Microsoft Outlook offers a setting that serves to sort your inbox between two separate categories, based on whether Outlook’s system believes they are important or not. This system is the Focus system, and when enabled it creates two separate tabs in your inbox of Focused and Other. Over time, the Focused system learns your preference in emails based on what you open, what you mark as spam, etc.

 

Turning On or Off Focused Inbox

Outlook

In the Outlook desktop app, select the View tab and check or uncheck the ‘Show Focused Inbox” option.

Show Focused Inbox

 

New Outlook for Windows

In New Outlook for Windows, go to the View Tab and then go to View Settings.

Then go into the Mail section, choose Layout and you will have the option to Sort Messages into Focused, or not Sort messages. Select the appropriate option.

Make sure to select Save at the bottom of the page.

Screenshot of Settings > Mail > Layout > Focused Inbox

 

Outlook Online

In Outlook Online select the Settings(Gear) icon in the upper right hand corner, then select Mail on the leftside of the pop, then Layout.

There is a Focused Inbox section, and you will need to select “Sort messages” to turn on Focused, and “Don’t sort” to turn Focused off.

Make sure to click the Save button at the bottom right corner of the window after you have made the change.

 

Training Focus

In New Outlook and Outlook, in your Inbox, got to either the Focused or Other tab of your inbox, right click on an email you want to move to the other, and then select Move to Focused Inbox or Move to Other inbox.

 

In Outlook Online you will right click the message you want to move in either your Focused Inbox or your Other Inbox, then select Move, then select to move it to Focused or Other as needed.

 

This should work to train the Focused feature on how better to sort out your messages.