Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Create a Google Workspace group in Google Groups: sign in, choose Create group, enter a name and group email address, set access and membership options, then create it. A group gives people a shared address and group-level membership and conversation controls. If you only need a saved set of recipients in Gmail, use a contact group instead.

Before you create the group

Decide whether you need a Google Groups email list or just a convenient way to email the same contacts. A Groups list has its own address, members, roles, visibility and posting controls. A Gmail contact group is a saved set of contacts represented by a label; it does not provide Google Groups conversations or group permissions.

Option What it provides Best fit
Google Groups email list A shared group address, membership and role management, and group conversation and access settings. A team or other group that needs a shared address and controls.
Gmail contact group A contact label you can use to address an email to a saved set of people. Repeat emailing when you do not need group-level membership or conversation features.

Google describes creating a contact group by using a contact label in Gmail; see its team communication guidance. This can be useful when your administrator has not enabled Groups for your organization.

Create a Google Groups email list

  1. Sign in to Google Groups with the account that should create or own the group.
  2. At the top of the page, select Create group.
  3. Enter a clear group name. Google’s documented limit is 73 characters.
  4. Enter the group email address and choose the appropriate domain if more than one is available. The address portion before the domain can be up to 63 characters. Some terms are reserved; for work or school accounts, Google may append a suffix such as -user-created.
  5. Optionally add a description that explains the group’s purpose.
  6. Choose who can find the group, join it, view conversations, post messages and view members. Available choices depend on your account type and administrator settings.
  7. Add people as members, managers or owners, or invite them to join. If direct addition is disabled, invitees become members only after accepting.
  8. Select Create group. Wait a few minutes before sending a message to the address; Google notes that the new group may not be active immediately.

After creation, owners or managers can adjust advanced options, including moderation and email settings. Collaborative Inbox features are available only where supported; for a work or school account, Google says this requires Google Groups for Business and conversation history.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
#1 Best Overall
Sale
The Google Workspace Bible: [14 in 1] The Ultimate All-in-One Guide from Beginner to Advanced | Including Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Every Other App from the Suite
  • The Google Workspace Bible: [14 in 1] The Ultimate All in One Guide from Beginner to Advanced Including Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Every Other App from the Suite
  • ABIS BOOK

Choose access and privacy settings carefully

Group discovery, membership, conversation visibility, posting rights and member visibility are separate controls. Set each one to match the group’s purpose rather than assuming that limiting who can find the group makes its conversations private.

  • Finding the group: Depending on organization policy, options may include members, organization users or anyone on the web.
  • Joining: You may be able to restrict membership to invited users or allow organization users or a broader audience. In work or school accounts, an administrator must enable external membership for people outside the organization to join.
  • Viewing and posting: Decide separately who can read conversations and who can post. A broad posting setting can allow messages from people who are not members.
  • Viewing members: Control who can view the member list and member email addresses. Google cautions that member email addresses may still be visible in other Workspace apps.

For Google’s explanation of the visibility and joining controls, see Choose who can see and join your groups. Organization administrators can limit the options available, so use the controls actually shown for your account.

Decide whether to add people directly or invite them

Direct addition enrolls people as members with the subscription preferences you select. An invitation gives the recipient a choice to accept; invitations expire after 7 days. If your organization disables direct addition, you must invite people instead.

Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

Assign owners and managers deliberately

Owners and managers can manage group settings within their assigned permissions. Owners have additional powers: they can delete the group and make another member an owner. Managers do not have those owner-only powers by default. In work or school accounts, an administrator may remove some owner permissions. See Google’s guide to assigning group roles before giving someone elevated access.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

If “Create group” or an option is missing

  • Groups is unavailable: Your organization may not have enabled Google Groups. If your goal is only to send email to the same saved contacts, use a Gmail contact label instead.
  • Access or membership choices are missing: Workspace administrators can restrict who may find, join, view or post to groups, and whether external users may join.
  • You cannot add someone directly: Direct addition may be disabled; send an invitation and have the recipient accept it.
  • The new address does not work immediately: Allow a few minutes for the group to activate before sending a message.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.