New Outlook Adds Automatic Template Reply Rules: December 2026 Rollout

What Microsoft announced​

Microsoft announced the feature in Message Center notice MC1505607, "Outlook: Reply With a Template in Rules." The notice says users of new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web will be able to create inbox rules that automatically reply to incoming messages using a saved template. It lists Exchange Online as the service and is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 567318.

Microsoft describes it in three steps:

• Users can create an inbox rule with conditions for incoming messages.
• Users can select a saved template as the automatic reply.
• When an incoming message meets the rule conditions, Outlook automatically sends the configured template response.

Microsoft's reason is simple: this helps users reduce repetitive work while providing faster, more consistent responses. This change supports personal and team productivity by automating routine email responses.

Section summary: You set conditions, pick a saved reply, and Outlook sends it when a matching message arrives. It's coming to both new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web.

The rollout schedule, and why it moved​

Neowin says it first reported that Microsoft was working on this feature in July 2026, but details were scarce then. The Message Center notice was first published on October 12, and updated October 26, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Copies of the original version said only that the feature completes by December 2026 (General Availability). The latest version gives these dates:

Those dates come from the updated notice: Targeted Release (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in mid-October 2026 and expect to complete by early November 2026. General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in early December 2026 and expect to complete by late December 2026.

So "by the end of this year" is accurate, but it's not the full picture. Tenants on Targeted Release may already be seeing the feature. Everyone else should get it in December. These are Microsoft's planned dates, not promises, and the October 26 update shows they can change.

Section summary: Targeted Release users get it from mid-October to early November. Everyone else gets it during December, if nothing slips.

What IT admins need to do​

Not much. Microsoft says no admin action is required before rollout, and the capability will roll out automatically during the scheduled rollout window. Microsoft does recommend some groundwork:

1. Inform your help desk about this new inbox-rule capability.
2. Update internal Outlook guidance if your organization documents inbox rules or automated responses.
3. Check whether your organization already has policies or guidance on automated email responses.

The third point matters more than it looks. Automatic replies can confirm to senders, including spammers and phishers, that a mailbox is live. A poorly scoped rule can also send internal details, like project names, phone extensions or who's covering for whom, to anyone who writes in. Microsoft's notice lists no compliance considerations. But if your organization limits automatic external replies through Exchange settings or policy, find out how this new rule action fits with those controls before users start relying on it. (That advice comes from general Exchange experience; the notice doesn't cover it.)

Section summary: Nothing has to change before rollout. Brief the help desk, update your documentation, and check your auto-reply policies.

How it works in Classic Outlook today​

Neowin expects the new version to look a lot like Classic Outlook's Rules Wizard, since Classic users already know that flow by heart. That's a reasonable guess, but Microsoft hasn't published the setup screens, the available conditions or exceptions, the template format, or any limits on how often replies are sent for new Outlook. For now, Classic Outlook is the only confirmed version.

Microsoft's support documentation describes the Classic Outlook method in two parts.

Create the template

1. In Outlook, create a new email message.
2. Enter a subject and message body for the reply.
3. Select File > Save As.
4. Give your template a name and in the Save as type drop-down, select Outlook Template (*.oft).

Create the rule

1. On the File tab, select Manage Rules & Alerts.
2. In the Rules and Alerts dialog box, on the E-mail Rules tab, select New Rule.
3. Under Start from a blank rule, select Apply rule on messages I receive and select Next.
4. Choose your conditions, such as "sent only to me." If you leave the conditions empty, Outlook asks whether the rule should apply to every message.
5. Under What do you want to do with the message, in Step 1: Select action(s), select reply using a specific template.
6. Click the underlined "a specific template" link, pick your saved template, add any exceptions, then name the rule and click Finish.

Two Classic Outlook catches​

Microsoft Learn documents two limits that catch a lot of people:

• The app has to be running. Outlook must be running for the Rules Wizard to send a reply automatically. If you close your laptop and leave for the weekend, nobody gets a reply.
• One reply per sender per session. The reply using a specific template rule in the Rules Wizard is designed to send the reply only one time to each sender during a session. This prevents Outlook from sending repetitive replies to a sender from whom you receive multiple messages. When you restart Outlook, this list is deleted and the rule is reset to start again for each sender.

If you're testing a Classic rule and the second test email gets no reply, that's the rule working as designed, not a fault.

Don't assume either limit carries over to new Outlook or the web version. Microsoft's notice doesn't say how the new feature runs: whether rules fire in the cloud with the app closed, or whether the once-per-sender behavior stays. We'll only know once the feature reaches general release.

Section summary: Classic Outlook can do this today if you need it now. Just keep the app open, and remember each sender gets one reply per session.

Why this matters​

Microsoft has been working through new Outlook's missing features to get Classic users to switch. Neowin notes the timing: Microsoft also recently said the All Accounts view, its unified inbox, will reach everyone by the end of October. Template replies are a different kind of gap, though. For support desks, sales teams, recruiters and anyone else who answers the same question over and over, a missing auto-reply rule is a workflow blocker, not a nice-to-have.

There are still open questions:

• Is it a full replacement or just similar? If the new version leaves out exceptions, or limits which conditions you can use, power users will notice.
• Which accounts get it? The notice names new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web under Exchange Online. It doesn't say whether personal Outlook.com accounts or third-party accounts added to new Outlook are included.
• Can admins control it? The notice mentions no policy controls specific to this rule action.

Section summary: This closes a real gap with Classic Outlook, but the details that matter most to power users and admins aren't known yet.

The bottom line​

New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web are getting rules that answer matching messages with a saved template. Targeted Release runs from mid-October to early November 2026, and general availability is expected through December. Admins don't have to do anything before it arrives, but it's worth briefing the help desk and checking your auto-reply policies first. If you need this right now, Classic Outlook can already do it, as long as you keep the app running.

Has the feature shown up on your Targeted Release tenant yet, and does it work like the Classic wizard? Tell us in the forums.