Gmail - Email Merge

Introduction

This article provides step-by-step instructions for using Gmail’s mail merge feature, which allows you to personalize emails by automatically inserting recipient-specific details such as first and last names and email addresses. This feature is primarily used for emails containing standard text that are sent to multiple recipients.

Instructions

  1. On your computer, open Gmail.
  2. At the top left, click Compose.
    • You can also open an existing draft email.
  3. On the To line, add recipients.
  4. On the right end of the To line, click the multi-person icon, labeled Use mail merge.Composite of two screenshots, the first showing the multi-person and its tooltip that says Use mail merge, and the second showing the resulting drop-down, with a check box for Mail Merge.
  5. Select the Mail Merge check box.
  6. In the body of your message, enter @.
  7. Select a merge tag:
    • @firstname
    • @lastname
    • @fullname
    • @email
  8. To insert the merge tag, press Enter.

Tips

  • To ensure your message uses the correct recipient, check their name in Google Contacts.
  • To add multiple recipients, create a label in Google Contacts and group recipients. When you add the label in the To line in Gmail, the grouped recipients populate automatically. You can learn how to organize contacts with labels in this Google support article [External Link].
  • If the recipient isn’t in Google Contacts, mail merge populates the first and last name based on what you enter in the To line. For example, if you enter "Lisa Rodriguez <lisa@example.com>" as a recipient, Gmail uses "Lisa" as @firstname and "Rodriguez" as @lastname.

Troubleshooting

  • If you encounter any errors or problems using email merge with Gmail, please submit a ticket requesting help with Gmail or call our IT Service Desk for further assistance.
    • Please ensure you have a screenshot of the error or can replicate the error for documentation and further investigation.

 

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