High Importance Messages in Microsoft Teams

What are High Importance Messages, and how do they work?

What It Does

When enabled, your message will be marked as "high importance" in Microsoft Teams with a red exclamation mark (!). This helps ensure critical messages get noticed.

What to Expect

Your recipients will:

• See a red (!) icon next to your message
• Possibly get notified even during "Do Not Disturb" (not guaranteed)
• See the message highlighted in their chat list

Limitations

This setting cannot:

• Force notifications if users have them disabled
• Override company Teams policies
• Send "Urgent" messages that repeat every 2 minutes
• Guarantee delivery during Do Not Disturb

When to Use This

Best for time-sensitive or critical communications that need immediate attention. Remember that recipients still control their own notification preferences.