How to Create and Use Microsoft Teams Tags

To create Microsoft Teams tags, open the menu beside a team, choose Manage tags, and create a named group of team members. Then type @ followed by the tag name in a channel message and select the matching tag to notify those people together.

For example, a Designers tag lets you request a design review without mentioning each person separately. Tags group people; they are not hashtags for organizing topics or labels attached to files.

Who can create Microsoft Teams tags?

You do not automatically need an administrator account. Team owners and members with the appropriate permissions can create custom tags. Your organization's policy determines who can manage them and whether owners can change that permission for individual teams.

These instructions focus on custom tags in a work or school team. Use the desktop app for the walkthrough. The location of your teams depends on whether you use the combined Chat view or separate Chat and Teams views.

Create a custom tag

1. Find your team and open Manage tags

Open your teams and channels list. In the combined layout, look in Chat; in the separate layout, open Teams. If the team is hidden, use See all your teams and channels or See all your teams at the bottom of the list.

Hover over the team name, select More options (...), and choose Manage tags. Use the team menu for this walkthrough, rather than a channel's menu.

Microsoft explains these layout differences in its chat and channels navigation guide.

2. Select Create tag

Review the existing tags before making another one. If the group you need is already there, use it instead of creating a duplicate. Otherwise, select Create tag.

3. Name the tag and assign people

Enter a clear name, add a useful description, and select the people on your team who belong in the group. For this example, use Designers with the description Design review group. Check the selected names, then select Create.

Microsoft's tagging quick reference guide illustrates the creation form and the channel and chat workflows.

Find a tag and check its members

Return to the team's Manage tags area to inspect its tags and assigned people. Check membership before using a tag for an important request. If the membership is wrong and you cannot manage it, ask the team owner to update it.

Prefer names that describe a stable responsibility, such as Designers, over vague names such as Group 1. Include the requested action in your message so recipients know why they were mentioned.

Use a tag in a channel message

1. Open a standard channel in the team where you created the tag and start a message or reply.
2. Type @ and the tag name, then select the tag from the suggestions.
3. Finish your message and send it.

Selecting the suggestion makes it an actual mention. Simply leaving the name as ordinary text is insufficient. Assigned members receive a mention notification. They can find tag mentions through Tag mentions in Quick views or check Activity.

Start a group chat using a tag

Select New message, type the tag name in the To field, and select the matching tag. Teams adds the tag's members as recipients.

Review those names, write your message, and send it. Use a channel mention when the discussion belongs in the channel; start a chat when you want a conversation with the selected people.

See Microsoft's guide to using tags for these notification and messaging options.

Why can't I create or use a tag?

• Manage tags is missing or creation is blocked: Ask the team owner about permissions. If needed, IT can check Teams > Teams settings > Tagging in the Teams admin center, including Who can manage tags.
• A tag does not appear: Check its spelling and the team where it was created. Reopen Manage tags to confirm the group and membership.
• You're using a private or shared channel: Tags are supported there, but a shared-channel tag can include only direct members of that channel, not people whose membership is inherited through a team.
• You need an on-duty group: A custom tag does not track shifts. Shift-based tags use Shifts schedules; automatic tags based on job title or department require IT setup.

Microsoft currently lists limits of 200 tags per team, 200 members per tag, and 25 tags per user within a team. Its tag administration documentation covers permissions, channel restrictions, and tag types.