How to Create an Email Group in Outlook So You Can Message Multiple People at Once

Create a contact group in three steps

An email group in Outlook is a saved list of email addresses under one name. When you send a message to the group, everyone on it gets a copy. You create one by opening Outlook, going to the People tab (or Contacts in older versions), and selecting New Contact Group. Give it a name like "Book Club" or "Project Team", add the email addresses you want, and save it. After that, you can type the group name in the To field of any email and send to everyone at once.

The group lives in your Contacts folder, so you can reuse it whenever you need to reach those same people. You can add or remove members anytime by opening the group and editing it. The group only exists on your computer or account — it does not create a shared inbox or a conversation thread the way some other tools do.

Key Takeaways

A contact group is a saved list of email addresses that you can send one message to instead of typing each address separately.
You create a group by opening the People tab, selecting New Contact Group, naming it, and adding the email addresses you want to include.
Once saved, you can type the group name in the To field of any email, and Outlook will send your message to everyone on the list.
You can edit the group later to add new members, remove people, or change the group name without affecting past emails you sent.
Contact groups work the same way in Outlook on the web, Outlook desktop, and Outlook on your phone, so the group syncs across devices.

Find the People tab and start a new group

Open Outlook and look for the People tab at the bottom of the left sidebar. Click it. If you are using an older version of Outlook, this tab may be called Contacts instead. Once you are in the People section, look for a button that says New Contact Group or New Group — it is usually near the top of the window or in a menu labeled New.

If you cannot find it, try right-clicking in the empty space of your Contacts folder and look for an option to create a new group. The exact location changes slightly between Outlook versions, but the button is always in the Contacts or People area, never in the Mail tab.

Name the group and add members

When you click New Contact Group, a window opens asking you to name the group. Type a clear name that tells you who is in it — "Marketing Team", "Family", "Monthly Dinner Group", or whatever makes sense for your use. Avoid names that are too similar to existing contacts, because you might accidentally pick the wrong one when sending mail.

Below the name field, you will see a section to add members. Click Add Members or a similar button. Outlook will show you your existing contacts. Select the people you want to add by clicking their names — you can select multiple people at once by holding Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and clicking each one. If someone is not in your contacts yet, you can type their email address directly into the field instead.

Check the list before you save. Make sure the email addresses are correct and that you have not accidentally added someone who should not be on the group. Once you are satisfied, click Save or OK to finish creating the group.

Send an email to the entire group

Now that the group exists, you can use it like any other contact. Open a new email and click in the To field. Start typing the group name — Outlook will show it as an option. Click the group name to add it, and all the members will appear in the To field. You can add other recipients too if you want — the group does not have to be the only person you are emailing.

Write your message and send it normally. Everyone on the group will receive the same email. They will see the group name in the To field, not a list of individual addresses, so they will know the message went to multiple people.

Edit or delete a group anytime

If you need to add someone to the group later, remove a member, or change the group name, go back to the People tab, find the group in your contacts, and double-click it to open it. Make your changes and click Save. The changes take effect when ready for any new emails you send — old emails you already sent are not affected.

To delete the entire group, right-click it in your Contacts folder and select Delete. This removes the group but does not delete the individual contacts inside it. If you delete someone by mistake, you can undo it with Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac) right away, or recreate the group and add them back.

Differences between Outlook versions

The steps above work in Outlook desktop (the program you install on your computer) and Outlook on the web (the version you access through a browser). On the web, the People tab is on the left sidebar, and you create a group the same way. On your phone, Outlook has a Contacts app where you can view groups, but creating a new group is easier on a computer.

If you use an older version of Outlook (2016 or earlier), the tab is called Contacts instead of People, and the button might say New Distribution List instead of New Contact Group. The process is the same — you name it, add members, and save. Groups created in one version of Outlook sync to the others, so a group you make in desktop Outlook will show up in Outlook on the web.

Use groups to organize your inbox and spot scams

Contact groups are useful for more than just sending emails. You can create rules in Outlook that automatically sort emails from a specific group into a folder. For example, if you create a group called "Work Team", you can set up a rule that moves all emails from that group into a Work folder automatically. This helps you find messages from those people faster.

Groups also help you spot scams. If you receive an email that claims to be from your "Book Club" group but the sender is not someone you recognize, that is a red flag. Scammers sometimes use group names to seem legitimate. Because you control who is in your groups, you know exactly who should be sending you mail from that group — anyone else is suspicious.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create a group that includes other groups?

Yes. When you are adding members to a group, you can select another group you already created. This is useful if you have overlapping teams — for example, a "Leadership" group that includes the "Marketing Team" group plus a few other people. Changes to the Marketing Team group will automatically show up in the Leadership group.

What happens if I send an email to a group and then add a new person to it?

The new person will not receive the email you already sent. They will only get emails you send to the group after you add them. If you need them to see the old message, you have to forward it to them separately or resend the original email after updating the group.

Can people see who else is in a group when I email them?

No. When you send an email to a group, the recipients see the group name in the To field, but they cannot see the full list of members. If you want people to know who received the email, you have to tell them separately or use the Cc field to show individual names instead of the group name.

Do I need to be online to use a contact group?

No. Once you create a group, it is saved on your computer or account. You can use it to send emails even if you are offline — Outlook will send the message when you reconnect. Groups sync across your devices, so a group you create on your desktop will be available on your phone and in Outlook on the web.

Can I share a contact group with someone else?

Not directly through Outlook. Contact groups are personal to your account. If you want someone else to have the same group, you can tell them the names and email addresses, and they can create their own group. Some organizations use shared contacts or distribution lists through their email system, but that is different from a personal contact group.

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