How to Start a New Chat in Microsoft Teams

To start a chat in the current Microsoft Teams desktop or web app, select New message at the top of your chats and channels, enter the person's name, write the message, then select Send or press Enter.

Sending the first message is the step that starts the conversation. If you close an unsent draft, the other person has not received a chat.

Start a 1:1 chat on desktop or web

Microsoft's current chat instructions are:

1. Select New message at the top of the chats/channels list.
2. Enter the person's name in To.
3. Select the correct result—especially when two people have similar names.
4. Write the message.
5. Select Send or press Enter.

Some tenants and older layouts still show New chat. It is the equivalent compose action. The position can also differ between combined and separate chat/channel layouts.

You can also open a person's profile card from their picture in a channel or from search, then start a chat there.

Start a chat on iPhone or Android

1. Open Chat.
2. Tap New message.
3. Enter the person's name in To.
4. Type the message.
5. Tap Send.

If the person is outside your organisation, Teams may label them as external, offer a different result, or refuse the chat because of organisational policy. Check the identity before sharing business information.

Start a chat with yourself

Teams supports self-chat for drafts, reminders, links and files.

Select New message, enter your own name, type something and send it. Self-chat can be useful as a personal scratch space, but it is not a task-management system or a governed team record. Put decisions and shared work where the responsible team can find them.

Turn it into a group chat

For a new group, select the arrow at the right of To, add a Group name, add the participants and send the first message.

Do not add another person to a private 1:1 conversation expecting the original history to transfer. Teams creates a new group chat. For participant history, naming, files and removal rules, use our full Microsoft Teams group-chat guide.

Chat or channel?

Use chat for a private, lightweight conversation with named recipients. Use a channel when the discussion should be visible to the relevant team, split into topics, discovered later and associated with team-owned files.

Microsoft's Teams navigation guidance describes chat as continuous and unthreaded, while channels support multiple threaded conversations.

If the message will become a policy, project decision or reusable answer, start it in the place where the future reader will search.

If the person does not appear

Work through these checks:

1. Search the full display name and exact work email address.
2. Confirm you are signed in to the intended Teams organisation.
3. Check whether the person is an internal member, an Entra guest or an external/federated contact.
4. Ask a Teams administrator whether messaging or external-access policy blocks the route.
5. Ask the recipient to check Teams and sign in to the correct tenant.

Do not create a duplicate personal account or move sensitive work to an unapproved app merely to bypass a tenant policy.

If the message will not send

• Check the network and Microsoft 365 service status.
• Make sure the compose box contains a message and the recipient is still selected.
• Restart or update the Teams client, or compare with Teams on the web.
• Test a different recipient to separate a client problem from a policy/identity problem.
• Capture the time, client and error text for the administrator without including confidential message content.

A successful chat test should prove that the intended recipient receives and can reply to the first message—not only that you can open the compose screen.

Start with a message people can act on

Instead of “Hi” and waiting, write the context and request:

Could you approve the revised supplier deadline by 3 pm? The document is linked below; the only change is the delivery date.

That makes the chat useful even if the recipient reads it later or from a notification preview.

For practical Teams and SharePoint administration help, join the SharePoint & Teams Admins Space.

Frequently asked questions

Where is New chat in Microsoft Teams now?

Microsoft's current desktop/web Support page calls it New message at the top of the chats and channels list. Some layouts still show New chat; use the equivalent compose icon.

Does selecting a person start the Teams chat?

No. Write and send the first message. Until it is sent, you may only have an unsent draft that the other person cannot see.

Can I start a Teams chat with myself?

Yes. Enter your own name in a new message and send it. Microsoft suggests self-chat for drafts, reminders, links and files.

Why can I not find an external person in Teams chat?

The address may be wrong, you may be in the wrong tenant, or Teams/Entra external-access policy may block the route. An administrator should check the intended identity model and policy rather than guessing from the search result alone.

Should I use a group chat or a channel?

Use a group chat for a private, narrow conversation. Use a channel when the work needs threaded topics, a stable team audience, durable discovery and files stored in the team's SharePoint site.