If your business has just moved from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, the single biggest adjustment for most staff isn't the migration itself - it's learning Outlook after years of Gmail muscle memory. The good news is that almost everything you relied on in Gmail has a direct equivalent in Outlook. Here's the quick-start map.
Labels → Folders
Gmail lets one email carry multiple labels at once. Outlook organises mail into folders instead, and one email generally lives in one folder. During migration, your Gmail labels convert into Outlook folders automatically, so the structure will look familiar even if the underlying logic is slightly different. If you relied heavily on multi-labelling, you'll need to lean on search more than folder-browsing in Outlook.
Gmail search → Outlook search
Outlook's search bar supports operators similar to Gmail: from:, subject:, hasattachment:yes, and date filters. It sits at the top of the Outlook window in both the web and desktop apps. If you're used to searching rather than browsing in Gmail, that habit works exactly the same way in Outlook.
Filters → Rules
Gmail filters and Outlook Rules do the same job: automatically sorting, flagging, forwarding, or deleting incoming mail based on sender, subject, or keywords. In Outlook, find these under Settings → Mail → Rules on the web, or Home → Rules in the desktop app. Recreate your most-used Gmail filters here in the first week to avoid inbox clutter building up.
Google Calendar → Outlook Calendar
Outlook Calendar covers the same ground as Google Calendar - recurring events, meeting invites, and room bookings. The main difference is that shared calendar permissions don't carry across a migration automatically; any calendar you'd shared with someone in Google needs to be re-shared through Outlook.
Google Meet → Microsoft Teams
Video calls move to Microsoft Teams, which is more deeply integrated into your day-to-day than Meet was - persistent chat channels, file co-authoring, and calendar scheduling all live in the same app. Old Google Meet links in recurring calendar invites will stop working once mail routes to Microsoft 365, so check your regular meetings have been switched to Teams links.
Google Drive → OneDrive and SharePoint
Personal files that lived in "My Drive" now live in OneDrive. Files that were in shared Drives or shared folders typically move into SharePoint document libraries, which behave more like structured team folders with defined permissions than Google's flatter sharing model. It takes a session or two to get comfortable with the difference, but the underlying idea - shared, cloud-synced files - is the same.
Google Docs, Sheets, Slides → Word, Excel, PowerPoint
Your documents convert to Office formats during migration. Simple files convert cleanly. If a spreadsheet used Google-only functions like QUERY or IMPORTRANGE, it may need rework in Excel - flag these to your IT team rather than assuming a broken formula is user error.
A few habits worth building in week one
- Pin frequently used folders to the favourites bar for faster access
- Set up your Outlook signature - it doesn't carry across from Gmail automatically
- Install the Outlook mobile app and sign in with your Microsoft 365 account, rather than continuing to check Gmail on your phone
- Use Focused Inbox (Outlook's version of Gmail's Priority Inbox) if you want less-important mail automatically filtered out of your main view
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did my Gmail labels go in Outlook?
They've become folders. Outlook doesn't use a label system the way Gmail does, so during migration each Gmail label converts into an equivalent folder. If an email had multiple labels in Gmail, it may appear in more than one folder in Outlook rather than one email with multiple tags attached.
Can I still use keyboard-driven search like Gmail?
Yes. Outlook's search bar sits at the top of the window and supports similar search operators to Gmail - from:, subject:, has:attachment, and date ranges. It's not identical syntax, but the core habit of searching rather than browsing folders carries across directly.
How do I set up something like Gmail filters in Outlook?
Outlook's equivalent is Rules, found under Settings > Mail > Rules (web) or Home > Rules (desktop app). Like Gmail filters, rules can automatically move, flag, forward, or delete incoming email based on sender, subject, or keywords. The logic is the same as Gmail filters, just under a different name and menu.
Planning or midway through a migration?
We run short Outlook orientation sessions for staff as part of every Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration we deliver in Perth.
Get a Migration QuoteFor related reading, see our Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration guide and Microsoft Teams Setup Guide.