How to see every Gmail email that’s still waiting on a reply
Updated
Short answer: Gmail can’t search for sent emails that got no reply, so keep the list yourself: add a Waiting label to each email you need an answer to, and show label:waiting as its own section with Multiple inboxes. Turn on Gmail’s “Suggest emails to follow up on” nudge as a safety net, and take the label off when the answer arrives.
Why can’t Gmail show you this on its own?
Gmail’s search finds messages by what’s in them: who sent them, their words, labels and dates. “Nobody answered” isn’t in any message, so there’s no operator for it, and in:sent shows everything you sent, answered or not.
Set up a Waiting section
- Create a label called Waiting (Settings → See all settings → Labels → Create new label).
- When you send something you need an answer to, open it from Sent and add the Waiting label.
- In Settings, next to Inbox type, choose Multiple inboxes, then Customize, and add a section with the search label:waiting, named Waiting on.
- When the answer comes, or you stop waiting, take the label off.
Add a safety net
Turn on Settings → See all settings → General → Nudges → “Suggest emails to follow up on”. Gmail then brings sent emails nobody answered back to the top of your inbox after a few days, including ones you forgot to label.
Look at it once a day
A list of what you’re waiting on only helps if you check it. Once a day, follow up on anything past its date, two or three working days for a colleague, three to five for anyone outside your company, and close what you no longer need.
Ways to keep track of emails waiting on a reply
| Way | Catches every one | Effort | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowtide | Yes, by email and Slack, with the follow-up drafted | None | Free during early access (Mac) |
| A Waiting label and section | If you label them | A click per email | Free |
| Gmail’s follow-up nudge | Some, after a few days | None | Free |
| Boomerang | If you set it on the email | A click per email | Free for 10 a month |
Questions people ask
Is there a Gmail search for emails without a reply?
No. Gmail’s search operators find messages by their content, sender, labels and dates, not by whether anyone answered. A label you add as you send, or a tool that watches your sent mail, fills the gap.
Does Multiple inboxes work on my phone?
You set it up on a computer. On your phone, open the Waiting label from the menu in the Gmail app to see the same emails.
How long should I wait before following up?
Two or three working days for a colleague, three to five for someone outside your company, and a day or two before any real deadline. Our guide to following up on an email that got no reply has more.
Sources
What this guide says about other products and research comes from these sources, checked on the date above.