How To Delete Autocomplete Email Address on an Outlook work account (new Outlook for Windows)

Question

How To Delete Autocomplete Email Address on an Outlook work account (new Outlook for Windows)

Blessed Trinity Office 10

I am trying to delete an address that auto populates when I enter a certain letter - the "X" does not come up. Can someone help me figure out how to get rid of it? This is an Outlook 365 work account

Hornblower409 13,300 Reputation points

2026-08-12T02:51:06.15+00:00

Appears to be a duplicate of
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5958821/

2 answers

Your answer

Hornblower409 13,300 Reputation points

2026-08-12T02:51:06.15+00:00

Appears to be a duplicate of
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5958821/

Answer 1

Gabe Bratton 80

Autocomplete will not help in this situation. Its Microsoft Search that is showing the suggested recipients. The X has been turned off as of March 31, 2026 reference https://windowsforum.com/windows-news.4/outlook-contact-masking-retirement-on-march-31-2026-what-to-know.402713/.

The few controls for suggested contacts are documented here, https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/mail/manage-suggested-recipients-in-the-to-cc-and-bcc-fields-in-outlook. You could clear the suggested contacts as noted in the article but its probably overkill. Search will repopulate the list over time.

Microsoft has been given feedback about this issue and its being looked into but there is no timeline for a solution.

Blessed Trinity Office 10 Reputation points

2026-08-10T15:15:11.9+00:00

I think your answer is there is no way then? I cleared them & it takes 48 hours but that didn't work. THANK you
Gabe Bratton 80 Reputation points

2026-08-10T17:36:46.8133333+00:00

Clearing the suggested recipients is the only control at this time. Double check you don't have that contact in your Outlook contacts. If it's there then search will find it and add it back. It will also reappear if the address is in your companies address book. If that address is in recent emails, it will also find it there.

Answer 2

Michelle Nguyen 760 Independent Advisor

Hi @Blessed Trinity Office

When an auto-populating address in Outlook 365 does not show an X, it means Outlook is pulling the address directly from your Saved Contacts, Suggested Contacts, or your company's Global Address List (GAL) rather than the temporary Auto-Complete cache.

-Recognize Global Address List (GAL) Entries:

Because this is a work account, Outlook auto-populates entries from your organization's directory:

If the address belongs to a current or former colleague, shared mailbox, or external guest added by your organization, it comes from the central Global Address List.
End users cannot delete GAL entries. If the email address belongs to a former employee or an obsolete company account, contact your organization's IT admin to remove or hide the object from Active Directory.

-Clear the AutoComplete list:

To delete the AutoComplete list, use one of the following methods.

Method 1

Open Outlook.
On the File tab, select Options.
Select the Mail tab.
Under Send Messages, select Empty Auto-Complete List.
When you're prompted, select Yes.

Method 2

Start Outlook by using the /CleanAutoCompleteCache switch.

Select Start, and then select Run.
Type Outlook.exe /CleanAutoCompleteCache.

Please let me know the result.

Blessed Trinity Office 10 Reputation points

2026-08-07T14:34:01.0933333+00:00

I know for a fact this is not true because it is my personal address which is not saved anywhere & we are a small office that doesn't have a global address list
Blessed Trinity Office 10 Reputation points

2026-08-07T14:38:22.2433333+00:00

I am going to try the methods you suggested & let you know. THANK u
Blessed Trinity Office 10 Reputation points

2026-08-07T14:42:28.4933333+00:00

Ok, the first method didn't work because there is no Options option under File (see attached)

And for the 2nd method I get this error
Blessed Trinity Office 10 Reputation points

2026-08-07T14:43:29.9166667+00:00
Blessed Trinity Office 10 Reputation points

2026-08-07T14:44:41.6833333+00:00

There is no Option under File
Blessed Trinity Office 10 Reputation points

2026-08-07T14:45:29.1566667+00:00

the second error
Michelle Nguyen 760 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-07T15:13:08.1866667+00:00

Hi @Blessed Trinity Office

Sorry for the confusion.

May I ask what issue you're encountering with the second method?

If the problem still persists after testing, I would recommend clearing the data, turning AutoComplete off, and then reactivating it. This will remove the existing AutoComplete entries, and Outlook will automatically build a new list as you send emails to recipients in the future.
Blessed Trinity Office 10 Reputation points

2026-08-07T15:27:25.1666667+00:00

I already posted the error I got, now I can't remember but NOW when I do that, it is opening another mailbox that we have. I have repeatedly turned auto complete off & on that doesn't work. I'm going to assume nothing will work at this point. This address IS NOT in my contacts & we don't have a global address list. Thanks for attempting to help
Michelle Nguyen 760 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-10T15:10:11.87+00:00

Hi @Blessed Trinity Office

Thank you for the update. First, could you please take a look at Gabe Bratton’s response? Let me know if you have any update after reviewing it. Thanks!
Michelle Nguyen 760 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-13T17:22:32.8966667+00:00

Hi @Blessed Trinity Office

Right now, to get the best help, I'd suggest reaching out to the IT admin to see what they say and also ask them to request a support ticket to Microsoft if necessary