How to Automatically Send a Specific Reply to Only One Person in Gmail

Gmail’s “Out of Office” auto-reply is great for vacations, but it blasts the exact same message to everyone who emails you. What if you want to automatically send a specific template (like a pricing sheet or an FAQ document) only when a specific client or specific email address contacts you? You can easily set this up by combining Gmail Templates with automated Filters.

Step 1: Enable Gmail Templates

Before you can automate a reply, you need to turn on the templates feature.

1. Open Gmail, click the Gear icon (Settings), and select See all settings.
2. Navigate to the Advanced tab.
3. Find the Templates section and click Enable.
4. Scroll to the bottom and click Save Changes.

Step 2: Create the Reply Message

Now you need to draft the exact message you want to send automatically.

1. Click Compose to start a new email. Leave the “To” field blank.
2. Type out your automated reply in the body of the email.
3. Click the three vertical dots (More options) at the bottom of the compose window.
4. Hover over Templates > Save draft as template > Save as new template.
5. Give your template a name (e.g., “Client Pricing”) and save it. You can now delete the draft.

Step 3: Create the Automation Filter

Finally, we tell Gmail when to send this template.

1. Click the Show search options icon in the main Gmail search bar.
2. In the From field, type the specific email address of the person you want to automatically reply to.
3. Click Create filter.
4. In the list of actions, check the box for Send template.
5. Click the dropdown menu next to it and select the template you created in Step 2.
6. Click Create filter.

From now on, whenever that specific person sends you an email, Gmail will instantly and automatically reply with your chosen template, leaving all your other incoming emails untouched.