In more recent versions of Microsoft Outlook you may have noticed several new features. You may also have noticed that you’ll occasionally see emoji reactions on some messages in your inbox, like this:
What’s all this about? Outlook (both the desktop and web versions) have had the ability to “react” to messages as a quick reply for a good while now, and I’d like to show you the basics of how they work.
Starting with Outlook on the Web and Outlook for Mac back in 2022, emoji reactions were rolled out to every Outlook platform in September of 2023. Since then, you may have started seeing folks start using those reactions, and here’s how to access them.
Whenever you are reading an email, the option to react to the message will be in the upper right of the message, along with other buttons for add-ins and other integrated applications.
Once you click on it, you’ll be given emoji options to select.
Once you’ve clicked on an emoji, it will show as a reaction for you, the sender, and anyone else CC’d or BCC’d on the message. It’s a quick way to let the sender know you’ve seen the email without having to write something out if that isn’t needed, and reactions can always be taken back by clicking on the icon again.
If you aren’t seeing options for emoji reactions in Outlook, you may be due for an upgrade! You can update Office by using your Ivanti software portal or you can contact the IT Help Desk for assistance.
