You want Google to email you when new results appear for a topic, but Google Alerts is easy to miss if you're looking in phone settings or a separate app. Setup happens on the Google Alerts website in a desktop or mobile browser. Start with a clean alert, tune the options before saving, and manage everything from the same page later.
Create Your First Google Alert
Open your browser and go to Google Alerts at google.com/alerts. Enter the topic you want to follow in the box at the top, then click Create Alert. Use a specific topic when you want tighter results and fewer unrelated emails.
Tune Alert Options Before Saving
The most common cause of messy Google Alerts is saving a broad topic without adjusting the alert options. After you enter your topic on Google Alerts, click Show options. Set How often to As-it-happens, At most once a day, or At most once a week.
Set Sources to Automatic, News, Blogs, Web, Video, Books, Discussions, or Finance. Choose Language, then choose Region.
Set How many to Only the best results or All results. Check the What accounts get the alert control. Once that is set, click Create Alert.
Edit an Existing Alert
This fixes an alert that is too broad, too frequent, or using the wrong options. Go to Google Alerts and find the alert you want to change. Click Edit next to that alert.
Click Show options if the settings are hidden. Change the settings shown under Show options, then click Update Alert.
Adjust Settings For All Alerts
Some Google Alerts settings apply across your alerts instead of only one topic. Go to Google Alerts and click Settings.
Check the options you want in Settings. Then click Save.
Use Edit and Show options on an individual alert when you want to change that alert's topic-level controls.
Fix Alerts That Stopped Arriving
The most common account-level reason alerts stop arriving is that Google Alerts has disabled them. Go to Google Alerts and look for the alerts have been disabled message. If you see it, click Enable.
In My Alerts, click the alert you want to see results for. Click Show options to check the email address and settings.
Use the Right Google Account
Go to Google Alerts and check the Google Bar to see which Google account is signed in. If it is the wrong account, click your profile image. Click Sign Out, then sign in with the correct Google account.
Alerts you create while signed in belong to that Google account, so account switching is the fastest fix when an alert seems missing. An alert created while signed out is tied to the email address you verified instead, so manage that one from the links in the alert email rather than by switching accounts.
Delete or Unsubscribe From Alerts
Use deletion when you want to remove an alert from Google Alerts. Use unsubscribe when you are already inside an alert email and want those emails to stop.
To delete an alert, go to Google Alerts. Find the alert you want to remove, then click Delete next to that alert.
To unsubscribe from an email instead, open the Google Alert email. Click Unsubscribe at the bottom of the alert email.
Handle Work or School Accounts
Managed accounts depend on whether Google Alerts is enabled for the organization.
- 1.Open Google Alerts with your work or school account.
- 2.If the service is unavailable, ask the Google Workspace administrator to check Google Alerts access.
- 3.An admin with the Service Settings privilege opens the Google Admin console and goes to Menu > Apps > Additional Google services > Google Alerts.
- 4.The admin clicks Service status, chooses On for everyone or Off for everyone, and clicks Save.
- 5.For an organizational unit, the admin selects the unit, chooses On or Off, then clicks Override, Inherit, or Save.
- 6.For an access group, the admin selects that group and sets Google Alerts access there.
Skip Older Setup Methods
Ignore older setup paths that point you to phone settings, the Google app, the Google News app, Chrome settings, Google Assistant, Gemini, or hardware controls. Use the current Google Alerts website flow instead.
Skip older Google News Alerts wording and RSS-style delivery instructions. Treat Google Alerts as a web service, not a consumer app to install or update. When in doubt, start at google.com/alerts and manage everything from there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Google account to create Google Alerts?
Not always. Signed out, you can enter your topic, type an address in the Enter email box, and click Create Alert, and Google sends a verification email to activate that alert. Sign in with a Google account when you want your alerts collected under My Alerts and managed from the account shown in the Google Bar.
Where do I change how often Google Alerts arrive?
Open Google Alerts, choose the alert, click Edit, click Show options if needed, and change How often to As-it-happens, At most once a day, or At most once a week.
How do I stop Google Alert emails?
Delete the alert from Google Alerts, or open an alert email and click Unsubscribe at the bottom.
Why is Google Alerts unavailable on my work or school account?
Google Workspace admins control whether Google Alerts is on or off for users, organizational units, and access groups.
