Reply to messages in Gmail

When you receive a message in Gmail, you can:

  • Reply to the sender.
  • Reply to every recipient.

Reply to messages

If you have a personal (@gmail.com) account:

  1. On your Android phone, open the Gmail app .
  2. Open the message.
  3. At the bottom, in the text box, enter your reply.
  4. Tap Send Send.

Tip: At the top left of the text box, tap the drop-down to:

  • Reply: Send the message to the sender.
  • Reply all: Send the message to the sender and anyone in the 'To:' and 'Cc:' lines.
  • Forward: Send the message to another recipient.
  • Change recipients: Change who you reply to, either the sender or everyone in the message.

If you have a work or school account:

  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app .
  2. Open the message.
  3. At the bottom of the message, tap:
    • Reply: Send the message to the sender.
    • Reply all: Send the message to the sender and anyone in the 'To:' and 'Cc:' lines.
    • Forward: Send the message to another recipient.
  4. Enter a message.
  5. Tap Send Send.

Change your default reply settings

To change how you reply to a message, update your default reply settings.

  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app .
  2. On the left, tap the Menu Menu and then Settings.
  3. Tap General settings and then Default email reply action and then Reply or Reply all.

Get suggestions for quick replies

To respond quickly to emails in your inbox, turn on Smart Reply. When Smart Reply is on, you can find suggested replies below your messages.

  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app .
  2. On the left, tap the Menu Menu and then Settings.
  3. Tap your account.
  4. Next to 'Smart Reply in email', tap the box.

Tips:

  • To reply, select a suggestion below the message.
  • You can edit the suggestion before you reply.
  • If you can't find the 'Smart Reply' setting, make sure that 'Smart features and personalisation' is enabled in Gmail. Learn more about smart features and controls.

Get reminders about important emails

Important: Before you can get reminders for important emails, turn on conversation view in Settings. Learn how to turn on conversation view.

At the top of your inbox, you may see suggestions (or 'nudges') for emails that you should reply to or follow up on. You can turn these nudges on or off in Settings.

  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app .
  2. On the left, tap the Menu Menu and then Settings.
  3. Tap your account.
  4. Under 'Nudges', tap Reply and follow up.
  5. Select an option:
    • Suggest emails to reply to: At the top of your inbox, you can find emails that you forgot to reply to.
    • Suggest emails to follow up on: At the top of your inbox, you can find sent emails that you may need to follow up on.

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