Outlook Suggested Replies Missing in New Outlook: Fix

You open an email in the new Outlook for Windows, but the suggested reply buttons — Quick Reply, Short Reply, and the three suggested responses — do not appear. This feature, which uses AI to generate short replies, can stop working after an update or when certain settings are changed. The problem usually happens because the Suggested Replies feature is turned off in settings, the mailbox is not fully cached, or a temporary profile glitch blocks the AI from loading. This article explains why suggested replies disappear and provides five methods to restore them.

Why Suggested Replies Stop Appearing in New Outlook

Suggested Replies in the new Outlook for Windows rely on a cloud-based AI service that analyzes the email body and context. When the feature is enabled, Outlook sends the email content to Microsoft servers, which generate three short reply options. The feature requires an active internet connection, a supported Microsoft 365 mailbox (Business Basic or higher, or Outlook.com), and the toggle to be enabled in both the app and web settings.

The most common cause of missing suggested replies is that the setting is turned off in the new Outlook interface or in the classic Outlook profile that shares settings. A second cause is that the mailbox is using an older cached mode that does not fully sync the AI data. A third cause is a temporary glitch in the Outlook profile that prevents the AI service from loading. In rare cases, the feature is disabled by an IT administrator via group policy or Exchange Online policy.

Methods to Restore Suggested Replies in New Outlook

The following methods are ordered from quickest to most thorough. Try each method in order and check if suggested replies reappear after completing the steps.

Method 1: Enable Suggested Replies in New Outlook Settings

1. Open Outlook Settings
   Click the Settings gear icon in the top-right corner of the new Outlook window.
2. Go to Mail > Compose and Reply
   In the Settings panel, click Mail, then select Compose and Reply from the left menu.
3. Turn on Show suggested replies
   Scroll to the Suggested replies section. Toggle the switch to On. If the toggle is already on, turn it off, wait 5 seconds, and turn it on again.
4. Close Settings and test
   Close the Settings panel. Open an email that is at least three sentences long. Suggested reply buttons should appear below the email body.

Method 2: Enable Suggested Replies in Classic Outlook (If Installed)

1. Open classic Outlook
   Press the Windows key, type Outlook, and select the classic Outlook app (not the new Outlook).
2. Go to File > Options > Mail
   Click File, then Options, then select Mail from the left navigation.
3. Scroll to Message Format
   Under the Message Format section, locate the Use Suggested Replies checkbox. Check the box if it is unchecked.
4. Click OK and restart Outlook
   Click OK to save the change. Close both classic and new Outlook. Reopen new Outlook and test.

Method 3: Enable Suggested Replies in Outlook Web Access

1. Open Outlook on the web
   Go to outlook.office.com and sign in with your work or school account.
2. Open Settings
   Click the Settings gear icon in the top-right corner.
3. Go to Mail > Compose and Reply
   Click Mail, then Compose and Reply.
4. Turn on Suggested replies
   Toggle the Suggested replies switch to On.
5. Close and test in new Outlook
   Close the browser tab. In the new Outlook desktop app, press F5 to refresh. Open an email and verify the replies appear.

Method 4: Repair the Outlook Profile

1. Open classic Outlook Profile Manager
   Press Windows + R, type outlook.exe /manageprofiles, and press Enter.
2. Select your profile
   In the Mail Setup dialog, click Show Profiles. Select your current profile name and click Properties.
3. Repair the data file
   Click Data Files, select your primary mailbox, and click Settings. Click Repair and follow the prompts. This process does not delete emails.
4. Restart new Outlook
   Close all Outlook windows. Open new Outlook and test.

Method 5: Clear Cached Credentials and Sign In Again

1. Open Credential Manager
   Press Windows + S, type Credential Manager, and press Enter.
2. Remove Outlook credentials
   Click Windows Credentials. Scroll to Generic Credentials. Look for entries containing MicrosoftOffice, Outlook, or MS.Outlook. Click the arrow next to each entry and select Remove.
3. Restart new Outlook
   Close new Outlook. Open it again. You will be prompted to sign in. Enter your credentials.
4. Test suggested replies
   Open an email and verify that the suggested reply buttons appear.

If Suggested Replies Still Do Not Appear

Outlook shows “Suggested replies are not available for this message”

This message appears when the email is too short, contains only images, or is a reply to a thread. Suggested replies require a minimum of three sentences in the original email body. Also, the feature does not work on encrypted, rights-managed, or sensitivity-labeled emails. If you see this message, try a different email.

Suggested replies work in OWA but not in new Outlook desktop

This indicates a sync issue between the web and desktop versions. First, ensure that the new Outlook app is updated to the latest version. Go to Settings > General > About Outlook and click Update Now. If the version is current, sign out of the new Outlook app, restart Windows, and sign in again.

IT administrator has disabled Suggested Replies

If you use a work or school account, your IT admin can disable Suggested Replies through Exchange Online PowerShell or the Microsoft 365 admin center. Run the following command in Exchange Online PowerShell to check: Get-Mailbox -Identity "your.email@domain.com" | fl SuggestedReplies. If the property is set to $false, contact your IT admin to enable it.

New Outlook vs Classic Outlook: Suggested Replies Feature Comparison

Item	New Outlook	Classic Outlook
Setting location	Settings > Mail > Compose and Reply	File > Options > Mail > Message Format
Requires online connection	Yes, always	Yes, but syncs locally
Supports shared mailboxes	No	Yes
Supports on-premises Exchange	No	Yes, with Hybrid Modern Auth
Behavior on encrypted email	Hidden	Hidden

You can now restore suggested replies in new Outlook by checking the app setting, the classic Outlook setting, and the web setting. If the feature still does not work, run the profile repair or clear cached credentials. As an advanced tip, you can force a full mailbox resync in new Outlook by going to Settings > Accounts > Email accounts, selecting your account, clicking Manage, and then clicking Repair — this re-downloads the AI model data for suggested replies.