How to Chat in Microsoft Teams [Complete Guide]

Select New chat at the top of your chat list, type a name in the To field, write your message and press Enter to chat in Microsoft Teams.

This guide covers one-on-one and group chats, meeting chat, formatting, files, polls, notification settings, and the fixes for chats that will not open, delete or unhide.

The fastest way to start a chat in Microsoft Teams

The same five steps work in the Teams desktop app, the browser and the mobile app.

1. Select Chat in the Teams sidebar.
2. Select New chat at the top of your chats and channels list.
3. Type the person's name in the To field, then pick them from the list that appears.
4. Type your message in the compose box at the bottom of the window.
5. Press Enter, or select Send.

The thread now sits in your Chat list and keeps its history back to the first message.

Introduction to Microsoft Teams Chat

Teams keeps a separate searchable thread for every person, group and meeting you talk to.

Chat type	Who it reaches	Where it appears
One-on-one chat	One other person	Your Chat list
Group chat	Up to 250 people	Your Chat list, under the group name you set
Meeting chat	People invited to or joined into that meeting	Your Chat list, marked with a calendar icon
Channel conversation	Everyone with access to that channel	The team's channel, not your chat list
External chat	People at other organizations who use Teams	Your Chat list, once external access is on

Chat history is saved the entire way back to the first message, so search finds old threads.

Getting Started with Microsoft Teams Chat

What you need	Detail
The Teams app	Desktop, browser or mobile. Get the installer from Download Microsoft Teams for PC, Windows 11/10 & Mac (Free).
A signed-in account	A work, school or personal Microsoft account. Chat threads follow the account, not the device.
Chat turned on for you	An admin controls the Chat setting in your messaging policy. With it off, new one-on-one and group chats are disabled.
The Chat list	Select Chat in the sidebar. Windows 11 also added a Teams chat taskbar button in build 22000.100.
External access	On by default, so you can find, call and chat with people who use Teams at other organizations.

Which kind of chat should you use?

Your situation	Use this	Why
One person, one topic	One-on-one chat	Read receipts work, and the thread stays private to the two of you
A small project team	Group chat with a Group name	Holds up to 250 people and keeps one named thread
Everyone in a scheduled meeting	Meeting chat	Attached to the meeting, so links and notes stay with it
A whole team, topic by topic	Channel conversation	Files land in the team's SharePoint site instead of your OneDrive
Someone at another company	External chat	External access covers chat, calls and @mentions with Teams users elsewhere
Someone must act right now	A message set to Urgent	Priority notifications repeat every 2 minutes for 20 minutes until it is read

Initiating and Managing Conversations

A group chat needs a name before the first message, or the thread shows only a list of people.

1. Select New chat at the top of your chats and channels list.
2. Select the down arrow to the right of To.
3. Type a name for the thread in the Group name box.
4. Enter each person's name in the To field. A group chat holds up to 250 people.
5. Type the first message and select Send.
6. To bring someone in later, select View and add participants in the top right, select Add people, then choose how much chat history to share.
7. To tidy the list, point at a chat and select More options, then Hide, Mute, Mark as unread, or Move to > Favorites.
8. To step out of a group chat, select More options > Leave, select the confirmation box, then select Leave.

A chat in Favorites stays at the top of the list; drag it there directly if you prefer.

Sending Messages in Microsoft Teams Chat

1. Open the chat and select the compose box at the bottom.
2. Select Format to expand the box and reveal bold, italic, lists, headings and Insert link.
3. Press Shift + Enter to start a new line instead of sending.
4. Type @ followed by a name to mention one person, or @everyone to notify everyone in that chat.
5. Select Actions and apps > Set delivery options > Important to stamp the message with IMPORTANT!.
6. Press Enter to send, or Ctrl + Enter when the compose box is expanded.
7. To correct a sent message, hover over it, select Edit, change the text and select Done.
8. To pull a message back, select More options > Delete; select Undo on the deleted message to restore it.

Urgent uses priority notifications, which alert the recipient every 2 minutes for 20 minutes or until it is read. An urgent message cannot be edited after it is sent.

If Edit and Delete are missing, an admin has turned those settings off in your messaging policy.

Sharing Files and Collaborating

1. Open the chat and select Actions and apps beneath the compose box.
2. Select Attach file.
3. Pick a recent file, or select Attach cloud files or Upload from this device.
4. Add a message for context and select Send.
5. Select the file in the message to open it and work on it from the chat.
6. To find it again later, open OneDrive and go to the Microsoft Teams Chat Files folder.

Files shared in a one-on-one or group chat live in your OneDrive and stay available only to people in that conversation. Files posted in a channel go to the team's SharePoint folder instead.

Images, videos, PDFs and many document types preview inside the message, so most files need no download.

Advanced Chat Features

A poll collects answers inside the thread, so nobody has to count replies by hand.

1. Open the chat and select Actions and apps next to the compose box.
2. Open the Polls app, or select Find more apps to add it first.
3. Type the question, then fill at least two Option boxes.
4. Turn on Multiple selections if people may choose more than one answer.
5. Turn on Record names of respondents if you need to know who voted; only you see those names.
6. Select Preview to check it, then select Send.

Recipients answer with Submit Vote. Turn on Share aggregated results with respondents if everyone should see the totals.

Managing and Customizing Chat Settings

1. Open Settings > Notifications and activity. On a Mac, select Settings and more first.
2. Under Chats and channels, open each dropdown to choose where that notification appears, or select Off.
3. Under General, change the notification sound and display options.
4. To silence one thread, point at it and select More options > Mute.
5. To keep a thread at the top, select More options > Move to > Favorites.
6. To clear a thread from the list, select More options > Hide. It returns as soon as someone posts.
7. To group threads by project, select New items and create a custom section.

Quick views at the top of the list can surface @mentions and Followed threads always, when unread, or never.

How to check the message landed

1. Look under your sent message for the read receipt. Receipts work in one-on-one chats and group chats of 20 people or fewer.
2. Open the Chat list and confirm the thread has moved to the top with your message as the preview line.
3. For a group chat, select View and add participants and confirm everyone you meant to include is listed.
4. For an attachment, open the Microsoft Teams Chat Files folder in OneDrive and confirm the file is there.

A missing read receipt is not proof of a missing message. An admin can set read receipts to off for everyone in the organization.

Best Practices for Effective Chat Use

Habit	Do this	Why it helps
Name every group chat	Fill the Group name box before the first message	The thread is findable later instead of being a list of names
Mention one person, not the room	Type @ and the name of whoever must act	@everyone notifies the whole chat and dulls real alerts
Keep Urgent rare	Use it only when someone must act immediately	It repeats every 2 minutes for 20 minutes and cannot be edited afterwards
Attach, do not email	Use Attach file in the chat	One copy sits in Microsoft Teams Chat Files for everyone in the thread
Correct instead of resending	Hover the message and select Edit	The thread stays readable and no one acts on the old version
Move long threads to a call	Select More chat options > Schedule a meeting	Ten replies about timing cost more than ten minutes of talking
Hide, do not leave	Select More options > Hide	The thread reappears when someone posts, and the history is intact

Integrating Chat with Other Features

Feature	How chat connects	What to select
Meetings	Turn an existing thread into a scheduled meeting with the same people	More chat options > Schedule a meeting
Meeting chat	Every scheduled meeting carries its own thread before, during and after	Chat, then the entry with a calendar icon
Calls	Any chat can become a one-to-one or group call	The call controls at the top of the chat
OneDrive	Chat attachments are stored for you, not duplicated per person	The Microsoft Teams Chat Files folder
Apps and bots	Add an app or bot that posts into the thread	Actions and apps > Find more apps
Channels	Move a topic that concerns a whole team out of chat	The team and channel in your list
People outside the company	External access covers chat, calls and @mentions; guest access also allows file sharing	Their email or SIP address in the To field

Customer-facing conversations usually need guest access, because external access users cannot share files with you.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Why can't I chat in Microsoft Teams?

The Chat setting in your messaging policy is off, or the wrong account is signed in.

1. Check whether the compose box is missing in every thread, not just one.
2. Select your profile picture and confirm the account is the one your colleagues message.
3. Ask your IT admin whether the Chat setting in your messaging policy is turned off, which disables new one-on-one and group chats.
4. Restart Teams after any policy change; a restart is sometimes needed before the change syncs.

Why can't I see the chat in a Microsoft Teams meeting?

Meeting chat access depends on how you joined and whether you are on the invite.

1. Select Chat and look for the entry with a calendar icon and the meeting title.
2. Select More list options > Customize view and turn on Show meeting chats in their own section.
3. If you joined anonymously, expect chat access only while the meeting is running.
4. If you were never on the invite, ask the organizer to select View and add participants > Add people and add you.

Why can't I delete a chat in Microsoft Teams?

The Delete chat policy setting is off, or you own the meeting the chat belongs to.

1. For a one-on-one thread, select More options > Remove chat history. It clears the thread for you only, and you cannot reach it again, including through search.
2. For a group or meeting thread, select More options > Leave, select the confirmation box and select Leave.
3. As the meeting owner, expect no delete or leave option on that meeting chat; a participant has both.
4. To remove one message instead of the thread, select More options > Delete on that message.
5. If no delete option appears anywhere, ask your IT admin whether Delete chat is turned off for your policy.

How to unhide a chat in Microsoft Teams

A hidden thread stays out of the list until someone posts a new message to it.

1. Select Search at the top of Teams and type the person's or group's name.
2. Select More options next to the name and select Unhide.
3. Select Show hidden chat history to bring the older messages back into view.

Not receiving messages

The thread is muted, or chat notifications are set to off.

1. Point at the thread, select More options and select Unmute if it is muted.
2. Open Settings > Notifications and activity and set Chats and channels to something other than Off.
3. Check the Unread filter at the top of the list in case the message is already marked read.
4. Restart Teams, then send yourself a test message from the browser app.

Chat not loading or syncing slowly

The signed-in session is stale, or the installed app is at fault rather than the account.

1. Sign out of Teams and sign back in with the same account.
2. Restart the Teams app, not just the window.
3. Open Teams in a browser and check whether the same thread loads there.
4. If the browser works and the app does not, reinstall the app rather than changing account settings.

File upload or download problems

Chat files route through OneDrive, so a OneDrive or policy block stops them.

1. Confirm OneDrive opens in a browser with the same account.
2. Select Actions and apps > Attach file > Attach cloud files instead of uploading from the device.
3. Check that the recipient is still in the thread, because only people in that conversation can open the file.
4. Ask your IT admin whether a data loss prevention policy is blocking that file or its contents.

Tips for Power Users

Task	Shortcut on Windows
Start a new chat	Ctrl + N
Send from the expanded compose box	Ctrl + Enter
New line without sending	Shift + Enter
Move focus to the chat and channel list	Ctrl + L
Jump to search	Ctrl + E
Reply to the last message	Alt + Shift + R
Bold, italic, underline	Ctrl + B, Ctrl + I, Ctrl + U
Insert a link	Ctrl + K
Show every shortcut	Ctrl + Period (.)

Security and Compliance Considerations

Chat messages sit inside Microsoft 365, so the organization's compliance tools reach them.

Control	What it means for chat
Encryption	Data is encrypted in transit and at rest
Retention policies	Chat content can be kept for a set period, then removed
eDiscovery and legal hold	Chats, messages and files can be preserved and exported; discovery can lag content by up to 24 hours
Communication compliance	Individual chats, channel chat and attachments can be scanned for offensive or sensitive content
Data loss prevention	Policies can stop sensitive information leaving in a message or an attached file
Information barriers	Named people or groups can be blocked from chatting with each other
Read receipts	Not captured in eDiscovery reporting
Audio messages	Not captured in eDiscovery reporting
External and guest access	Decides who outside the organization can chat with you, and whether files can be shared

Report a message you should not have received by using Report inappropriate content, when your admin has enabled it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you chat in Microsoft Teams?

Select Chat in the sidebar, then New chat at the top of the list. Type a name in the To field, write your message in the compose box and press Enter. The thread then stays in your chat list.

How do you chat in a Microsoft Teams meeting?

Select the Chat icon in the meeting controls to open the meeting chat pane. Type in the compose box and select Send. The same thread stays available in your Chat list after the meeting ends, marked with a calendar icon.

How do you create a group chat in Microsoft Teams?

Select New chat, then the down arrow to the right of To. Type a name in Group name, add each person in the To field, and send the first message. A group chat holds up to 250 people.

How do you unhide a chat in Microsoft Teams?

Search for the person or group at the top of Teams, select More options next to the result, then select Unhide. Select Show hidden chat history to see earlier messages. A hidden chat also returns on its own when someone posts.

Why can't I chat in Microsoft Teams?

An admin can turn the Chat setting off in your messaging policy, which disables new one-on-one and group chats. Confirm you are signed in to the right account, then ask your IT admin to check the policy. A restart may be needed afterwards.

Why can't I delete a chat in Microsoft Teams?

The Delete chat policy setting may be off for your account, and a meeting owner cannot delete or leave their own meeting chat. Use Remove chat history on a one-on-one thread, or Leave on a group thread, instead.

Why can't I see the chat in a Microsoft Teams meeting?

Access depends on how you joined. Anonymous joiners only see chat while the meeting runs, and someone who joins outside the meeting window without being added gets no access. Ask the organizer to add you through View and add participants.

How do you make a Microsoft Teams chat message important?

Select Actions and apps, then Set delivery options, then Important. The message is stamped IMPORTANT! in the thread. Choose Standard in the same menu to take the label off again after editing the message.

How do you start a new line in a Teams chat instead of sending?

Press Shift + Enter to move to a new line without sending. Press Enter when the message is finished. In the expanded compose box opened with Format, send with Ctrl + Enter instead.

How do you enable chat in Microsoft Teams?

Chat is on by default. An admin turns it on or off with the Chat setting in a messaging policy in the Microsoft Teams admin center, under Messaging policies. Individual users cannot switch it back on themselves.

How do you access Microsoft Teams chat?

Select Chat in the Teams sidebar on desktop, in a browser at the Teams web app, or on the mobile app. Threads follow the account, so the same history appears everywhere you sign in.

Can you chat with someone outside your organization?

Yes. External access is on by default and lets you find, call and chat with Teams users at other organizations. External access users cannot share files with you; guest access is needed for that.