How to Schedule Recurring Emails in Gmail Using Google Ads Scripts [Free Guide]

Stop wasting time manually sending the same Gmail reminders. While Gmail lacks a native recurring email feature, you can automate your communication for free using a hidden tool inside Google Ads. This guide shows you how to schedule weekly reminders and monthly reports without any coding experience or expensive plugins. Master this simple automation trick to streamline your marketing workflow and keep your team aligned effortlessly.

Gmail is an incredible tool for communication, but it has one frustrating limitation for busy marketers: it does not have a native way to send recurring emails. Whether you need to send a weekly reminder or a monthly report, you are usually stuck doing it manually or paying for expensive third-party plugins. Fortunately, there is a hidden gem inside your Google Ads account that can handle this for you: Google Ads Scripts.

Why Use Google Ads Scripts for Email?

While designed for managing advertising campaigns, Google Ads Scripts are powered by JavaScript and can interact with many Google services, including Gmail. This makes it a perfect, free tool for automating repetitive internal communication tasks. Here are three quick examples of how this can save you time:

  1. Weekly Data Collection Reminders: If you collect marketing data from different departments (sales, web, etc.) or from vendors (marketing agencies, third-party sellers, etc.), you can send a weekly email that includes a Google Sheets link to remind them to fill in the data every Monday morning.
  2. Monthly Budget Reviews: Send an automated email to your finance department on the 1st of every month summarizing your planned ad spend, ensuring everyone is aligned on the budget before the billing cycle hits its peak.
  3. Bi-Weekly Creative Assets Check-in: Automatically ping your design team every other Thursday to remind them to review the performance of current display banners and prepare new creative refreshes for the upcoming sprint.

How to Set Up Your Script

You don't need to be a developer to use this feature. Just follow these simple steps to get started:

  • Log in to your Google Ads account.
  • Click on the Tools & Settings icon (the wrench) in the top menu.
  • Under the Bulk Actions column, select Scripts.
  • Click the blue plus (+) button to create a new script.
  • Give your script a clear name (like 'Weekly Data Reminder') and authorize the script when prompted.
  • Clear out the default code in the editor and paste your email script.

function main() {

//INSTRUCTIONS:Email addresses must be inside quotes and separated by a comma for multiple emails.

var emailRecipient = "example-1@gmail.com, example-2@gmail.com"; 


//INSTRUCTIONS: This is the section you would place in the email subject line, just make sure all text is kept within "quotes".

var emailSubject = "Type your email subject line here"; 


//INSTRUCTIONS: As with the above sections, the below section builds the text to be featured in the body of the email you'll be sending. The only added complexity here is that you can't place returns or spaces between paragraphs within a single parameter (that means "inside a single set of quotes"). Instead, for every new paragraph you need to add in... + "\n\n" + ... For example, note the two example paragraphs in the setup below:
 
var emailBody = "This would be the place to put in your first paragraph of text for your email." + "\n\n" + "And here would be the text for a second paragraph of email text."; 


//You don't need to do anything else other than schedule and run this script. Below is the command to formally send the email contents you have constructed above. It will return confirmation the email was sent on screen when it's completed.

MailApp.sendEmail(emailRecipient, emailSubject, emailBody);  
     Logger.log("Your SUBJECT:" + emailSubject + " email notice was sent.");

}

The Power of Automation

One of the best features of Google Ads Scripts is the built-in scheduler. Once your script is written, you can tell Google Ads to run it on a frequency that suits your needs. Whether you need a daily morning check, a weekly performance summary every Monday, or a monthly wrap-up, the automation runs in the background without you ever having to click a button.

Pro-Tip: Keep an eye on your limits! Google imposes daily email sending limits on Script accounts (usually between 100 to 1,500 recipients per day depending on your Google Workspace tier). For internal alerts, you will rarely hit this, but it is important to keep your recipient lists clean.

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