Create a group by adding contacts to a label, then send to the whole group at once
Gmail does not have a built-in "group email" feature like Outlook does, but you can send one message to multiple people in three ways: create a contact group using Google Contacts, use a mailing list label, or type multiple addresses into the "To" field. The contact group method is fastest if you send to the same set of people regularly — you set it up once, then pick the group name from your contacts every time you compose.
The label method works if you already have those contacts saved in Gmail. Both take about two minutes to set up. Neither method requires you to leave Gmail or use a separate tool.
Key Takeaways
- A contact group in Google Contacts lets you name a set of people (like "Book Club" or "Project Team") and send to all of them by typing the group name in the "To" field.
- To create a contact group, open Google Contacts in a new tab, select the people you want, and click "Manage labels" to create a new label and assign them to it.
- Once the group exists, you can type the group name into Gmail's "To" field just like a single email address, and Gmail will expand it to all members when you send.
- If someone leaves the group, you edit the contact group in Google Contacts and remove them — the change takes effect the next time you use that group name.
- Group emails sent this way appear in each recipient's inbox as individual messages from you, not as a thread, so replies go only to you unless you use "Reply All".
Set up a contact group in Google Contacts
Open Google Contacts in a new browser tab (contacts.google.com). You do not need to leave Gmail — just open the link while Gmail is still open in another tab. Sign in with the same Google account you use for Gmail.
Find and select the people you want in the group. Click the checkbox next to each person's name. If you have many contacts, use the search box at the top to find them faster. Once you have selected everyone who belongs in the group, look for the "Manage labels" button (it looks like a tag icon or says "Labels") near the top of the screen.
Click "Manage labels," then click "Create label." Type a name for the group — something clear like "Marketing Team" or "Monthly Dinner Group." Click "Save." Google Contacts will assign all the selected people to that label. You now have a contact group.
Send an email to your contact group from Gmail
Go back to Gmail and click "Compose" to start a new message. In the "To" field, type the name of your group exactly as you named it in Google Contacts. As you type, Gmail will show the group name as an option — click it to select it. Gmail will expand the group name to show all the email addresses in that group.
Write your subject and message as usual, then click "Send." Each person in the group will receive the email as a separate message from you. They will not see the other recipients' names unless you put them in the "To" field (which you did by selecting the group), in which case they will see the group name, not the individual addresses.
Edit or remove people from a contact group
If someone's email changes, they leave your organization, or you straightforward want to remove them from the group, go back to Google Contacts. Find the person's contact card and click it to open their details. Scroll down to the "Labels" section and uncheck the group label. The person is now removed from the group.
To add a new person to an existing group, find their contact card, click it, scroll to "Labels," and check the group name. The next time you use that group in Gmail, the new person will be included.
Use a label as a group if you prefer not to use Google Contacts
If you do not want to open Google Contacts, you can create a label directly in Gmail and use it the same way. In Gmail, click the "Labels" menu on the left side, then click "Create new label." Name it (for example, "Board Members"). Click "Create."
Now, whenever you receive an email from someone you want in this group, click the label icon in the email and assign that label to it. After you have labeled emails from all the people in your group, you can click the label name in the left sidebar to see all their messages in one place. However, this method does not let you send to the group by name the way a contact group does — you would have to type each address individually or use the contact group method instead.
Understand how replies work with group emails
When you send a message to a contact group, each person receives it as an individual email from you. If they click "Reply," their response goes only to you, not to the whole group. If they click "Reply All," the reply goes to you and to everyone else in the group — but only if you put the group in the "To" field (which happens automatically when you select the group name).
This is different from a mailing list or a shared inbox, where replies can go to everyone by default. If you need replies to go to the whole group automatically, you may want to use Google Groups instead, which is a separate tool designed for that purpose. For most situations — sending updates to a team, sharing information with a committee, or notifying a group about an event — the contact group method works well and keeps your inbox from filling with reply-all messages.
Troubleshoot when a group name does not appear in the "To" field
If you type a group name in Gmail's "To" field and it does not show up as an option, the group may not be synced yet. Wait a few minutes and try again. Gmail sometimes takes a moment to recognize new groups created in Google Contacts.
If the group still does not appear, go back to Google Contacts and verify that the label exists and that at least one contact is assigned to it. Make sure you are signed into Gmail with the same Google account you used to create the group. If you created the group in a different Google account, Gmail will not see it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I send a group email to people who are not in my contacts?
No — contact groups only work with people already saved in Google Contacts. You can still send to multiple people by typing each address into the "To" field separated by commas, but that is not a saved group. If you want to email those people again later, you would have to type all the addresses again.
What happens if I delete someone from my contacts?
If you delete a contact entirely, they are automatically removed from any groups they were in. If you only want to remove them from one group, go to Google Contacts, click their name, and uncheck the group label instead of deleting the contact.
Can I create a group that includes other groups?
No — contact groups cannot contain other groups. You can only add individual contacts to a group. If you need a group that combines two other groups, you would have to add each person individually or create a Google Group, which is a more advanced tool.
Do people know they are part of a group when I email them?
They can see the group name in the "To" field if you used the group name to send the message. They will not see the individual email addresses of other group members unless you put those addresses in the "Cc" or "Bcc" field instead.
Can I set up a group that automatically sends emails on a schedule?
No — contact groups are for sending messages manually. If you need to send the same message to a group on a schedule, you would need to use a tool outside Gmail, such as Google Forms, a scheduling app, or a mailing list service.