Why is the giphy not appearing in my signature?

Question

Management is requiring us to use an official Signature template which includes a GIF. When I copy and paste the template into my Signature in Outlook, the GIF is not displaying. How do I solve this issue? I'm on the new Outlook.

Answer 1

Dear @J Shapiro,

Good day, and I appreciate the clear explanation of your issue. From my research, animated GIFs in email signatures may not behave consistently in the New Outlook experience. This is because it uses a web-based rendering engine, which applies stricter handling for animations. As a result, GIFs may display as a static image (showing only the first frame) or may not animate when inserted via copy-and-paste.

Please try the following approach:

• Log in to Outlook
• On the left menu, select More apps > Add apps
• Search for GIPHY and select Add
• Close and reopen Outlook

Instead of copying and pasting the image, save the GIF file locally (for example, on your desktop), then:

• In the New Outlook.
• Go to Settings (gear icon) > Account > Signatures.
• Edit or create your signature.
• Delete the existing GIF/image from your signature template
• Use Insert > Picture (instead of paste)
• Upload the GIF file you saved locally and resize it as needed

After setting up your signature, compose and send a test email to yourself (and ideally to someone using a different email client like Gmail or the Outlook mobile app). Many recipients will see the animation even if you don't see it while composing.

Alternative option: Use Classic Outlook

• In New Outlook, look for the “New Outlook” toggle in the top-right corner and turn it off.
• In Classic Outlook, GIFs in signatures work much more reliably.
• Create/edit the signature there with the official template.

I hope this helps clarify the behavior and provides you with workable options. Should you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'm always happy to help. Wishing you a wonderful day ahead!

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Answer 2

In the new Outlook, GIFs in signatures can fail to display or animate for a few common reasons. Use these checks and fixes:

1. Confirm GIFs/animations are allowed in Outlook
   • In Outlook for Microsoft 365 (desktop), animated GIFs can be disabled so only a static frame shows.
   • To re‑enable them (classic Outlook path, but the same setting behavior applies):
     1. Go to File > Options > Advanced.
     2. In the Display section, ensure Play animated GIFs is enabled.
   • For Outlook for Microsoft 365 version 2008 or higher on Windows 10/11, Windows’ animation setting controls this:
     1. Open Windows Settings.
     2. Go to Accessibility > Visual effects (or search for Show animations).
     3. Turn Show animations in Windows (or Animation effects) On.
   • If this setting is off, GIFs will appear as static images or may not appear animated in the signature.
2. Check whether the GIF is actually embedded vs. blocked
   • If the company template uses an online GIF (hosted on a site like giphy.com) and that domain is blocked by the organization or network, the image may not load at all.
   • In similar cases with Teams, GIFs fail when giphy.com is blocked at the company level.
   • Ask IT to confirm that the GIF’s source domain is allowed through any web filtering or firewall.
3. Verify the signature editor supports inserting the GIF correctly
   • In some recent Outlook builds, signature image options have been temporarily broken or greyed out and then fixed in later builds.
   • Ensure Outlook is updated to the latest version; issues with signature images have been resolved by updating (for example, from build 16.107.x to 16.108.x in Mac Outlook).
   • If the image option is disabled or paste strips the animation, update Outlook and re‑add the signature.
4. Re‑insert the GIF directly instead of copy/paste
   • Save the official GIF file locally from the template source (or request it from IT/Marketing).
   • In Outlook signature settings, edit the signature and use Insert picture (or equivalent) to add the GIF file, rather than copy/paste from another email or document. Copy/paste can sometimes convert the GIF to a static image.
5. Test outside the signature
   • Insert the same GIF into the body of a test email and send it to the same account.
   • If it does not animate or display there either, the issue is with Outlook/Windows animation settings or network blocking, not just the signature.

If after enabling animations at both Outlook and Windows level the GIF still does not appear, the most likely cause is that the GIF’s hosting domain is blocked by the organization, and IT will need to allow that domain or provide a locally hosted/embedded version of the GIF for the signature.

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References:

• The animated graphic in my e-mail message doesn't work
• My animated GIF won't play
• GIFS in Teams Chat not previewing - Microsoft Q&A
• GIFs are not working on Teams - Microsoft Q&A
• Signature not allowing use of images (Mac Outlook) - Microsoft Q&A