What a contact group is and why you'd use one
A contact group in Outlook is a saved list of email addresses under a single name. Instead of typing five or ten individual addresses every time you email the same people, you type the group name once and Outlook fills in all the addresses automatically.
Contact groups save time when you regularly email the same set of people — a project team, a book club, a family, a committee. You create the group once, add people to it, and then use it as many times as you need. If someone's email changes, you update it in one place and the group automatically uses the new address.
Outlook stores contact groups in your Contacts folder, and they work the same way whether you use Outlook on Windows, Mac, or the web version.
Key Takeaways
- Contact groups are created in the Contacts folder by selecting New Contact Group (or New Distribution List on older versions).
- You add people to a group by typing their names or email addresses, or by selecting them from your existing contacts.
- Once created, you use a contact group by typing its name in the To field of a new email — Outlook expands it to show all members.
- You can edit a group at any time to add, remove, or update the people in it.
- Contact groups are stored locally on your computer unless you use Outlook on the web, where they sync to your Microsoft account.
How to create a contact group in Outlook on Windows
Open Outlook and go to the Contacts folder (or People folder, depending on your version). At the top of the window, look for the New Contact Group button in the ribbon. Click it.
A new window opens with a blank contact group form. At the top, type a name for your group — something clear like "Marketing Team" or "Book Club Members". This is the name you'll type when you want to email everyone in the group.
Below the name field, you'll see an Add Members button. Click it to open a dialog where you can add people. You have two options: type an email address directly, or click From Outlook Contacts to select people you've already saved. Choose the method that fits your situation, then click Add. Repeat until everyone is in the group.
Once all members are added, click Save & Close at the top left. Your contact group is now saved and ready to use.
How to create a contact group in Outlook on Mac
Open Outlook and click the People icon at the bottom of the window to go to your contacts. In the menu bar at the top, click File, then look for New Distribution List (Mac versions often use this older term instead of "Contact Group").
A new window opens. Type a name for your group in the field at the top. Then click the plus sign button below the name field to add members. A dialog appears where you can type an email address or select a contact from your list. Add each person one at a time, then click Save.
How to create a contact group in Outlook on the web
Go to outlook.com or outlook.office.com and sign in. Click the People icon on the left sidebar. At the top of the page, click New Contact Group.
Type a name for your group. Then click in the Add members field and start typing a name or email address. Outlook shows matching contacts as you type. Click the person you want to add. Repeat for each member.
Once everyone is added, click Create at the bottom. The group is saved to your Microsoft account and available whenever you sign in to Outlook on the web.
How to use a contact group to send an email
Open a new email in Outlook. In the To field, start typing the name of your contact group. Outlook shows matching groups as you type. Click the group name to select it.
Outlook fills in the To field with the group name. When you send the email, it goes to every person in that group. You don't see all the individual addresses in the To field — just the group name — but everyone receives the email.
If you want to see who is actually in the group before you send, click the group name in the To field. A small preview appears showing all members.
How to edit or delete a contact group
To change who is in a group, go back to your Contacts folder and find the group name. Double-click it to open it. You can now add new members by clicking Add Members, or remove someone by clicking their name and pressing Delete. Click Save & Close when you're done.
To delete an entire group, right-click the group name in your Contacts folder and select Delete. This removes the group but does not delete the individual contacts inside it.
Common reasons contact groups don't work the way you expect
If you type a group name in the To field and Outlook doesn't recognize it, the group may not be saved yet. Close the email, go to Contacts, and make sure the group appears in your list. If it does, try closing and reopening Outlook.
If you're using Outlook on the web and a group you created on your computer doesn't appear, the group may be stored locally only. Contact groups created in the desktop version of Outlook don't automatically sync to the web version. Create the group again in Outlook on the web, or export it from your desktop version and import it to the web.
If someone in your group says they didn't receive an email you sent to the group, check that their email address is spelled correctly in the group. Open the group, find their name, and verify the address matches what they use to receive mail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I create a contact group that includes other contact groups?
Yes. When you click Add Members, you can select another contact group just like you would select a person. This is useful if you have overlapping teams — for example, a "Company All-Hands" group that includes both the "Engineering Team" and "Sales Team" groups.
What happens if I change someone's email address in my contacts?
The contact group automatically uses the updated address. You don't need to edit the group. Outlook links the group member to the contact record, so any change to that contact updates everywhere the contact is used.
Can I send an email to a contact group without everyone seeing who else received it?
Not directly. When you use a contact group in the To field, everyone can see the group name. If you want to hide the recipient list, put the group in the Bcc (blind carbon copy) field instead. Everyone still receives the email, but no one sees who else got it.
Do contact groups work the same way in Outlook and Gmail?
No. Gmail calls them "groups" and creates them differently — through Contacts settings rather than a New Group button. If you use both programs, you'll need to create separate groups in each one, or export a group from Outlook and import it to Gmail.
Can I share a contact group with someone else?
In Outlook on the web, you can share a contact group with other people in your organization through your Microsoft account settings. In the desktop version, contact groups are stored on your computer only and cannot be directly shared, though you can export the group and send it to someone else to import.