To create a poll in Outlook, start a new email and select Polls on the Message or Insert tab (in classic Outlook it’s Insert, Poll), type your question and options, then send the email. Recipients in your organisation vote inside the email, and you see the totals in the voting card.
The poll is a Microsoft Forms form behind the scenes, owned by whoever sends it. When I recorded the video in March 2020 it was brand new and you had to install it first, through Get Add-ins and a search for Quick Poll by Microsoft Forms. Today it sits on the ribbon in new and classic Outlook, and under More apps in Outlook on the web.
Before you start
- A work or school account. Polls don’t work in Outlook.com with personal accounts, or with Gmail, Yahoo or iCloud accounts added to Outlook.
- An admin setting. Your Microsoft 365 admin needs Send a link to the form and collect responses ticked under External sharing in the Microsoft Forms settings in the Microsoft 365 admin center. If Polls is missing or won’t sign you in, ask about this first.
- One clear question. A poll is a single question with a set of options. Anything longer belongs in a full form.
How do you insert a poll in an Outlook email?
- Start a new email.
- Open the poll pane. In new Outlook for Windows, select Polls on the Message or Insert tab. In classic Outlook, select Insert, then Poll (or Options, Use Voting Buttons, Poll). In Outlook on the web, select More apps, then Poll, from the Message or Insert tab.
- Type the question and the first two options. Select + Add option for each extra choice.
- Decide on single or multiple answers. Multiple answers is off by default, so people pick one. Turn it on if they can choose more than one.
- Add the poll to the email, add your recipients and send. In classic Outlook and Outlook on the web, your own name goes into Cc so you get a copy with the results card.
How do people vote, and where do the results go?
People inside your organisation see the poll in the body of the email as an actionable message. They pick an option and submit without leaving Outlook. In my demo, Alex voted on a Christmas party venue straight from the email, with a link to open the poll in the browser as well.
Two groups get the link instead. People outside your organisation vote in a browser, and so does everyone when the poll’s title or list of options is too long to show in the email.
The voting card shows the totals. Select Refresh to update them, or View in Forms to open each response on forms.office.com. The poll also turned up in the sender’s list of forms in Microsoft Forms, with Alex’s vote in it, like any other form.
Use a poll when one answer settles it
I reach for a poll when the email exists to get a decision: a venue, a meeting time, which of two drafts to go with. A reply-all thread on the same question fills everyone’s inbox and leaves someone counting answers by hand. The poll does the counting for you.
Keep it to one question you’d be happy to act on. If you find yourself adding a second question, or you need people to explain their answer, build a full form in Microsoft Forms and send the link. For collecting documents or details into SharePoint, a SharePoint form with document upload is a better fit than either.
Think about who sends it, too. The poll and its responses live in the sender’s Microsoft Forms account, so if someone else will need to report on the decision later, have the person who owns the decision send the poll.
For more that new Outlook can do from your inbox, see Outlook Newsletters and Copilot Chat as your Outlook email assistant.
Frequently asked questions
Why can’t I see the Polls button in Outlook? Check you’re signed in with a work or school account, because polls don’t work with Outlook.com personal accounts or Gmail, Yahoo or iCloud accounts. If you are, ask your admin whether Send a link to the form and collect responses is turned on under External sharing in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Can people outside my organisation vote in an Outlook poll? Yes. They get a link in the email and vote in a browser instead of inside the message. Keep the title and options short as well, because a poll that’s too long shows everyone the link rather than the in-email vote.
Where do I see the full poll results? Select View in Forms on the voting card, or select the poll link in the body of the email. Both open the poll at forms.office.com, where you can see each response, and the poll stays in your list of forms afterwards.
Is there another way to add a poll in classic Outlook? Yes. On the Options tab, select Use Voting Buttons and then Poll. It opens the same Polls pane as Insert, Poll.
