Manage suggested recipients in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields in Outlook

Depending on the account you're using, Contact Suggestions use personal contacts, contacts from your organization (such as contacts from a Global Address List), and saved names and addresses you previously used when sending messages.

In new Outlook, you have the option to:

Use Contact Suggestions  |  Hide a suggested contact

Use the Contact Suggestions List and Recent People suggestions for new Outlook

As you begin to type a name in a To, Cc, or Bcc box, the Contact Suggestions List shows up to five matching names or addresses.

If you type a "b" character in one of the recipient fields, for example, the list presents suggested matches. The Contact Suggestions list is searched by first name, last name, email address as well as other contact information such as a phone number, if available. The list is refined with each character you type. So, if you end by typing "Bo," then the Auto-Complete List would further refine to only show Bob Kelly.

With each new person you email, additional message recipients are added to the Auto-Complete List.

Hide one or more suggested contacts in the Suggestion List for new Outlook

If you want to hide a contact from your suggestion list, do this in the contact suggestion list when addressing an email. This can do this for personal contacts, contacts we discovered on your communications, and contacts from in your organization (such as contacts from a Global Address List). Contacts hidden this way won't be returned as suggested contacts in Microsoft 365 products (e.g. Outlook, Teams, etc.) 

1. Forward, reply, or create an email.

2. In the To: address line, start typing the contact you want to hide. 
   

3. When the contact you want to hide appears in the list of suggested contacts, look for the X to the right of the contact's name. 
   

4. Select the X and the contact will be removed from the list and will also be hidden for later use.

5. If you accidentally hid the contact, select Undo in the message at the bottom center of the screen. This message will remain for 5 seconds after hiding a contact.

6. If you want to un-hide a contact, send an email to the contact by replying to an old mail or by typing the full email address on a new mail. After approximately 24 hours, the contact will be unhidden from the suggestion list.

Use the Contact Suggestions List and Recent People suggestions for classic Outlook

As you begin to type a name in a To, Cc, or Bcc box, the Contact Suggestions List shows up to five matching names or addresses.

If you type a "b" character in one of the recipient fields, for example, the list presents suggested matches. The Contact Suggestions list is searched by first name, last name, email address as well as other contact information such as phone number, if available. The list is refined with each character you type. So, if you end by typing "Bo," then the Auto-Complete List would further refine to only show Bob Kelly.

With each new person you email, additional message recipients are added to the Auto-Complete List.

Hide one or more suggested contacts in the Suggestion List for classic Outlook

If you want to hide a contact from your suggestion list, it is possible to do so in the contact suggestion list while addressing an email. This can be used for personal contacts, contacts we have discovered on your communications, and contacts in your organization (as applicable). Contacts hidden this way will not be returned as suggested contacts in Microsoft 365 products (e.g. Outlook, Teams, etc.) 

1. Forward, reply, or create an email.

2. In the To: address line, start typing the contact you want to hide.

3. When the contact you want to hide appears in the list of suggested contacts, look for the X to the right of the contact's name. 
   

4. Select the X and the contact will be removed from the list and will also be hidden for later use.

5. If you want to un-hide a contact, send an email to the contact by replying to an old mail or by typing the full email address on a new mail. After approximately 24 hours, the contact will be unhidden from the suggestion list.

Turn off or reset your suggested contacts for classic Outlook

Microsoft allows you to control what information we keep about your contacts in the suggested contacts search. Suggested contact search understands who you communicate with frequently and uses that information to make it easier to find contacts.  

You can manage this information on the Privacy dashboard for your account. Which Privacy dashboard to use depends on if you’re using a work or school account, or a personal Microsoft account such as an Outlook.com or Hotmail.com account.  

For work or school accounts do the following:

1. Go to Settings & Privacy for your work or school account.

2. Select the Privacy tab, and under Data options, expand Manage Contact Search.

3. You can Reset Index, Download Contacts, or turn off Capture implicit contacts and contact ranking from my communications.

For Microsoft accounts, do the following: 

1. Go to the Privacy page for your Microsoft account, and if prompted sign in with your Microsoft account.

2. Scroll down to Empower your productivity and select People suggestions.

3. Set the toggle to Off.