Whether you’re stepping away for an extended vacation or just taking a day to focus on deep work, a good out-of-office (OOO) message helps set expectations and keeps communication flowing smoothly. The best OOO replies are clear, friendly, and provide the right amount of direction without overwhelming your contacts.

Below are five ready-to-use examples you can copy, paste, and customize.

1. The Simple & Professional OOO

Why it works: It’s quick, clean, and perfect for most situations.

2. The “I’ll Check Occasionally” OOO

Tip: This pairs nicely with Gmail’s advanced search features: labels, operators, and filters make it easy to stay organized. If you want a quick refresher, our Gmail Search guide covers the essentials.

3. The Vacation Reply With Helpful Links

Tip: If you haven’t set up your Gmail signature yet, this is a great time—your OOO can complement a polished, professional email footer. And if you need a quick walkthrough, our How to Add a Signature in Gmail guide has you covered.

4. The Internal-Only OOO (For Teams)

Tip: If someone messages you by mistake or you need to recall an email you sent before heading out, Gmail gives you a short window to unsend. Our How to Unsend an Email in Gmail guide explains how it works.

5. The Polished OOO With a Disclaimer

If you use disclaimers regularly, consider adding them to your Gmail signature so they appear automatically.

How to Set Up Your Out-of-Office Message in Gmail

In Gmail, turning on your vacation responder is simple:
Settings → General → Vacation Responder.
From there, choose your date range and paste in your message.

BeBefore you save, don’t miss the two optional checkboxes:

‘Only send a response to people in my Contacts’
‘Only send a response to people in [your organization]’

These act as a subtle but essential security feature, they prevent your out-of-office message from going to unknown senders, which helps avoid revealing your absence to strangers or potential bad actors.

And while you’re polishing your OOO, it’s also a good time to tidy up the rest of your inbox—tighten up your signature, sharpen your search habits, or make sure you know how to quickly fix mistakes with Undo Send. If your team uses Signature Manager for Gmail, this is a good time to refresh your company-wide signature so everyone starts OOO season looking consistent and professional.