How to Use Gmail Multi-Send (Mail Merge) and Its Limits

If you searched how to use multi-send in Gmail, the first thing to know is that the feature has been renamed. What Google used to call multi-send mode is now called mail merge, and the newer name is what you will see in a current compose window. The capability is the same idea: send one email to many people, personalized to each, from inside Gmail rather than from a separate bulk-email service.

This post covers what Gmail's mail merge actually does, which Google Workspace plans include it, the unsubscribe link it adds to every message automatically, and the sending caps it carries — all verified against Google's own documentation as of August 2026. Google adjusts these thresholds from time to time, so check the primary source before you plan a send against a specific number.

The short answer#

Gmail's built-in mail merge — the feature formerly labelled multi-send — lets you send a single message to a list of recipients where each person gets their own copy with their own name merged in. You add recipients from Google Contacts or from a spreadsheet, insert merge tags like @firstname, and Gmail sends an individual email to each address instead of one message with everyone in the To field.

Two things separate it from a plain group email. First, Gmail automatically adds a unique unsubscribe link to the bottom of every mail-merge message, and it skips anyone who has unsubscribed on future sends. Second, mail merge is capped lower than a normal send: up to 1,500 recipients per message and 1,500 recipients per day, and it is only available on eligible Google Workspace plans — not on a free @gmail.com account.

The table below sets mail merge against the two things people usually reach for instead: a large Bcc list, or a dedicated mail-merge tool.

Before you start: what you need#

Mail merge only appears if three conditions are met. Miss any one and the toggle simply will not be there in your compose window.

• An eligible Google Workspace plan. Mail merge is available on Workspace Individual, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus. It is not on Business Starter, and not on a personal free @gmail.com account.
• The Gmail web interface. Mail merge is a web feature; you turn it on from the compose window in a browser, not from the mobile app or a third-party client connected over IMAP.
• Recipients ready as contacts or a spreadsheet. You can add people directly from Google Contacts, or use a spreadsheet whose column headers map to the merge tags you want to insert.

How to use mail merge in Gmail#

1. 1

   Open a new message in Gmail on the web

   In a browser at mail.google.com, click Compose. Mail merge is a web feature, so it will not appear in the Gmail mobile app or in a third-party client connected over IMAP.

2. 2

   Turn on mail merge

   Next to the To line, click the Use mail merge toggle, then switch Mail Merge on. If you do not see the toggle, your plan does not include the feature — check the plan list above.

3. 3

   Add your recipients

   Add addresses from Google Contacts, or import them from a spreadsheet whose column headers match the merge tags. Note that mail merge allows only one recipient in the Cc or Bcc field, so it is built for a To-line list rather than for copying a team on every send.

4. 4

   Insert merge tags into the message

   Type @ where you want a personalized value and choose a tag: @firstname, @lastname, @fullname, or @email. Gmail fills each recipient's value into their own copy. Have a fallback in mind for contacts missing a first name, since an empty tag reads awkwardly.

5. 5

   Review the recipient count and send

   Keep the list at or under 1,500 recipients, which is both the per-message and the per-day mail-merge cap. Mail merge cannot be combined with Schedule send, so it goes out when you click Send. Each recipient receives their own individual email with the unsubscribe link appended.

Which plans include multi-send, and the limits it carries#

Mail merge is a paid-plan feature. The table lists which Google Workspace editions include it as of August 2026 and the caps that apply once it is on. The recipient limits are the same across the plans that have it; what changes between plans is your overall daily sending allowance, inside which mail merge has to fit.

What the 1,500 cap means in practice#

That 1,500 mail-merge cap sits inside a larger daily limit. A paid Workspace account can send to about 2,000 recipients per day in total; mail merge can account for up to 1,500 of them, which leaves roughly 500 ordinary messages before you hit the ceiling.

A trial Workspace account — one whose domain has not yet cumulatively paid Google at least $100 — is held to much lower daily limits until it converts, and Google notes that the increase can take up to 75 days to take effect after payment. If your numbers look far below what is documented, check whether the account is still in that trial state.

What to do when it doesn't work#

The most common problem is that the mail-merge toggle is missing. That almost always means the account is on a plan that does not include it — a personal Gmail address or Business Starter — or you are composing somewhere other than the Gmail web interface. Open Gmail in a browser and check your plan against the table above before assuming the feature is broken.

Fixing a send that stalls or merges wrong#

If the toggle is there but your send fails or stalls, check the recipient count first. Mail merge stops at 1,500 recipients, and it also draws from your daily sending limit, so a large merge on a day you have already sent plenty of normal mail can be blocked even under 1,500. Split the list across days, or reduce it, and try again.

If merge tags come out blank or wrong, the usual cause is a mismatch between your tags and your data — a spreadsheet column header that does not match the tag name, or a contact with no first name on file. Fix the source data rather than the message. And if you are trying to schedule the send, you cannot: mail merge and Schedule send do not work together, so the message goes at click time.

A faster way — for the replies, not the blast#

Mail merge is a bulk-send tool, and sending bulk is not a job AI Emaily does. For one campaign to hundreds of contacts, Gmail's own mail merge or a dedicated mail-merge add-on is the right tool, and we would point you there rather than pretend our product is a sending platform.

Where a client-side AI layer earns its place is the other half of the workflow: the replies a campaign sends back into your inbox. AI Emaily connects to Gmail and Google Workspace over OAuth, and in Copilot mode it can draft replies to those responses in a voice you set through a Personal Context brain and per-client profiles, holding each one for your one-tap approval before it sends. That is one-to-one work — the opposite end of the job mail merge does.

We build AI Emaily, so read this as the maker marking where its tool fits: for a real mail-merge campaign, stay in Gmail's feature or a purpose-built sender.

For triaging and answering what comes back, the AI Emaily pricing page lists a 7-day free trial on Pro or Autopilot — card required, $0 if you cancel before day seven, and no permanent free tier.