Chat in Microsoft Teams with external people

Chat in Microsoft Teams with external people

Chat in Microsoft Teams with external people
what works, what doesn't and why? 🤔💬


"I entered the email address – why doesn't the chat work?" Or: "Why do I see the person twice?"

External chats in Microsoft Teams regularly cause question marks, which is no wonder – because "external" is not the same as "external".

Here comes the simple explanation.

 

✅When is it possible to chat with external people?

Basically,
👉 a chat in Microsoft Teams only works if the external person is also part of the Microsoft world, i.e. works with M365 and MS Teams.

In concrete terms, this means:

✅People with M365 /Microsoft Teams company account
✅People with a personal Microsoft account, such as @outlook.com, @hotmail.de, etc.

👉These email addresses are automatically recognized when entered in the chat and marked as external. The chat ends up with the external person directly in their own Teams environment.

❌Why doesn't it work with some email addresses?

Some providers provide mail, but no Microsoft account by default, such as t-online.de, gmx.de, web.de, etc.
➡️ A direct 1:1 or group chat is not possible.

✅Option for chatting with external parties without a Microsoft account: Create a guest

If you want to chat or collaborate with external people on a regular basis, the external person can be created as a guest in your M365 environment without a Microsoft account.

After that, you can chat with this guest in 1:1 or group chats, or invite them to a Teams or SharePoint page.

 

🤔Pause for a moment: Is chat with a guest really the best solution here?

If you work with external people on a permanent or long-term basis, another question arises:

Shouldn't communication and cooperation with the guest then be better done in a team?

Why this is often the more sustainable solution:

✅Content is visible to all parties involved
✅Decisions and agreements are documented
✅Files, discussions, and info stay in one place
✅New team members can follow everything later

💡 Remember:
Chat is suitable for quick, short coordination.
For joint work, traceability and knowledge transfer, teams with channels and communication are the better choice.

👀Why do I see some people twice?

Sometimes an external person shows  up twice – for example:

  • once as external
  • once as a guest



This happens when:

  • the person  has their own Microsoft account (external) and
  •  is also created as a guest in your M365 environment

⭐Our recommendation: Always select "external"

If you have the choice, use the external variant in the chat.

Why?

✅ The person gets the message in their own Microsoft365 environment
✅ The person doesn't have to switch
✅ to your M365 environment  Experience shows that replies comefaster 😊

 

 



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