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Using @mentions in Office Online documents not working

Neil Cotton 20 Reputation points
2026-01-12T06:48:34.3366667+00:00

Good afternoon,

We have a problem where the feature to add notified mentions into a Word file (to request someone that they need to add their parts) is now no longer working.

The @ functionality seems to be completely removed (it's not just the notification).

@ used to bring a people picker but now does nothing.

@ mentions are still working as expected inside of an added comment, just not on the main "body" of the document.

I can't find any settings that would control this, nor find any notice that the feature was being deprecated. It seems to have stopped working around November 2025.

To clarify

  • File are stored in a SharePoint online library.
  • Users have full permission to the library and file.
  • Users have E3 licenses with mail enabled accounts.
  • Behaviour is the same for all users, including Admin.
  • Behaviour is the same across all libraries.
  • Behaviour is the same with Work online and desktop application.
  • We don't recall any administrative change that would have such affect.

Does anyone have any more knowledge about this / know how to fix?

Regards
Neil

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | Windows
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2 answers

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  1. R Artes 31 Reputation points
    2026-02-17T12:33:52.1133333+00:00

    We have the same. @ doesn't do anything anymore (Sharepoint Online or OneDrive).

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  2. Nam-D 3,695 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-01-12T14:56:08.8633333+00:00

    Hello @Neil Cotton,

    Thank you for sharing the details regarding the issue where the @ functionality seems to be completely removed in Microsoft Word. Based on your description, the @ symbol previously brought up a people picker, but now it does nothing. We also understand that @ mentions are still working as expected inside an added comment, just not in the main body of the document. We have noted that this issue occurs across all SharePoint sites and affects all users in your tenant, which indicates it may be a tenant-wide behavior rather than an isolated case. To assist you better and escalate this for further investigation, could you please help us by:

    1. Reproducing the issue on your end and capturing screenshots that clearly show the behavior in Microsoft Word.
    2. Sending these screenshots to us via a private message for security and privacy purposes. I've sent you a private message. Please reset this page and you'll see a pop up on top of your thread. You can click on View Messages to check what I've messaged you.     User's image

    This will allow us to analyze the scenario accurately and provide the most effective guidance. Additionally, if possible, please confirm whether this behavior started after any recent updates or changes in your environment. We truly appreciate your cooperation and look forward to resolving this issue promptly. Please let us know once you have shared the screenshots or if you need any assistance in capturing them.

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