How to Set Up an Auto-Reply on a Shared Mailbox (Gmail & Outlook)

When a customer emails your support@ or info@ address, an auto-reply is the simplest way to confirm you received their message and set expectations on when they will hear back. But setting one up on a shared mailbox is not the same as on a personal inbox, and the steps are different in Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. This guide shows you how to do it in both, where auto-replies fall short, and how to see what actually happens after the automatic reply goes out.

What an auto-reply on a shared mailbox actually does

A shared mailbox auto-reply (also called an automatic reply or out-of-office) sends a standard message back to anyone who emails the shared address, automatically. On a shared mailbox it is usually used for two things: to acknowledge that a request has been received and give an expected response time, or to tell senders the team is away (a holiday, a weekend, reduced hours). It is different from a personal out-of-office because the reply represents the team, not one person, so the wording and the setup live with the mailbox itself rather than with an individual account. If you are still deciding whether a shared mailbox is even the right setup, see our guide on shared mailbox vs distribution list.

How to set up an auto-reply on a shared mailbox in Outlook (Microsoft 365)

There are two ways to do it: through Outlook on the web, or by an admin in the Exchange admin center. The web method is the one most teams use.

Method 1: Outlook on the web (needs Full Access)

1. Open the shared mailbox directly. In a browser, go to https://outlook.office.com/mail/<shared-mailbox-address>, or click your profile picture in Outlook on the web and choose Open another mailbox, then type the shared address. You need Full Access permission to the mailbox.
2. Open automatic replies. Click the gear icon, then Settings → Mail → Automatic replies.
3. Turn replies on. Toggle Automatic replies on. Optionally set a start and end time so it switches itself off.
4. Write the message. Add the reply senders will receive. Keep it short, confirm receipt, and give an expected response window.
5. Choose internal vs external. You can send a different message to people outside your organization, or disable external replies if you prefer.
6. Save. The auto-reply now applies to the shared mailbox, not your personal one.

Method 2: Exchange admin center

An administrator can set the same thing centrally. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to the shared mailbox under Teams & groups → Shared mailboxes (or use the Set-MailboxAutoReplyConfiguration PowerShell command) to enable and write the automatic reply. This is handy when you manage many shared mailboxes or do not have a mailbox open in Outlook.

Note that a Microsoft 365 shared mailbox under 50 GB does not need its own licence for this, which often surprises teams, more on that in do shared mailboxes need a license.

How to set up an auto-reply on a shared mailbox in Gmail (Google Workspace)

Google Workspace does not have a single "shared mailbox" object the way Microsoft 365 does, so the method depends on how your shared address is built.

If the shared address is a dedicated Google Workspace account

This is the cleanest setup. The address (for example support@yourcompany.com) is its own user account that the team signs into or delegates.

1. Sign in to the shared account. Log in to Gmail with the shared address itself, not your personal account.
2. Open settings. Click the gear icon, then See all settings → General.
3. Set the Vacation responder. Scroll to Vacation responder, turn it on, set a date range, add a subject and message, and save. Every sender now gets the automatic reply.

One caveat: if your team uses Gmail delegation to access the shared address, delegates cannot set the vacation responder from their own account, you have to sign in to the shared account directly to turn it on.

If the shared address is a Google Group (Collaborative Inbox)

A Google Group has no built-in vacation auto-reply. Your options are to route the address through a dedicated account that has a vacation responder, or to add an automatic reply with a short Google Apps Script. If you run your shared queue on a Group, our guide on how to monitor a shared mailbox covers the trade-offs.

Why an auto-reply is not enough on its own

An auto-reply does one job: it tells the customer "we got your message." It does not tell you anything. Once the automatic reply goes out, you still have no idea whether a real person actually picked the email up, how long they took to reply, or whether it slipped through entirely. On a shared mailbox that risk is higher, because everyone assumes someone else has it. The auto-reply can even create a false sense of safety: the customer was promised a response within four hours, but nothing tells you if that promise was kept.

Track what happens after the auto-reply

To close that gap, you add an analytics layer on top of the mailbox you already use. A tool like Email Meter connects to your Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 in a few minutes, with no browser extension and no change to how the team works, and reports on response times, volumes, SLA compliance and which messages went unanswered across the shared address. The auto-reply sets the expectation; the analytics tell you whether you are actually meeting it.

Frequently asked questions

How do I set up an auto-reply on a shared mailbox in Outlook?

Open the shared mailbox in Outlook on the web (you need Full Access permission), go to Settings, then Mail, then Automatic replies, turn replies on and write your message. You can also set it centrally from the Exchange admin center or with the Set-MailboxAutoReplyConfiguration PowerShell command.

Can a Google Workspace shared mailbox send an automatic reply?

Yes, if the shared address is a dedicated Google Workspace account: sign in to that account and turn on the Vacation responder in Gmail settings. A Google Group used as a shared inbox has no native auto-reply, so you route it through a dedicated account or use a Google Apps Script.

Why can't I set the auto-reply as a delegate in Gmail?

Gmail delegation does not let delegates change the vacation responder for the account they access. You have to sign in to the shared account directly to enable or edit the automatic reply.

Does a shared mailbox auto-reply count every email?

By default an automatic reply is sent once per sender within a set period, not for every message, so a customer who emails twice in a day usually receives a single auto-reply. The exact behaviour depends on your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace settings.

Is an auto-reply enough to manage a shared mailbox?

No. An auto-reply confirms receipt but tells you nothing about whether the email was actually answered, how fast, or by whom. Teams pair it with response-time and SLA analytics, such as Email Meter, to make sure the promise in the auto-reply is being kept.