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Outlook for Mac calls an out-of-office message an automatic reply. You can turn it on immediately or schedule it for specific dates, and you can use different wording for colleagues and external senders.
The instructions below apply to the current Outlook for Mac experience in Microsoft 365, Outlook 2024, and Outlook 2021. A separate section covers the older Outlook interface, whose buttons and checkboxes have different names.
Set up Out of Office in the current Outlook for Mac
- Open Outlook and select Mail in the navigation pane.
- On the macOS menu bar, select Tools > Automatic Replies.
- If you have more than one account, choose the account that should send the reply from the account drop-down menu.
- Turn on Send Automatic Replies.
- Type your message in the Message for inside your organization box. This is the reply colleagues in your organization will receive.
- To make the message active only during your absence, turn on Set beside Send replies during a specific time period. Select Time Period, then enter the start and end dates and times.
- For people outside your organization, turn on Message for outside your organization.
- Choose Send only to my contacts or Send to everyone.
- Enter the external reply.
- Close the Automatic Replies window. Outlook saves the setting.
If you scheduled an end time, Outlook stops sending automatic replies when that time arrives. Without a schedule, the feature remains enabled until you turn it off yourself.
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What to write in your automatic reply
Keep the message short and include the information a sender actually needs:
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- the dates you are unavailable;
- when you expect to respond;
- the name and contact details of a colleague who can help;
- an alternative support address for urgent issues.
For example:
Internal reply:
Thanks for your message. I am out of the office from July 8 through July 12 and will respond when I return on July 15. For urgent project questions, contact Jordan Lee.External reply:
Thank you for contacting me. I am away from July 8 through July 12 and will reply after July 15. For immediate assistance, email support@example.com.
Use the internal box for company-specific details. The external message should not reveal information that would be inappropriate to share outside the organization.
Choose the external-recipient option carefully
| Option | Who receives the reply | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Send only to my contacts | External senders in your Exchange contacts | The safer default when you want to limit disclosure |
| Send to everyone | All external senders | Only when every outside sender should receive your absence message |
| External message disabled | No external senders | When your absence should be visible only inside the organization |
Send to everyone can include newsletters, marketing messages, and unwanted mail. It may also be unavailable if your Microsoft 365 or Exchange administrator has disabled external automatic replies.
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Turn Out of Office off manually
- Select Mail.
- Choose Tools > Automatic Replies from the macOS menu bar.
- Turn off the Send Automatic Replies toggle.
If a scheduled end time has already passed, no action is needed. Turn the setting off manually if you return early or did not set an end time.
Steps for legacy Outlook for Mac
Older versions of Outlook use checkboxes and an OK button rather than the current toggle and Close controls. If your window does not match the steps above, use these instructions instead:
- Select Mail.
- Choose Tools > Automatic Replies.
- Select Send automatic replies for account “your account”.
- Enter the internal message under Reply once to senders within my organization.
- To schedule the reply, select Send replies only during this time period, then enter the start and end dates and times.
- For outside senders, select Send replies outside my organization.
- Choose Send only to my Contacts or Send to all external senders.
- Enter the external message under Reply once to senders outside my organization.
- Select OK.
Do not look for a current-version toggle in the legacy window. The labels are different even though the feature works in much the same way.
Check which Outlook version you have
- Open Outlook.
- On the macOS menu bar, select Outlook > About Outlook.
- Read the version information in the About window.
If you are using legacy Outlook and cannot switch to the current experience, check for updates through Help > Check for Updates or update Outlook through the Mac App Store, depending on how it was installed.
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Which accounts support automatic replies?
Outlook for Mac provides built-in automatic replies for:
- Exchange accounts;
- Microsoft 365 work or school accounts;
- Outlook.com accounts;
- Hotmail accounts.
The built-in feature is not available for Gmail, Yahoo, POP, or other IMAP accounts added to Outlook. To check an account, select Tools > Accounts, choose the account, and read the account type shown above Account Description.
What if the automatic reply does not work?
Outlook is closed
For Exchange and Microsoft 365 mailboxes, automatic replies are managed on the mail server. They continue working after you quit Outlook and shut down your Mac.
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This is not true for a rule-based workaround on a POP or IMAP account. A local rule requires Outlook to remain open, connected, and running while you are away.
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A sender did not receive a reply
Several behaviors can make this appear broken:
- Exchange normally sends one automatic reply per sender while the current Out of Office state remains active. Sending several messages does not necessarily produce several replies.
- A message classified as spam may not trigger an automatic reply.
- Forwarding or an Exchange transport rule may redirect the message instead of delivering it to your mailbox.
- External replies may be disabled by your administrator.
- The sender may already have received the one reply allowed during the current Out of Office period.
Test with a separate account that has not previously contacted you during the current automatic-reply period. If internal replies work but external replies do not, ask your Microsoft 365 administrator whether external automatic replies are restricted.
The Automatic Replies command is missing or unavailable
First check the account type under Tools > Accounts. Gmail, Yahoo, POP, and IMAP accounts do not expose Outlook’s server-based Out of Office control. For those accounts, use the provider’s webmail vacation-responder feature instead—for example, Gmail’s vacation responder in Gmail settings.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Administrator alternative: Exchange PowerShell
For a Microsoft 365 or Exchange mailbox, an administrator can configure the same feature with Exchange Online PowerShell:
Set-MailboxAutoReplyConfiguration `
-Identity user@contoso.com `
-AutoReplyState Scheduled `
-StartTime "08/10/2026 08:00 AM" `
-EndTime "08/17/2026 05:00 PM" `
-InternalMessage "I am out of the office." `
-ExternalMessage "I am out of the office." `
-ExternalAudience Known-AutoReplyState accepts Enabled, Disabled, or Scheduled. Use -ExternalAudience All to reply to all external senders, or Known to restrict replies to known contacts. The date and time must follow the short-date format configured on the computer running PowerShell, so verify the regional format before running the command.
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FAQ
Does Outlook for Mac send an automatic reply when the app is closed?
Yes, for Exchange and Microsoft 365 mailboxes. Their automatic replies are handled by the server. A local rule used for a POP or IMAP account requires Outlook to stay open.
How often does Outlook send an Out of Office reply?
Exchange normally sends one automatic reply to each sender while the current Out of Office state remains enabled. It does not necessarily send another reply every day.
Why can’t I select Send to everyone for external replies?
Your Exchange or Microsoft 365 administrator may have disabled external automatic replies. The option can also be unavailable when the account type does not support Outlook’s built-in feature.
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Yes. Enter the colleague-facing text under the internal message section and enable the outside-organization message section for a separate external response.
How do I set an automatic reply for Gmail in Outlook for Mac?
Outlook for Mac does not provide its built-in Automatic Replies feature for Gmail accounts. Configure Gmail’s vacation responder in Gmail’s web settings instead.
The Bottom Line
In current Outlook for Mac, go to Mail > Tools > Automatic Replies, select the account, turn on Send Automatic Replies, add internal and optional external messages, and set a time period if needed. Exchange and Microsoft 365 replies continue on the server after you close Outlook; unsupported Gmail, Yahoo, POP, and IMAP accounts need a responder configured with the mail provider.
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