Tutorial: Build an Automatic Form Responder with Google Forms and Apps Script

What You'll Build

In this tutorial, you'll create an automatic email responder that fires every time someone submits a Google Form. The email will be personalized using the submitter's own responses — their name, chosen options, and any other fields. This is a genuinely useful automation for event registrations, contact forms, support requests, and more.

What you need:

• A Google Form (any form with at least a name and email field)
• The linked Google Sheet (Forms automatically create one)
• Access to Apps Script (via the Sheet: Extensions → Apps Script)

Step 1: Set Up Your Google Form

Create a form with the following fields (or adapt to your own):

1. Full Name (Short answer)
2. Email Address (Short answer)
3. What can we help you with? (Paragraph or Multiple choice)

Connect the form to a spreadsheet by clicking the Responses tab → Link to Sheets. Google will create a sheet where each submission becomes a new row.

Step 2: Examine the Spreadsheet Structure

Open the linked spreadsheet. You'll see columns like:

Column A	Column B	Column C	Column D
Timestamp	Full Name	Email Address	What can we help you with?

Note the column order — your script will reference columns by index (0-based in JavaScript arrays, but keep in mind getValues() returns a 2D array).

Step 3: Write the Auto-Responder Script

In the linked sheet, go to Extensions → Apps Script and replace the default code with:

function sendAutoResponse(e) {
  // e.values is an array of form submission values
  // Order matches the column order in your sheet
  const timestamp   = e.values[0];
  const fullName    = e.values[1];
  const emailAddr   = e.values[2];
  const helpRequest = e.values[3];
  
  const subject = `We received your message, ${fullName}!`;
  
  const htmlBody = `
    <div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; max-width: 600px;">
      <h2 style="color: #1a73e8;">Thanks for reaching out, ${fullName}!</h2>
      <p>We've received your submission and will be in touch shortly.</p>
      <h3>Here's what you submitted:</h3>
      <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
        <tr>
          <td style="padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #ddd; font-weight: bold;">Submitted At</td>
          <td style="padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #ddd;">${timestamp}</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
          <td style="padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #ddd; font-weight: bold;">Your Request</td>
          <td style="padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #ddd;">${helpRequest}</td>
        </tr>
      </table>
      <p style="color: #666; margin-top: 24px; font-size: 12px;">
        This is an automated confirmation. Please do not reply to this email.
      </p>
    </div>
  `;
  
  GmailApp.sendEmail(emailAddr, subject, "", { htmlBody: htmlBody });
  Logger.log(`Auto-response sent to ${emailAddr} at ${new Date()}`);
}

Step 4: Create the Form Submit Trigger

The function won't run automatically yet — you need to bind it to the form's submit event:

1. In the Apps Script editor, click the clock icon (Triggers) in the left sidebar.
2. Click + Add Trigger (bottom right).
3. Set Choose which function to run → sendAutoResponse.
4. Set Select event source → From spreadsheet.
5. Set Select event type → On form submit.
6. Click Save and authorize the script when prompted.

Step 5: Test It

Submit your Google Form with a real email address. Within a few seconds, the auto-response should arrive in the inbox. Check the Executions log in Apps Script if anything goes wrong — it will show you the exact error and line number.

Extending This Further

Once the basic auto-responder is working, consider these enhancements:

• Notify your team too: Add a second GmailApp.sendEmail() call to send an internal notification to your team's inbox.
• Log to a separate sheet: Record every auto-response sent in a "Log" sheet for auditing.
• Conditional responses: Use if statements to send different email templates based on which option the user selected.
• Add a calendar invite: If the form is for a meeting or appointment, automatically create a calendar event and invite the submitter.

This tutorial demonstrates the core pattern behind dozens of powerful automations: trigger → read data → take action. Once you internalize this loop, the possibilities with Apps Script are nearly unlimited.