To use mentions in Microsoft Teams, type the @ symbol in a chat or channel message, followed by the first few letters of the person's name, team, or channel, and select the correct option from the list that appears.
Mentioning Individuals
This is used to grab the attention of a specific person in a group chat or channel conversation.
- Type the "@" symbol in the message box.
- Start typing the name of the person you want to mention.
- Select the name from the dropdown menu of matching results.
- The name will appear highlighted in your message.
- Send the message. The person will receive a notification and a badge in their activity feed.
Mentioning Entire Groups or Channels
Use these mentions to notify everyone in a specific team or channel at once.
- Mention a Team: Type @team and select the team name from the menu.
- Mention a Channel: Type @channel followed by the channel name.
- Mention Everyone in Chat: In a group chat, type @everyone to notify all participants simultaneously.
Mentioning Custom Groups (Tags)
Tags allow you to mention a subset of people (e.g., "@Finance" or "@Analysts") without notifying the whole team.
- Create a Tag (if you are an owner): Select More options (...) next to the team name, click Manage team, and go to the Tags tab to create and name a group.
- Use the Tag: In a message, type @ followed by the Tag name and select it from the list.
Mentioning in Documents (Word/Excel/PowerPoint)
You can also mention colleagues within comments in Microsoft 365 documents saved to SharePoint or OneDrive.
- Add a comment to the document.
- Type @ and the person's name.
- Select the person to notify them; they will receive an email and can be assigned the comment as a task.