If you write the same answer more than twice a week (your availability, a price list, "thanks, I'll get back to you on Friday"), Gmail can store it for you. The feature used to be called canned responses. Google later renamed it Templates, which is why many guides and menu names don't match any more.
This guide walks through switching templates on, creating, inserting, updating and deleting them, what they can't do, and what to use when your replies aren't only in Gmail.
Step 1: turn templates on
Templates are off by default. To switch them on in Gmail on the web:
- Click the gear icon at the top right, then See all settings.
- Open the Advanced tab.
- Next to Templates, choose Enable.
- Scroll down and click Save Changes. Gmail reloads.
Menu names shift a little between Gmail versions and languages, so if you don't see Advanced, look for the same option under a nearby tab.
Step 2: create a template
- Click Compose and write the text you want to reuse. Add a subject if it's for new emails.
- Click the three dots (More options) at the bottom of the message.
- Choose Templates, then Save draft as template, then Save as new template.
- Give it a name you'll recognise in a list, like "Availability" or "Invoice sent".
Write templates the way you'd talk. Leave obvious gaps for the parts that change, such as [name] or [date], so you can't send one without filling them in.
Step 3: insert it into an email
Open a reply or a new message, click the three dots, choose Templates and pick one under Insert template. The text drops into the message, and for a new email the template's subject is filled in too. Edit the gaps, then send as usual. Nothing is sent until you press Send.
Update or delete a template
- Update: insert the template, change the text, then go to Templates, Save draft as template and choose the existing name under Overwrite template.
- Delete: three dots, Templates, Delete template, then pick the one to remove.
Send a template automatically (carefully)
Gmail filters can answer for you. In Settings, open Filters and blocked addresses, create a filter (for example, messages sent to an orders address with "quote" in the subject) and tick Send template. It's handy for a fixed acknowledgement, but it replies to every match, so test the filter's search first and keep the template short and neutral.
What Gmail templates can't do
- Phones: at the time of writing, templates work in Gmail on the web, not in the Android or iPhone apps.
- Other inboxes: they live inside one Gmail account. A second Gmail account, your Outlook inbox or your X and Reddit replies don't see them.
- Quick access: inserting one takes several clicks through a menu, which adds up when you use them all day.
The Outlook equivalent
Outlook has its own version. In Outlook on the web and the new Outlook for Windows it's called My Templates, found from the message toolbar while you write. Classic Outlook has Quick Parts under the Insert tab. Like Gmail's, they only work inside Outlook.
One set of snippets for every inbox
If your replies are spread over Gmail, Outlook, X and Reddit, keeping separate template lists gets old quickly. That's why we built snippets into TopDock, a slim bar for Windows that holds all your inboxes.
- Save a snippet once in Settings, with a short name and the text. Offer it everywhere or only for email, X, Reddit or LinkedIn.
- In any reply or post, press Ctrl+; (or click Snippets), type a few letters and press Enter. The text lands at your cursor, ready to edit.
- It never sends anything for you, and your snippets stay on your PC.
It pairs well with the rest of a calm email routine: answer quick ones with a snippet, turn slow ones into todos, and keep the badge in view with a Gmail and Outlook notifier instead of a browser tab. If you're working through a backlog, our practical inbox zero method shows where templates fit in.
Quick answers
What happened to canned responses in Gmail?
Google renamed them. Canned responses are now called Templates, and you switch them on under Settings, See all settings, Advanced, Templates.
Can I use Gmail templates on my phone?
At the time of writing, templates work in Gmail on the web, not in the Gmail apps for Android and iPhone. On a phone you can copy text from a note instead.
Can a Gmail template reply automatically?
Yes. Create a filter (Settings, Filters and blocked addresses) and choose Send template as its action. Use it carefully: it replies to every message that matches.
Is there a way to use the same snippets in Gmail, Outlook and X?
Gmail's templates only work inside Gmail. A desktop tool with its own snippets, such as TopDock on Windows, lets you insert the same saved text into Gmail, Outlook, X, Reddit and LinkedIn replies.
Looking for Gmail outside the browser altogether? See whether there's a Gmail app for Windows and the options that come closest.