M365 Groups

Microsoft 365 Groups provide collaboration-focused group functionality that provisions shared resources including a mailbox, calendar, SharePoint site, Planner, and optionally a Team. Members get automatic access to all associated resources.

Overview

Microsoft 365 Groups are the membership service underlying Teams, SharePoint team sites, Outlook groups, Planner plans, and Yammer communities. Managing a group automatically manages membership for all connected services.

M365 Group Features

Shared Resources

When you create an M365 Group, the following resources are automatically provisioned:

Shared Mailbox - Group email address for conversations
Shared Calendar - Scheduling for group events
SharePoint Site - Document library and team site
Planner - Task management boards
OneNote - Shared notebook
Teams - Chat, meetings, and collaboration (optional)

Privacy Settings

Public - Discoverable by all users, anyone can join
Private - Hidden from discovery, owner approval required to join

Email Settings

Send Copies - Members receive email in their personal inbox
Allow External Senders - Receive email from outside the organization
Hide from GAL - Hide the group from the Global Address List

Group-Based Licensing

Assign licenses to an M365 group instead of individual users. When users join the group, they automatically receive the assigned licenses. Requires Azure AD Premium.

Assign Licenses - Select which SKUs to assign to group members
Service Plans - Toggle individual services within each SKU
Processing Status - View pending, succeeded, and failed assignments
Error Handling - Resolve conflicts when users have direct assignments

Dynamic Group Rules

M365 Groups can use dynamic membership rules based on user attributes:


// All Sales department members
(user.department -eq "Sales")

// All managers
(user.jobTitle -contains "Manager")

Dynamic groups require Azure AD Premium P1 license.

Graph API Endpoints

GET /groups - List all groups
POST /groups - Create group
GET /groups/{id}/members - Get members
POST /groups/{id}/members/$ref - Add member
DELETE /groups/{id}/members/{userId}/$ref - Remove member
POST /groups/{id}/assignLicense - Assign licenses

API Reference

GET /api/user-management-identity/groups?type=m365 - List M365 groups
POST /api/user-management-identity/groups - Create new M365 group
GET /api/user-management-identity/groups/:groupId/members - Get group members
POST /api/user-management-identity/groups/:groupId/members - Add members to group