We manage Microsoft 365 for a client where several users see a strange autocomplete entry when they type the manager's name in Outlook. The suggestion displays the manager's name but points to a third-party CRM address. Messages sent to it are filed in the CRM's document library rather than delivered to the manager.
Removing the suggestion with the X only works temporarily, and it returns about a minute later. The entry does not appear in Exchange contacts, guest users, mailboxes, local address lists, or the affected users' saved contacts. It even appears on a brand-new computer immediately after the user signs in, so ordinary local caching does not seem to explain it.
The entry is treated as a suggested recipient, but exporting the available suggested-recipient list from Outlook on the web does not show the address. Creating a global contact with the correct name and address changes the search behavior slightly, but Outlook still displays the manager's name for the CRM address.
Is there a reliable way to delete or reset this newer suggested-recipient data, or prevent Outlook from associating the CRM address with the manager?
2 Answers
Try the Outlook controls for turning off or resetting suggested contacts, especially if the affected users are using classic Outlook. The newer suggested-recipient system can exist separately from Exchange contacts and the older autocomplete data, so deleting a contact or clearing a local profile may not remove it everywhere.
This sounds like a Microsoft autocomplete or suggested-recipient quirk rather than an actual Exchange object. The fact that it appears on a newly configured computer points to cloud-synchronized recipient suggestions. Unfortunately, the removal control is known to be unreliable, so a reset of the suggested contacts may be the only practical cleanup option. Creating a properly named global contact might reduce future misidentification, but it does not necessarily repair suggestions already learned by individual mailboxes.
Even without any AI features enabled, these suggested-recipient lists can become difficult to control. They are separate from saved contacts and may not be visible through normal Exchange administration tools.