How to Enable Smart Suggestions in Outlook for Windows 11
Smart suggestions in Outlook for Windows 11 predict words and phrases as you type. The ideas show up as grey text directly in your message window. Press the Tab key to accept a suggestion. This speeds up your writing and cuts down on typos.
This built-in feature is part of the new Outlook app for Windows. It works with Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, Hotmail, and Gmail accounts. You turn it on in the mail settings, and you can turn it off there too.
Open the Settings gear in the top-right corner of the new Outlook app, select Mail, then choose Smart suggestions. Tick “Suggest words or phrases as I type” for text predictions, or “Show suggested replies” for reply suggestions, then Save if prompted. Grey text then appears as you write, and Tab accepts it. No restart is needed.
Turn Smart Suggestions on or off in Outlook
You can turn smart suggestions on or off from the app settings. Two features sit under this heading. Text predictions suggest words and phrases while you write. Suggested replies offer short answers at the bottom of a message you have opened. Some people find the predictions distracting, and others use them to save time. Either way, the change takes only a few clicks and you can reverse it at any time.
Classic Outlook has its own text prediction setting in its Options dialog, so you will not find the same pages there.
- Open Outlook from the Start menu .
The Outlook window opens with your mailbox. If you have more than one account, the settings you change here apply to the app as a whole.
- Click the Settings button (the gear icon) in the top-right corner.
The Settings window opens, with a list of categories on the left.
- Select the Mail tab from the left sidebar of the Settings page.
- Choose Smart suggestions on the right.
The Smart suggestions page now shows the options for suggested replies and text predictions. If you do not see the page, check that you are in the new Outlook app. The classic app does not have it.
- Check or clear the boxes on the Smart suggestions page. Check a box to turn that feature on. Clear it to turn the feature off.
- Suggested replies:
- Show suggested replies - Outlook will suggest replies at the bottom of the message.
- Text predictions:
- Suggest words or phrases as I type - Outlook will suggest words and phrases as you type a new message or reply to a message.
The two features are independent. You can keep text predictions on and switch off suggested replies, or the other way round.
- Save your selections if a Save button is shown, then close the settings window.
To test it, start a new message and type a few words. If text predictions are on, grey suggested text appears after what you typed. Press Tab to accept it, or keep typing to ignore it. To undo the change, go back to the same page and reverse the checkboxes.
- The new Outlook app for Windows 11 offers a range of modern features and a simplified design. It supports several account types, including Outlook.com, Hotmail, Exchange-backed Microsoft 365 work or school accounts, and Gmail.
- Smart suggestions can reduce typing effort and help you write emails faster by predicting words and phrases.
- You manage the feature from the app settings. There you can set suggested replies and text predictions separately, to suit how you work.
- These steps let you tailor Outlook to the way you communicate and make your email writing more efficient.
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About the Author
Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard is a writer at Geek Rewind who turns complex IT tasks into clear, step-by-step guides. He draws on years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, focusing on Windows, Linux and WordPress: the problems people actually run into, and the fixes that work. His server and WordPress guides come from systems he runs himself. Richard builds and maintains the platform behind Geek Rewind, from its Ubuntu servers and Nginx configuration to its custom WordPress plugins. Many new tutorials start with readers' questions, and he's always glad to answer them in the comments.
My Outlook doesn’t have settings next to the search icon. Settings is under the … and all I get is account managing. All I want to do is turn off annoying predictive text. 😦 I use mail on my PC not my phone so maybe that makes the difference?
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