Using Outlook search efficiently is the key to a more productive way of working. In this blog post, you will find out how you can improve your Outlook search and thus optimize your work processes. Whether you’re in the office or working from home, finding the right emails and information quickly saves time and increases efficiency. Read on to discover practical tips and tricks on how you can optimize Outlook search in your company.
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Challenges of the Outlook search
Anyone who wants to optimize their Outlook search often faces several challenges. Users often don’t find the emails they are looking for because the search is too imprecise or returns too many irrelevant results. An email inbox that has grown over the years is also a reason for irrelevant results – on the other hand, you don’t want to delete important emails. Another problem is incomplete indexing, which means that emails cannot be searched correctly. The use of incorrect or unknown search operators can also lead to important messages being overlooked.
The basics of the Outlook search
Outlook offers a search function that can do more than just find keywords. The basic functions include
- Quick search: entering a search term in the search bar will immediately display relevant results from your mailbox.
- Advanced search options: You can refine your search with filters such as sender, date or category.
- Folders: Create individual folders to search in these pre-filtered results and improve the quality.
These functions form the basis for using the Outlook search optimally and improving it further.
Tips and tricks to optimize the Outlook search
To make it as easy as possible for employees to get the most out of Outlook, we have put together some tips on how to make better use of the Outlook search.
1. Use precise search terms
Instead of entering general terms, specific keywords should be selected. This will minimize irrelevant results and help you find the emails you are looking for more quickly.
2. Use advanced filters
Use the advanced search options to refine your search. For example, you could use the following filters:
- Date: Search for emails from a specific time period.
- Sender: Filter for emails from important contacts.
- Attachments: Find emails that contain certain file types.
3. Setting up search folders
Search folders can be used to automatically group emails according to certain criteria. This is particularly useful if you regularly search for similar information. A search folder in Outlook is a virtual folder that automatically displays emails based on defined search criteria without actually moving them. For example, you could use a search folder to quickly access unread messages, emails from specific senders or messages with attachments. It is set up via “Folder” → “New search folder”, where you can select predefined options or define your own filters. Search folders are particularly useful if you regularly search for certain emails with certain properties, as they are updated automatically, saving you the hassle of manual filtering.
know search syntax
Outlook supports advanced search syntax, which helps you to make even more precise search queries. Examples of this are:
- “From:” to search for a specific sender.
- “Subject:” to find emails with a specific subject.
- “To:” to identify messages to a specific recipient.
Further operators are explained in the next section.
Important Outlook search operators for a more precise search
An example of how you can use the Outlook search filters
To optimize the Outlook search, you can use special search operators to narrow down your results. Use from: (e.g. from: “[email protected]”) for senders, to: (to: “[email protected]”) for recipients or subject: (subject: “Meeting”) to search for specific keywords in the subject. With message: (message: “Project update”) you can search the email text, while attachments:yes only shows emails with attachments. You can also filter by date (received:>=01.01.2023), size (size:>50000) or categories (category: “Important”). You can also combine multiple search criteria with AND, OR and NOT. These operators make the Outlook search more efficient so that you can quickly find exactly the emails you need.
Avoid common mistakes in the Outlook search
Even the best tools can become inefficient due to small errors in the application. Here are some common Outlook search pitfalls and how to avoid them:
- Imprecise search queries: avoid overly general search terms.
- Overlooking filters: Always use the advanced filters to refine your search.
- Indexing problems: Make sure the Outlook database is regularly updated and indexed.
By avoiding these errors, you can optimize your Outlook search and thus significantly increase your efficiency in your day-to-day work.
AI search in Outlook | Advanced search functions
Despite these tips, the Outlook search is still based on a keyword-based search. If you don’t “hit” the right keyword, it becomes very difficult to find the right word. This is exactly where AI can help to find emails much faster. For an AI-based search in Outlook, you need an add-on such as amberSearch – an enterprise search solution for companies. A solution like amberSearch builds its own index and searches it with AI models to quickly take relevant data into account. The advantage of this is that it searches at a semantic level – i.e. at a level of meaning – and not just for keywords. Watch this video to get a feel for how an AI can make all your business know-how accessible:
AI tools like amberSearch additionally allow employees to chat with emails, have answers automatically written to them based on internal knowledge or summaries. With a correctly set up enterprise search, not only information from Outlook, but also from other data sources – such as drives. Teams or SharePoint.
Would you like to find out how to implement an AI search in Outlook? Then let’s get in touch now. We’ll be happy to help you: