Group Task
A Group Task in Salesforce is a single task assigned to multiple users at once.
Definition
A Group Task in Salesforce is a single task assigned to multiple users at once. Salesforce creates one Task record per assignee, all linked to the same parent record (the related Account, Contact, Opportunity, or other object), so each user sees the task on their own My Tasks list and can complete it independently. The feature lets a sales manager assign one follow-up call to an entire account team, or a service supervisor assign a quality-check task to a queue of agents, without manually creating a separate Task record for each user.
Group Task creation lives behind the Assign To Multiple Users checkbox on the standard Task creation modal. Once checked, the user picker accepts users, queues, public groups, role members, and role-plus-subordinates members. Salesforce expands the selection into individual Task records server-side. Subsequent updates (status, comments, attachments) apply only to the user''s own copy of the task; closing one user''s task does not close the others. The feature is invaluable for team-based work but adds a Task row per assignee, which can balloon Task volume on large teams.
How Group Task differs from a single multi-owner task
One task per user, not one task with many owners
Salesforce does not natively support multi-owner Task records. The Group Task feature works by creating one Task per assignee, each with the same Subject, Due Date, Related To, and Description fields. Updates to one Task do not propagate to the others. The Task object stores a TaskRelation child for each user, but the primary OwnerId field still points to exactly one user per row.
The Assign To Multiple Users checkbox
The checkbox sits on the New Task modal in both Classic and Lightning. In Lightning, the modal is the global action New Task or any record-page Tasks composer. Checking it changes the Assigned To picker from single-select to multi-select, allowing users, queues, public groups, and role-based selections as inputs. Salesforce expands the selection into individual Task rows on save.
Performance implications
Assigning a task to a 100-user public group creates 100 Task records in a single transaction. The save can take noticeable time and counts against the Task object''s storage. Bulk assignment to large groups should be rare and intentional; assigning to 1,000 users at once approaches the limit where the save fails entirely.
Closing and updating one assignee at a time
Each assignee owns their copy of the task and closes it independently. Managers tracking completion need to query the Task object grouped by Subject, Activity Date, and Who/What references to see how many of the assigned users have completed. Standard reports include an Activity History per record but not a quick rollup of group-task completion.
Group Task plus Activity Sync
Einstein Activity Capture and Lightning Sync handle Group Tasks like any other Task. If the captured email or event matches a Group Task assignee, it can append activity logs to that specific Task row. The other group members see nothing in their Activity Timeline unless the same activity matches their copy of the task.
Reassignment and queue routing
Group Tasks support reassignment the same way single Tasks do. Each row can be reassigned to a different user, or routed to a queue, without affecting the other group-task rows. This is useful when one of the assigned users is out and a colleague takes over their copy of the task.
Reporting on Group Task completion
Build a custom report type on Task with a filter on a custom Group Task Identifier field (the platform does not add one by default). The simplest workaround is to inject a unique tag into the Subject or Description field when the Group Task is created, then group reports by that tag. Future Salesforce releases may surface a native group-task ID, but admins should not count on it.
Assign a Group Task to multiple users
The creation flow takes 30 seconds once Assign To Multiple Users is checked. Plan the assignee list and the subject template before kicking off the bulk creation.
- Open the New Task modal
From a record page or the global actions, click New Task. The standard create modal opens.
- Check Assign To Multiple Users
The checkbox sits on the Task modal next to the Assigned To field. Checking it changes the picker.
- Pick assignees
Select users, queues, public groups, role members, or role-and-subordinates. Each selection expands into the count of individual users; visible above the picker.
- Fill in subject and due date
Set the Subject (this appears on every copy), the Due Date (same on all copies), and the Related To (parent record).
- Save
Salesforce creates one Task per assignee. A confirmation message shows the total count of tasks created.
- Track completion via report
Build a report on Task filtered by Subject and Activity Date to see how many of the assigned users have completed their copy.
User-visible task title; repeated on every assignee''s copy.
The picker that drives the multi-user expansion.
Shared across all copies; defaults to today if not set.
The parent record (Account, Contact, Opportunity, etc.) referenced from each copy.
- Assigning to large groups creates many Task records. A 500-user group creates 500 rows in one save; plan storage and counts accordingly.
- Salesforce creates one Task per assignee. Updates to one row do not propagate to the others; managers tracking completion must query rolling up by subject and date.
- Person Accounts can be assignees in some configurations, which adds noise. Verify the picker filter to exclude Person Accounts when assigning to internal users only.
- Adding a custom Group Task Identifier field on Task is the cleanest way to report on group-task completion. Salesforce does not ship one by default.
Trust & references
Cross-checked against the following references.
- Assign Tasks to Multiple PeopleSalesforce Help
- Tasks OverviewSalesforce Help
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Group Task.
- Task Standard ObjectSalesforce Developers
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
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