Microsoft continues to improve the Outlook experience for users. After initial criticism from users for removing features people actually used and pushing AI further into Outlook, the product has started moving in a more positive direction. After the All Accounts view and better integration with iOS contacts, Microsoft continues to announce useful features for Outlook.
The latest Microsoft 365 Roadmap entry for Outlook tells us that Microsoft is adding a new rule-based auto-reply feature to Outlook for Windows. This new mechanism should allow users to create better, more advanced auto-replies that can be sent in specific scenarios, rather than rigid autoresponders that get sent to everyone.
For example, classic “out of office” emails get sent to everyone during a set period, but the new feature will let you build custom rules that reply automatically using a saved template whenever specific conditions are met. You could set a rule to reply with one template when a message comes from a certain sender, and a different template entirely for messages with particular words in the subject line.
Here’s what the Microsoft 365 Roadmap entry 567318 says:
"You can now create a rule that automatically replies to incoming messages with a template you"ve set up. Set the conditions you care about and pick the template, and Outlook handles the response for you. It"s a simple way to send consistent replies without typing the same thing over and over."
The roadmap entry doesn’t exactly specify how the new auto-response feature will work, or if AI is involved. But since it’s rule-based, you’ll probably be able to set certain parameters, like keywords or specific email domains. The entry also only mentions Outlook for the web, so we’ll have to wait and see if it’ll also come to other platforms like Android and iOS.
The feature is listed as still in development, and Microsoft says that the global rollout will begin in September this year.