How do i stop Outlook from automatically assigning categories to my incoming email

Hi @Rusty Sailors, 

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Based on your description, Outlook on the web is automatically assigning color categories to incoming messages and you want this to stop. We truly understand how disruptive unexpected tagging can be, and we appreciate the time you’ve taken to report the issue. 

This automatic categorization occurs because Outlook's Focused Inbox or Rules feature may be enabled, which groups or tags emails based on learned patterns from your past interactions, such as sender importance or content type. Microsoft introduced enhanced AI-driven organization in recent updates to help prioritize emails, but it can be customized or disabled per your preference. These settings apply specifically to Outlook for Web and sync across devices signed into the same account. 

1/ Start with reviewing and turning off category rules 

• Select the gear icon > View all Outlook settings > Mail > Rules. 
• Open each rule; if the Action includes Categorize, toggle the rule Off or Delete it. 
• If you’ve used Sweep, its rules appear here too, remove any that add categories. 

2/ Then, prevent propagation at the conversation level 

• Go to Settings > Mail > Layout, temporarily turn Show messages arranged by conversation Off. 
• In the Inbox, open a categorized thread, select an individual message, then Categorize > Clear categories. 
• Turn conversation view back On if you prefer; when applying categories in the future, set them on the specific message, not the thread header. 

3/ Next, review and update or delete category names, if needed 

• Open any message > Categorize > Manage categories to rename or delete categories you no longer need. 

4/ As your account is managed by your organization, please contact your IT administrator to check your permission and policies. For a more efficient resolution, we recommend using your administrator account or contacting your IT administrator to submit a support request directly to Microsoft Support team.   

They can raise a support ticket by visiting: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn  

As community moderators, we appreciate your understanding that our access to internal development details is limited. Our primary role is to guide users toward the appropriate resources and support channels. While we may not have visibility into deeper backend analysis, we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities. 

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If you have any updates regarding the issue, please feel free to share them with me.  

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments of this post so I can continue to support you.  

I look forward to continuing the conversation.

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