How to Configure Outlook Hierarchical Address Book to Sync With Org Chart

If you manage an Exchange or Microsoft 365 environment, you may need to help users quickly find colleagues by their position in the company structure. The Outlook Hierarchical Address Book, or HAB, displays recipients in an organizational tree based on the company’s management hierarchy. This feature replaces the flat global address list with a view that shows managers, their direct reports, and team groupings. This article explains how to configure the HAB in Exchange Online and Exchange Server so it syncs with your organization’s chart.

The HAB is built from Active Directory or Microsoft Entra ID attributes that define reporting relationships. When configured correctly, Outlook users see a “Organization” tab in the Address Book that mirrors the org chart. This setup requires planning the manager and direct-report attributes, then running the proper Exchange cmdlets. The following sections cover the prerequisites, step-by-step configuration, and common pitfalls to avoid.

What Is the Hierarchical Address Book and What Prerequisites Are Needed

The Hierarchical Address Book is an Exchange Online and Exchange Server 2013 or later feature that organizes recipients in a tree view. It uses distribution groups that represent management teams. Each group must have a designated manager and members who are direct reports. The HAB does not automatically read your org chart from an HR system. You must manually build the structure by creating distribution groups that match your reporting lines.

Before you configure the HAB, verify these prerequisites:

• You have Exchange Online or Exchange Server 2013 or later. Exchange Online requires a subscription that includes Exchange, such as Microsoft 365 Business Standard or Enterprise.
• You have administrative access to the Exchange Admin Center or Exchange Management Shell.
• All users in the hierarchy have the Manager field populated in Active Directory or Microsoft Entra ID. This field stores the distinguished name of each user’s manager.
• You have created distribution groups for each management team. These groups do not need to be mail-enabled for the HAB to work, but mail-enabling them is recommended so users can send to the group.

Steps to Configure the Hierarchical Address Book in Exchange Online

The configuration process uses Exchange Online PowerShell. You cannot complete all steps from the Exchange Admin Center GUI alone. The following steps assume you have already created distribution groups that match your organizational units.

1. Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell
   Open Windows PowerShell as an administrator and run the command Connect-ExchangeOnline. Sign in with a global administrator or Exchange administrator account when prompted.
2. Identify the root distribution group
   Decide which distribution group will sit at the top of the HAB tree. This group typically represents the CEO or the entire executive team. Record the group’s name or distinguished name.
3. Set the root group for the HAB
   Run the following cmdlet. Replace RootGroupName with the name of your root group.
   Set-OrganizationConfig -HierarchicalAddressBookRoot "RootGroupName"
4. Mark each management group as hierarchical
   For every distribution group that should appear in the HAB tree, run this cmdlet. Replace GroupName with the group’s name.
   Set-Group -Identity "GroupName" -IsHierarchicalGroup $true
5. Set the manager for each hierarchical group
   Each hierarchical group must have a manager attribute. Use the Set-DistributionGroup cmdlet with the -ManagedBy parameter. Replace GroupName and ManagerUPN accordingly.
   Set-DistributionGroup -Identity "GroupName" -ManagedBy "ManagerUPN"
6. Add members to each group
   Add the direct reports as members of their respective distribution groups. Use the Add-DistributionGroupMember cmdlet. Replace GroupName and MemberUPN.
   Add-DistributionGroupMember -Identity "GroupName" -Member "MemberUPN"
7. Verify the HAB is enabled
   Run Get-OrganizationConfig | Format-List HierarchicalAddressBookRoot. The output should show the root group name. If the property is empty, the HAB is not enabled.
8. Test in Outlook
   Open Outlook, press Ctrl+3 to open the Address Book, then select Address Book > Organization. Users should see the tree starting with the root group. If the tree is empty, wait up to 24 hours for replication or force an offline address book update.

If Outlook Still Has Issues After the Main Fix

The HAB tree shows no entries or is completely empty

This issue occurs when the offline address book has not been updated or the root group is not set correctly. Force an OAB generation by running Update-OfflineAddressBook -Identity "Default Offline Address Book" in Exchange Online PowerShell. Then in Outlook, go to Send/Receive > Send/Receive Groups > Download Address Book. Clear the check box for “Download changes since last Send/Receive” and click OK.

Some users appear in the wrong branch of the tree

The HAB uses group membership to determine where each user appears. If a user is a member of two hierarchical groups, the tree may show them under the wrong manager. Remove the user from any hierarchical group that does not match their actual reporting line. Use Remove-DistributionGroupMember -Identity "GroupName" -Member "UserUPN" to correct the membership.

The HAB works in Outlook for Windows but not in Outlook on the web

Outlook on the web uses a different address book provider. The HAB is fully supported in Outlook for Windows and Outlook for Mac. In Outlook on the web, users can see the organization tree by clicking the profile picture of any user and selecting “Organization.” This view is generated from the Manager field in Microsoft Entra ID, not from the HAB configuration. To make the HAB appear in Outlook on the web, you must also populate the Manager field for every user.

Hierarchical Address Book vs Global Address List: Key Differences

Item	Hierarchical Address Book	Global Address List (GAL)
Structure	Tree view based on management hierarchy	Flat list sorted alphabetically
Configuration	Requires distribution groups and PowerShell cmdlets	Automatic from all mail-enabled objects in the organization
User visibility	Shows only members of hierarchical groups	Shows all mail-enabled users, contacts, and groups
Outlook tab	Organization tab in Address Book	All Address Lists or Global Address List tab
Update frequency	Depends on offline address book generation schedule	Updates after each GAL generation or sync

The Hierarchical Address Book is an overlay on top of the GAL. Users who are not members of any hierarchical group still appear in the GAL but not in the HAB tree. To include all employees, create a root group that contains every user in the organization.

You can now configure the Outlook Hierarchical Address Book to match your company org chart. After setting the root group and marking management groups as hierarchical, test the view in Outlook by opening the Address Book and selecting the Organization tab. For large organizations, consider creating a script that automatically creates hierarchical groups from HR data. Use the Get-User cmdlet to export the Manager attribute and build group membership programmatically.