Microsoft Teams has no place to store replies you write once and insert later. As of October 2026, its help pages describe suggested replies that Teams generates, saved messages, a chat with yourself and Copilot rewriting, and none of them lets you type a short code and get your own prepared reply. For that, keep the replies in a text expander, which types them into the Teams compose box.
Outlook and Gmail do have saved replies; the guide to canned responses in Outlook and Gmail covers them. This one is about Teams chat only.
What Teams has built in
| Feature | What it does | Why it is not a canned response |
|---|---|---|
| Suggested replies | Offers short replies, picked by a machine learning model, after someone sends you a few messages | Teams writes them, and selecting one sends it immediately |
| Saved messages | Bookmarks a chat message or channel post in a Saved list | You open the message and copy from it. If its author edits or deletes it, the saved copy changes too |
| Chat with yourself | A private chat for drafts, notes and files, which you can pin to Favorites | Reusing a draft still means copy and paste |
| Rewrite with Copilot | Rewrites a draft or changes its tone and length | It changes what you have typed; it does not store a reply for next time |
| Team templates | Create a new team with ready-made channels and apps | The name says templates, but they hold channels, not messages |
Suggested replies are on by default. To turn them off, Microsoft’s page says to open Settings and more > Settings > Chats and channels and switch off Suggested replies. If you can’t find the option, your organisation may control it.
Keep your replies in a text expander
A text expander sits outside Teams. You save a reply under a short trigger, type the trigger in the compose box, and the expander replaces it with the full text before you send. Text Replacements does this in Windows 10 and 11 desktop apps, so the same shortcuts also work in Outlook or a browser.
- Open Text Replacements and select Add.
- Enter a trigger such as
;tm-onitand the reply text. - In Teams, open your chat with yourself and type the trigger followed by a space.
- Check the result, then use it in a real conversation.
Teams in Chrome or Edge on the same PC works the same way, because the app also works in browsers. On a Chromebook, use Text Replacements for Chrome.
Three things specific to Teams
Enter sends the message
Microsoft’s Teams keyboard shortcuts list Shift+Enter for a new line, and the chat guide says Enter sends a new chat. Finish a trigger with Space in Teams. That way the key that expands the reply cannot also send it.
Test multi-line replies first
A reply with line breaks, such as an agenda, behaves differently from a one-line answer. Try it in your chat with yourself before using it with a colleague. The same shortcut list gives Ctrl+Shift+X to expand the compose box, which leaves more room for a long message. In chat, a reply that fits in one paragraph is usually better anyway.
Teams formats as you type
Teams applies Markdown-style formatting in the compose box, so backticks, asterisks and a leading number with a full stop can turn into code, bold text or a list. Keep those characters out of chat replies unless you want the formatting.
Twelve Teams replies worth saving
Text in square brackets is typed as it is. Replace it before you send. {date:yyyy-MM-dd} is a Text Replacements macro that inserts the current date when the reply expands.
| Trigger | Reply |
|---|---|
;tm-onit | On it. I’ll update you here by [time]. |
;tm-later | I’ve seen this and will reply properly by [time]. |
;tm-call | I’m on a call until [time]. I’ll get back to you after that. |
;tm-ack | Got it, thanks. I’ll look at this today and come back to you with any questions. |
;tm-thread | Let’s move this to [channel or chat] so the right people can see it. |
;tm-review | Ready for review: [link]. Please add comments by [date]. |
;tm-block | I’m blocked on [task] until I get [what is needed] from [person or team]. Can you help with that? |
;tm-notes | Notes from [meeting]: we decided [decision]. Next steps: [owner] will [task] by [date]. |
;tm-status | Status for {date:yyyy-MM-dd}. Done: [item]. In progress: [item]. Blocked: [item]. |
;tm-time | Could we find 15 minutes to talk this through? I’m free [option 1] or [option 2]. |
;tm-away | I’m out until [date]. For anything urgent, please contact [name]. |
;tm-thanks | Thanks, [name]. That helps a lot. |
The shared ;tm- prefix keeps them together in your list and stops them firing inside normal words. The guide to naming text shortcuts explains the idea, and the team snippet library guide shows how to give a whole team the same set.
Before you send a saved reply, fill in every bracket and add the one detail that shows you read the message.
Frequently asked questions
Does Microsoft Teams have canned responses?
Can I change the suggested replies in Teams?
Do text shortcuts work in Teams in a browser?
Why did my multi-line reply send before it was finished?
Save the replies you type in Teams every day and insert them with a short trigger in any Windows app.
Get Text Replacements