As an administrator, you can create a group for your organization in the Google Admin console or using the Google Groups for Business service. With Groups for Business, you can customize certain settings, such as what type of group you create. You might want a web forum for interactive discussions rather than an email list for announcements.

Create a group

Create a group in the Admin console

  1. In your Google Admin console (at admin.google.com)...

  2. Go to Groups.

  3. At the bottom, click Add Add.
  4. Enter the following details:
    • Name of the group—For details about permitted group names, see Username and group name guidelines.
    • Group email address—If your organization's Google account has multiple domains, select the appropriate domain from the drop-down list.
    • (Optional) Description—You can use the description to help users determine the purpose of the group. For example, you can include information about who should join, the types of messages you should send to the group, links to FAQs about the group, related groups, and so on.
    • Access Level—Choose an access level from the drop-down list. Learn more about assigning access levels to a group.
    • (Optional) Add all users—Check the box to add all users in your organization to the group.
  5. Add users to your groups. For details, see Add users to groups. 
  6. Click Create. 



Add multiple users to a group

Choose users from a list


Enter the users' email addresses

  1. In your Google Admin console (at admin.google.com)...

  2. Go to Groups.

  3. Click the name of a group.
  4. Click the Members section.
  5. Point to Add Add and click Add members.
  6. Search for a user by entering the first few characters of their email address. When you see the user you want, select it.
  7. Repeat step 6 for other users you want to add. 
  8. Click Add to group.

Users are added as Members with the All email subscription.


Decide what permissions apply to group roles

You can decide what each member of a group can do depending on the group role that they’re assigned. For example, you might want a public group that’s open to anyone in your organization. You might also allow the members to invite people outside of your organization to the group. You can also restrict access and permissions for groups that handle confidential information. Access and permissions differ depending on whether your organization uses Google Groups for Business.

Access level settings

The following access level settings are available when you create a group in the Google Admin console:

  • Public—Open to anyone in your domain. Depending on your settings, it can also be open to people outside your domain. Groups with the public setting might get more spam messages. Malicious senders often send spam to email addresses they find on public websites. 
  • Team—Open to a specific team in your domain. Select this setting to create a group for a specific internal department or team.
  • Announcement-only—Used to broadcast information to a group. For example, use this setting for a group that receives company news.
  • Restricted—A private group setting for employees who share private or sensitive information.