7 Best Ways to Automate Gmail

If you read this, you look for ways to automate Gmail. You want to save time on managing your inbox.

Adobe says that people spend an average of 3.1 hours each day checking work emails. This might seem okay at first. However, Cal Newport’s Deep Work says that checking emails often can reduce our ability to do deep work.

By the end of this guide, you will have strategies to automate Gmail. This will free up valuable time each week.

You will learn how to make email templates to avoid sending the same replies. You will learn how to schedule messages for the future. You will learn how to filter out Gmail promotional content and more.

Let us explore the top 7 ways to automate Gmail.

What is Gmail automation?

Gmail automation helps you remove repetitive tasks from your inbox. This lets you focus on more important things.

If you send the same emails or sort messages into folders often, Gmail has tools to help. You can use email templates, automatic forwarding, and scheduled sending. These tools can help you spend less time in your inbox.

What should you automate in Gmail?

Before you start with Gmail automation, you should look at how you use it now. Find the tasks that take your time. This will help you see which automation is best for you.

You may find that automating email drafts, making email forwarding easier, or filtering out unnecessary messages saves you time each week.

The top 7 ways to automate Gmail

In the next part, I will show you the best Gmail automation techniques. I will give clear examples for each technique. Here are seven top ways to automate Gmail:

1. Make and use Gmail templates for replies you send often.
2. Plan email replies and automatic follow-ups.
3. Use Gmail rules for automatic actions.
4. Move emails to certain folders by themselves.
5. Filter out promotional emails from your inbox.
6. Forward emails to your team automatically.
7. Does mail merge automatically in Gmail?

Use Gmail like a pro and get to learn about these amazing Gmail settings every user should know.

1. Make Gmail Templates and Automated Replies

If you write similar emails many times, it is time to use Gmail templates. These tools help with messages like quotes, invoices, or standard replies to questions. You do not need extra software—Gmail lets you create and save templates directly.

How to activate Gmail templates

1. Log into Gmail on your computer.
2. Go to settings by clicking the gear icon in the upper-right corner and select “See all settings.”
3. Go to the Advanced tab.
4. Find the Templates section and turn it on.
5. Save your changes.

After you enable templates, you can start making your own.

How to set up a Gmail template

1. Start writing a new email in Gmail.
2. Click the three dots in the email window for more choices.
3. Select “Templates” and then “Save draft as a template.”

With these templates ready, you can reuse them easily whenever you want.

2. Scheduling Replies and Automated Follow-Ups

To improve your Gmail, you can plan emails for later delivery. For example, if you want an email to be sent next Tuesday, you can set this up before. In the email window, next to the send button, you will see an option to schedule the email for a specific time and date.

Steps to schedule emails in Gmail

1. Open Gmail on your computer.
2. Write your email.
3. Click the downward arrow next to the send button.
4. Select “Schedule” and choose the date and time for sending.

You can look at your scheduled emails. You can change them in the Scheduled tab on the left side of your inbox.

Setting up automatic follow-ups in Gmail

You can forget to follow up. You can set your emails to send follow-ups when there is no response after some time. You have to install a Google Chrome extension for this feature.

After you install it, you will see a “Send with a follow-up” option next to the send button.

Follow these steps to set up follow-ups:

1. Install the Chrome extension for Gmail.
2. Click the down arrow next to the send button.
3. Choose “Send with a follow-up.”
4. Decide when the follow-up will be sent.
5. Write a new follow-up message or use a template you already have.

3. Make Gmail easier with Automated Rules

Managing email takes a lot of time. This is true when you: 

• Delete junk messages.
• Forward important emails.

Gmail can do these repetitive actions for you. You can use Gmail’s filters and rules. Set tasks based on keywords or sender information. Then, you do not need to sort, delete, or forward emails by yourself.

It works like this: you define rules for incoming messages. For example, you can:

• Automatically put emails into folders like “Newsletters,” “Clients,” or “Accounting.”
• Set up rules to delete emails with “unsubscribe” to remove marketing content without thinking.
• Set filters to forward specific emails to a colleague you choose.

Now, let us see how to set up these rules in Gmail.

4. How to Sort Emails Automatically into Folders in Gmail

You can manage your inbox better with Gmail’s filters. They can sort emails into designated folders automatically. You can use this feature to organize your emails, like invoices and newsletters. This feature helps you to keep things tidy.

Here is a simple guide:

1. Open Gmail on your computer.
2. Click the filter icon on the right side of the search bar.
3. Set the criteria for the emails that you want to organize.
4. Then, you will select ‘Create a filter.’
5. After that, you can choose ‘Apply the label’ and either pick a label you already have or create a new label.
6. Your emails will be sorted automatically into the labels that you specified. You can see these in the left sidebar.

5. How to Filter Out Promotional Emails Automatically

If you have many promotional messages in your inbox, you can make Gmail remove these emails.

Follow these easy steps:

1. Open Gmail on your computer.
2. Click on the funnel icon at the right end of the search bar.
3. In the “Has the words” box, you must type ‘unsubscribe.’
4. Next, you will select ‘Create a filter.’
5. You can choose ‘Apply the label’ to place these emails in a special folder or remove them.
6. This process makes sure that most promotional messages with the word ‘unsubscribe’ are managed automatically.

6. How to Forward Emails to a Colleague Automatically in Gmail

You can make it easier to send emails to a colleague. This could be for client questions or urgent alerts.

Here is how to do it:

1. Open Gmail on your desktop.
2. Click on the filter icon at the end of the search bar.
3. In the options, you must enter details in the “Subject” or “From” fields to choose the emails to forward.
4. Then, you will click on ‘Create a filter.’
5. In the settings, you can choose ‘Forward it to’ and type your colleague’s email address.
6. When you finish the setup, emails that meet your criteria go to the chosen address automatically.

Is it possible to automate mail merge in Gmail?

Doing a mail merge in Gmail to send messages to clients, colleagues, or customers has many challenges.

• You can not add the recipient’s name to each email.
• You do not have the option to track email opens, replies, and clicks.
• You can not schedule follow-ups if a recipient does not respond or open the email.
• When you use BCC, you risk hitting ‘reply-all’ by mistake. This can break privacy.

Now, you have some ideas for making Gmail easier and saving time in your inbox.

Conclusion

You should focus on using the best methods. Start with a few key automations. Think about the tasks you can automate to help your productivity. This will give you more time for important work.

You can set up automatic replies for common questions. You can also send relevant emails to coworkers. You should filter out distractions that are not necessary. If you still have questions, do not hesitate to get in touch with the Google Gmail customer service team.

To improve your email speed daily, look at our 7-day Gmail mini-course. It gives useful advice to help you spend less time on email and be more productive.