Gmail groups let you email multiple people at once without creating a distribution list

A Gmail group is a saved list of email addresses that you can send a single message to all at once. When you create a group, Gmail stores the addresses together so you do not have to type them individually each time. You can create groups for work teams, family members, hobby clubs, or any set of people you email regularly.

Gmail groups are different from labels. Labels organize messages you have already received. Groups organize the people you send messages to. If you find yourself typing the same five email addresses into the "To" field repeatedly, a group saves you that work and reduces the chance you will accidentally leave someone out.

Groups live in your Gmail contacts, not in your inbox. You create them through Google Contacts, which is the address book connected to your Gmail account. The process takes about two minutes.

Key Takeaways

  • Gmail groups are stored in Google Contacts and let you send one email to multiple people by typing the group name instead of individual addresses.
  • You create a group by opening Google Contacts, clicking "Create contact" or "Create label", selecting "Group", and adding email addresses one at a time or pasting them together.
  • Once a group exists, you can type its name in the "To" field of a Gmail message and all members will receive the email.
  • You can add or remove people from a group at any time by editing the group in Google Contacts.
  • Groups work best for recurring conversations with the same set of people, such as a project team or a standing meeting attendee list.

Open Google Contacts and start a new group

Go to contacts.google.com in your web browser. If you are already signed into Gmail, you are already signed into Google Contacts. Look at the left sidebar. You will see options including "Contacts", "Frequently Contacted", and "Other Contacts".

Click the button labeled "Create contact" or the plus icon near the top of the left sidebar. A menu will appear with options including "Contact" and "Label". Click "Label". Gmail will ask you to name the group. Type a clear name — for example, "Marketing Team", "Book Club", or "Monthly Standup". Then click "Save".

The group now exists but has no members. You will see it listed in the left sidebar under "Labels".

Add email addresses to your group

Click the group name in the left sidebar to open it. You will see an empty group with an "Add contacts" button or a plus icon. Click it. A window will appear asking you to select contacts to add.

You have two options. First, you can search for and click individual contacts you have already saved in Google Contacts. Gmail will add them to the group. Second, you can paste multiple email addresses at once. Click in the text field, paste a list of addresses separated by commas or line breaks, and Gmail will add them all. You do not need to save each contact separately first.

After you add addresses, click "Save" or "Done". The group now contains those email addresses and is ready to use.

Send an email to your group from Gmail

Open Gmail and click "Compose" to start a new message. In the "To" field, type the name of your group. Gmail will show the group name as an option. Click it. The group name will appear in the "To" field, and when you send the message, all members of that group will receive it.

You can also add a group to the "Cc" or "Bcc" field the same way. "Cc" means everyone sees who else received the message. "Bcc" means each person receives the message but does not see the other recipients — use this when you want to send the same message to multiple people without them knowing who else got it.

If you want to reply to a message and send your reply to the whole group, you cannot use the group name in the reply field. Instead, click "Reply All" to send to everyone who was on the original message, or manually add the group name to a new message.

Edit or delete a group

To add more people to a group later, go back to Google Contacts, click the group name, and click "Add contacts" again. To remove someone, click the group name, find the person you want to remove, and click the X or trash icon next to their name.

To rename a group, right-click the group name in the left sidebar of Google Contacts and select "Rename label". Type the new name and press Enter.

To delete a group entirely, right-click the group name and select "Delete label". Gmail will ask you to confirm. Deleting a group does not delete the individual contacts — it only removes the group itself.

When groups work best and when they do not

Groups work well for recurring conversations with a fixed set of people. Examples include a project team that meets weekly, a family group chat about holiday planning, or a standing committee. Once you create the group, you can use it over and over without thinking about who to include.

Groups are less useful for one-time emails or for conversations where the recipient list changes often. If you are inviting different people to different events, or if you email a large mailing list that you do not control, a group may create more work than it saves. In those cases, you might instead use a label to organize the replies you receive, or use Gmail's search to find past conversations.

If you manage a large group of people and need them to reply to each other, consider using Google Groups instead of a Gmail contact group. Google Groups creates a shared email address that all members can see and reply to, and it keeps a public archive of all conversations. A Gmail contact group is simpler but only works one direction — from you to them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can people in my group see each other's email addresses?

Only if you use "Reply All" or put the group in the "Cc" field. If you use "Bcc", each person receives the message but cannot see the other recipients or their addresses. If you send to the group name in the "To" field, Gmail shows the group name, not the individual addresses, so recipients see only that they were part of a group.

What happens if I remove someone from a group?

They are removed from the group in Google Contacts, so future emails you send to that group will not reach them. Past emails they already received are not affected. The contact itself remains in your address book unless you delete it separately.

Can I create a group from people in an existing email thread?

Not directly from the email. You have to go to Google Contacts, create the group, and add the addresses manually or by pasting them. However, if you have already saved those people as contacts, you can search for them in Google Contacts and add them to the group one at a time.

Is there a limit to how many people can be in a group?

Gmail does not publish a hard limit for contact groups. However, if you are sending to more than a few hundred people regularly, Google Groups or a mailing list service may be more reliable than a contact group, because those services are designed for large-scale distribution.

Can I share a group with someone else?

No. Gmail contact groups are private to your account. If you want to share a mailing list with others, use Google Groups instead, which lets you add members who can all see and manage the group together.