What a contact group does and why you need one

A contact group in Outlook is a saved list of email addresses under a single name. When you type that name in the "To" field, Outlook sends your message to everyone on the list at once. This saves you from typing multiple addresses by hand and from accidentally leaving someone out.

Contact groups also help you spot patterns in your email. If you create a group for "Work Team" or "Family," you can see at a glance who tends to email you together, which can help you notice when an email claims to come from one of them but the sender address looks wrong.

Key Takeaways

  • Contact groups live in your Contacts folder, not in your email folders, so you create them through the People or Contacts app in Outlook.
  • You can add people to a group one at a time, or create a group first and add addresses later.
  • Once you create a group, typing its name in the "To" field auto-fills it just like a single contact would.
  • You can edit a group anytime to add, remove, or change the addresses in it.

Creating a new contact group from scratch

Open Outlook and go to the People tab (in Outlook for Windows) or the Contacts app (in Outlook on the web). In the left sidebar, look for a button or option to create a new group — in most versions this says "New Group" or has a plus sign next to "Groups."

Click that button. A new window or form will open. Type the name you want for your group in the "Group Name" field. This is what you will type in the "To" line when you send an email, so pick something you will recognize — "Marketing Team," "Book Club," or "Monthly Check-In Friends" all work well.

Leave the group empty for now if you want. Click "Create" or "Save." Your group now exists in your Contacts, and you can add people to it whenever you are ready.

Adding people to a group you already created

Open your Contacts or People tab and find the group you just made. Click on it to open it. You should see an "Add Members" button or a plus sign. Click it.

A window will pop up showing your existing contacts. Click on each person you want to add to the group. You can also type a name or email address directly if the person is not yet in your contacts — Outlook will add them to the group even if they are not saved as a separate contact. Once you have selected everyone, click "Add" or "OK."

If you need to add someone whose email you do not have, you can type their full email address into the group. Outlook will accept it and send to that address when you use the group, even though that person may not appear in your main contacts list.

Adding people to a group as you create it

Some versions of Outlook let you add members while you are setting up the group. When you click "New Group," a form opens with both a "Group Name" field and an "Add Members" field or button. Type or paste email addresses directly into the members field, or click the button to browse your contacts and select people.

This method is faster if you already know exactly who should be in the group. You can still add or remove people later if your needs change.

Using your contact group to send an email

Open a new email message. In the "To" field, start typing the name of your group. Outlook will show you the group name as an option — click on it or press Enter to select it. The group name will appear in the "To" field, and when you send the message, it goes to every address in that group.

You can also add a group to the "Cc" or "Bcc" field the same way. If you use "Bcc," the recipients will not see that you sent the message to a group — each person will see only their own address in the "To" field.

Editing or removing people from a group

Go back to your Contacts or People tab and click on the group you want to change. Look for an "Edit" button or pencil icon. Click it to open the group for editing.

To remove someone, find their name in the members list and click the X or minus sign next to it. To add someone new, click "Add Members" again and select or type their address. When you are done, click "Save" or "Done."

If you want to delete the entire group, right-click on it in your contacts list and select "Delete," or look for a delete button while the group is open. Deleting a group does not delete the individual contacts in it — it only removes the group itself.

Differences between Outlook versions

Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, and Outlook for Mac all have contact groups, but the buttons and menu locations vary slightly. In Outlook for Windows, groups live in the People tab. In Outlook on the web, they are in the Contacts app on the left sidebar. On Mac, they are called "Groups" and live in the Contacts app.

The steps are the same in all versions: create a group, add members, and type the group name in the "To" field. If you cannot find the "New Group" button in your version, look in the menu bar at the top or right-click in the contacts list to see what options appear.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create a contact group on my phone?

Outlook for iPhone and Android do not have a built-in way to create groups. You can create groups on your computer or on Outlook on the web, and they will sync to your phone so you can use them to send emails. To create a new group on your phone, you would need to use the web version or a computer.

What happens if someone's email address in the group changes?

You need to update it manually. Go to the group, click Edit, find the person whose address changed, and replace their old address with the new one. Outlook does not automatically update addresses if someone changes their email.

Can I create a group of groups?

No. You cannot nest one group inside another. If you need to send to overlapping sets of people, create separate groups for each set and add them individually to the "To" field when you send an email.

Will people know they are part of a group when I send them an email?

If you use the "To" field, everyone will see the group name and know others received the email. If you use "Bcc," each person sees only their own address. Using "Bcc" with a group is useful when you want to send the same message to multiple people without them seeing the full list.