How to Automatically Forward Emails in Outlook and Gmail: Expert Step-by-Step Guide

As a productivity expert with over a decade of experience optimizing email workflows for professionals, I've streamlined countless inboxes. Whether forwarding specific emails or all incoming messages, Outlook and Gmail offer reliable, set-it-and-forget-it automation. Here's how to do it securely and efficiently.

How to Automatically Forward Emails in Outlook

To set up automatic forwarding in Outlook, create a custom rule using these proven steps:

1. Open Outlook, go to the Home tab, and click the arrow below Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts.
2. Click New Rule.
3. Under Start from a blank rule, choose Apply rule on messages I receive, then click Next.
4. Choose criteria for messages to forward (leave blank for all emails). Click Next.
5. Select forward it to people or public group (or as attachment). In Step 2, click the people or public group link.
6. Enter the email addresses to forward to.
7. Select any exceptions.
8. Name the rule, ensure Turn on this rule is checked, and click Finish.

Forwarded emails appear as standard forwards, except for the subject line. To disable, revisit Home > Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts and uncheck the rule.

How to Automatically Forward Emails in Gmail

Gmail's process is straightforward but requires recipient verification for security—unlike Outlook. First, add forwarding addresses:

1. Go to Gmail Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
2. Click Add a forwarding address.
3. Enter the email (one at a time) and click Next.
4. The recipient clicks a verification link in their email.

Then, create a filter:

1. Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses.
2. Click Create a new filter.
3. Set criteria (e.g., your email in 'To' for all). Click Create filter.
4. Check Forward it to, select the address from the dropdown, and click Create filter.

To stop, go to Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses and delete the rule.

Explore more email automation: Send personalized bulk emails in Outlook with mail merge, Email from Google Sheets via Google Apps Script, or Set up auto-replies and scheduled emails in Mozilla Thunderbird.