Create a group in Gmail Contacts, then send to the group name instead of individual addresses
A group mailing list in Gmail is a saved collection of email addresses under one name. Instead of typing five addresses every time you email your book club, you type the group name once. Gmail stores these groups in your Contacts, and you can add or remove people from the group at any time.
The process takes about two minutes. You do not need any special Gmail account type — this works on free Gmail accounts and Google Workspace accounts alike.
Key Takeaways
- Groups live in Gmail Contacts, not in a separate tool, and you create them by opening Contacts and clicking "Create label".
- You can add people to a group when you create it or add them one at a time afterward by opening the group and clicking the plus icon.
- To send an email to the group, type the group name in the To field just as you would type an individual address.
- Changes to a group (adding or removing people) take effect immediately and do not affect emails you already sent.
- Groups are stored only in your own Gmail account and are not visible to other people unless you share the contact list itself.
Open Gmail Contacts and start a new group
Go to contacts.google.com in your web browser. If you are already in Gmail, click the Google apps menu (the grid of nine dots in the top right corner), then click "Contacts".
On the left side of the Contacts page, you will see a section called "Labels". Below that is a button labeled "Create label". Click it. A box will appear asking you to name the group. Type a name — for example, "Book Club" or "Project Team" — and press Enter or click "Save".
The group now exists, but it is empty. You will add people to it next.
Add people to the group when you create it
After you name the group, Gmail will ask if you want to add people. Click "Add contacts" or the plus icon. A window will open showing all your existing contacts.
Click the checkbox next to each person you want to add to the group. You can search for a name using the search box at the top if the list is long. Once you have selected everyone, click "Add" at the bottom of the window. Those people are now part of the group.
If you do not add anyone when you create the group, that is fine — you can add them later.
Add or remove people from a group after it is created
Open contacts.google.com and click the group name on the left side under "Labels". The group will open, showing everyone currently in it.
To add someone, click the plus icon at the top of the group. Search for or select the person you want to add, then click "Add". To remove someone, click their name in the group, then click the trash icon or "Remove from label".
You can also add a person to a group by opening their individual contact card, scrolling down to "Labels", and clicking the group name. That person will be added to the group immediately.
Send an email to the entire group
Open Gmail and click "Compose" to start a new email. In the "To" field, type the group name — for example, "Book Club". Gmail will show the group name as an option. Click it to select it.
The group name will appear in the To field. When you send the email, it goes to every person in that group. You do not need to type individual addresses.
If you want to send to the group but also add one or two other people, type the group name, then add individual addresses below it. The email will go to everyone in the group plus anyone you typed separately.
See who is in a group and check the email addresses
Open contacts.google.com and click the group name on the left. All members will appear on the right side of the screen. Click any person's name to see their full contact details, including their email address.
If you are about to send an important email to a group and want to double-check who will receive it, this is the place to look. You can also see when the group was last updated.
Delete a group or rename it
To rename a group, open contacts.google.com, right-click the group name on the left side, and select "Rename label". Type the new name and press Enter.
To delete a group, right-click it and select "Delete label". Deleting the group does not delete the people in it — they stay in your Contacts. It only removes the group itself. Any emails you already sent to the group remain in your sent folder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can people see that I sent an email to a group instead of typing their address individually?
No. When you send to a group, each person receives the email as if you typed their address directly. They see the email came from you, but they cannot tell whether you used a group or typed addresses one by one. Gmail expands the group on the sending side only.
What happens if I add someone to a group after I already sent an email to that group?
The new person will not receive the old email. They will only receive emails sent to the group after they were added. Changes to a group do not affect emails already sent.
Can I use a group mailing list on Gmail's mobile app?
Yes. Open the Gmail app, tap "Compose", and type the group name in the To field just as you would on a computer. The group name will appear as an option. Tap it to add the group. You cannot create or edit groups from the mobile app — you must use contacts.google.com on a web browser for that.
Can I share a group with someone else so they can send emails to it?
Not directly. Groups are private to your own Gmail account. If you want someone else to send emails to the same group of people, they would need to create their own group with the same members in their own Contacts. You can tell them the names and email addresses, and they can add those people to their own group.
What is the maximum number of people I can add to a group?
Gmail does not publish a hard limit, but groups typically work smoothly with hundreds of contacts. If you are sending to a very large group regularly, consider whether a Google Group (a different tool) might work better, since it allows people to reply to the whole group and keeps a shared conversation history.