external clients and personal contacts. To create such kind of auto responses based on the keywords or information you can use the advanced features (choosing external, internal and personal contact options)of Outlook. 

By personalizing your automatically you can ensure that your messages resonate with your colleagues, clients and provide them relevant information according to their requirements. 

Managing automatic replies

Managing automatic reply in outlook is nothing but updating, deactivating or changing automatic existing auto reply settings, etc. Below is the detailed procedure of managing automatic Reply in Microsoft Outlook.

• Launch your Microsoft outlook app and login to your account.
• Navigate to automatic reply settings in the outlook window by clicking on the file option.

• Once you access automatic  reply settings, you will be able to see the current status of automatic reply settings such as whether they are currently active or inactive as well as your predefined messages if any.
• If you want to update the content of your predefined messages you can simply edit the text of the message in the provided box and save it. 
• You can even modify the duration of your automatic replies simply by updating the relevant columns with the updated information. 
• If you no longer need or don’t want to send an automatic reply anymore you can deactivate them by clicking on the “Turn off “ button. 

• After changing the Automatic reply settings and updating your information,  click on the save button to save the updated information and then close the window. 
• Don’t forget to verify  whether the changes were applied or not by sending a test mail. 
• If you need or encounter any problems or have questions about managing automatic replies in Outlook you can contact the Microsoft outlook customer support team to assist you. 

If you are able to follow all the above mentioned steps you can easily manage your automatic  reply setting in Microsoft Outlook to ensure that your Email communications are efficient and  professional. 

Conclusion:

Mastering automatic reply Outlook is an essential skill which will help you to manage your email Communications more professionally and efficiently. By understanding how automatic reply features works, writing effective Auto reply messages and personalizing your responses you can easily streamline your email management process and can have a positive experience for both you and your recipients. If you are taking your well deserved vacation or attending a conference or Taking a long leave this automatic reply feature is your trusted buddy for maintaining good communication with your colleagues and clients. So what are you waiting for just  on board your writing assistant for seamless communication and email management.