Alerts retirement: Creating Rules on a List or library in SharePoint Online

Hello DKS_207,

Thank you for your question regarding the use of email-enabled security groups when creating rules on a modern SharePoint Online list or library.

Currently, SharePoint Online’s built-in rules feature (such as “send an email when an item is created”) is primarily designed for individual users and does not reliably support sending notifications to email-enabled security groups. While these groups can be used for permissions and access control, they are not consistently recognized as valid recipients for rule-based notifications.

Key Considerations:

1. Rules vs. Alerts: Traditional alerts (now being phased out) had similar limitations. Rules are more restrictive and typically require individual user accounts.
2. Permissions: You can still use mail-enabled security groups to manage access to lists and libraries.
3. Workaround: For broader notification needs, we recommend using Power Automate to create custom flows that can send emails to distribution lists or groups.

Best Regards,

Adaeze || Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Hi Adaeze,

Thanks so much for your reply with answers to my questions. Like you have mentioned we know the alternative to restrictive Rules is Power Automate flows. But the issue is that we have 19000 sites with 100+ users, groups and many has one or more alerts on many lists and libraries. Most of the users are not technical and it will be a tedious task for us to create Flows for everyone. If Microsoft had made Rules very similar to classic alerts, users could do the same with no issues. Do you think Microsoft will improve the Rules in the future to include at least email enabled security groups as well? This alert retirement is a little better than what MS has done to InfoPath. Many of our users lost a lot of data and it may not be acceptable in the long run.

Hello,

Thank you for your thoughtful response and for highlighting the scale and complexity of your environment. You're absolutely right—managing alerts across 19,000 sites with thousands of users and groups is no small task, especially when many users are not technically inclined.

As of now, SharePoint Online’s modern rules feature does not officially support email-enabled security groups as recipients for notifications. While these groups can be used for access control, they are not consistently recognized by the rules engine for email delivery. This limitation has understandably created friction for organizations transitioning from classic alerts.

Regarding future improvements: Microsoft has not yet announced any plans to expand the capabilities of SharePoint rules to include support for email-enabled security groups. However, Microsoft continues to evolve its collaboration and automation tools, and feedback from enterprise customers like yours plays a critical role in shaping those updates. I would strongly encourage submitting this scenario through your Microsoft support or account channels as a feature request—it helps prioritize enhancements that address real-world needs.

Best Regards,

Adaeze || Microsoft Community Support Specialist