Improved copy and paste support for @mentions and shared contacts in Microsoft Teams

Updated March 31, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

Introduction

Microsoft Teams is improving the copy and paste experience for messages that contain @mentions, shared contacts, and other supported @tags. Previously, when users copied and pasted messages containing mentions, those mentions could be converted into plain text and lose their interactivity.

With this update, Teams preserves supported tags during copy and paste whenever possible. If a tag is valid in the destination conversation, it remains interactive and behaves the same way as when originally authored. If the tag cannot be used in that context, it safely falls back to plain text while preserving the original display text. This ensures a more consistent and reliable messaging experience across chats and channels.

This message applies to Teams for Windows desktop, Teams for Mac desktop, and Teams for the web. It is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 558254.

When this will happen:

• Targeted Release: Rollout begins early May 2026 (previously early April) and is expected to complete by mid-May 2026 (previously mid-April).
• General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins mid-May 2026 (previously mid-April) and is expected to complete by late May 2026 (previously late April).
• General Availability (GCC, GCC High): Rollout begins mid-May 2026 (previously early May) and is expected to complete by early June 2026 (previously mid-May).
• General Availability (DoD): Rollout begins early June 2026 (previously mid-May) and is expected to complete by late June 2026 (previously late May).

How this affects your organization:

Who is affected:

• All users of Microsoft Teams who copy and paste messages containing @mentions, shared contacts, or other supported tags in chats and channels.

What will happen:

• Supported tags are preserved during copy and paste when the tag is valid in the destination conversation.
• Preserved tags remain interactive and behave the same way as when originally authored.
• If a tag cannot be used in the destination context (for example, due to membership, permissions, or scope limitations), it automatically falls back to plain text while preserving the original display text.
• This reduces confusion, preserves message context, and minimizes the need for users to manually recreate mentions after pasting content.

There is no change to how mentions or notifications behave after a message is sent.

What you can do to prepare:

• No admin action is required.
• This feature is enabled by default and will be available automatically once the rollout reaches your tenant.
• Consider notifying helpdesk staff or end users about the improved copy and paste behavior to set expectations.

Compliance considerations:

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.