How to Migrate Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace With the New Import Tool

You can now migrate up to 10 Microsoft 365 users to Google Workspace directly during initial setup. Google's new import flow copies user accounts plus email, OneDrive files, calendar events, contacts and tasks. It does not delete or change the Microsoft source data, so a small business can complete the import, verify the result and keep Microsoft 365 available during a controlled cutover.

The simplified tool became generally available on September 11, 2026. It is designed for administrators setting up a new Google Workspace account, not for end users moving personal files. Before starting, verify the business domain, activate Gmail's MX records, confirm that enough Google Workspace licenses are available and create a backup of business-critical data.

What the new Google Workspace import tool moves

According to the official Google Workspace announcement, the setup flow can identify users in a connected Microsoft business account and copy:

• Microsoft 365 user accounts;
• Exchange Online email;
• OneDrive files;
• calendar events;
• contacts; and
• tasks.

The administrator can exclude individual users or data types before starting. The import runs in the background, and Workspace setup can continue while data is copied.

Do not assume that everything in a Microsoft tenant is included. Google's simplified setup documentation does not list Teams chat history, SharePoint sites, Microsoft 365 Groups, distribution lists, shared mailboxes, public folders, applications, compliance policies or device-management settings as part of this workflow. Inventory those items separately and choose an appropriate migration method for each one.

Who can use the simplified migration

The built-in setup flow is available to Google Workspace customers, but its automatic small-team path has important limits:

• It is intended for a new Workspace account during setup.
• It automatically imports up to 10 Microsoft users.
• The administrator needs a Microsoft account with the authority required to connect the tenant.
• The Google Workspace domain must be verified and Gmail MX activation completed first.
• Flexible Plan customers can add the imported users through the flow.
• Annual or Fixed-Term Plan customers must have sufficient purchased licenses before importing users.

Organizations with more than 10 users should use Google's documented Exchange Online and OneDrive migration options instead of trying to divide one source into repeated setup imports. The official announcement links to the larger-migration guidance.

Before you migrate: build a simple inventory

A clean migration begins with knowing what exists. Create a worksheet with one row per employee and include:

• primary Microsoft email address;
• aliases and alternate domains;
• mailbox size;
• OneDrive storage used;
• calendar ownership and delegated calendars;
• shared mailboxes and distribution groups used;
• business applications that send through Microsoft 365;
• mobile devices and desktop mail clients; and
• the new Google Workspace address and license.

Check for users who already have unmanaged Google Accounts using the company's email domain. Resolve account conflicts before the cutover so a staff member does not accidentally sign in to the wrong profile.

Handle shared addresses separately

A Microsoft shared mailbox such as support@ or sales@ is not the same as a normal licensed user. Decide whether each address should become a Google Group, a delegated Gmail mailbox or a licensed user account, depending on how the team works and what records it must retain.

If you are still organizing the source tenant, our guide to creating a Microsoft 365 shared mailbox without a license explains how shared addresses differ from ordinary user mailboxes. Record every shared address before migration rather than discovering it after mail routing changes.

Step-by-step: migrate Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace

1. Prepare the Google Workspace account

Sign up for the required Workspace edition and create the administrator account. Verify ownership of the business domain using the DNS record Google provides. Purchase or confirm one Workspace license for every person who will use Gmail, Drive and other Workspace services.

For a Flexible Plan, adding imported users increases the monthly subscription. For an Annual or Fixed-Term Plan, make sure the account's license capacity covers the imported users before opening the tool.

2. Plan the email cutover

Activating Google's MX records directs new email to Gmail. Choose a cutover period when someone can monitor both platforms and when business volume is relatively low. Document the current Microsoft MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records before editing DNS.

Do not cancel Microsoft 365 immediately. Keep it available until you have verified imported mail, files, calendars and new-message delivery for every user. DNS changes can take time to propagate, and messages may temporarily arrive in either environment depending on the sender's resolver.

3. Open the import tool during Workspace setup

In the Google Admin setup flow, choose the option to import business data, then select Microsoft and continue. Click Connect, select the Microsoft business administrator account and review the requested access before accepting it.

Google then discovers eligible users in the Microsoft account and prepares corresponding Workspace users.

4. Review the users

Open Review your users and deselect anyone who should not be migrated in this batch. Confirm that usernames match the intended Google addresses. Pay close attention to former employees, service accounts, aliases and users with different primary domains.

Do not import an account merely because it appears in the Microsoft directory. Every imported person needs the correct Workspace identity, license and destination for their data.

5. Choose the data types

Under Review data import settings, select the data categories needed for all included users: email, calendar events, contacts, files and tasks. If a category requires a different migration plan, leave it unchecked rather than importing it twice.

For example, a business that has already copied OneDrive files through another approved tool should not select files again without first testing for duplicates and ownership problems.

6. Start the import

Click Start import. The job runs in the background, so the administrator can continue Workspace setup and monitor progress later.

Google's setup-import documentation warns that stopping an import does not roll back items already copied. It may take a few minutes to stop, and the same import cannot simply be restarted. If another migration is required, use the appropriate default Exchange Online or OneDrive import method.

7. Deliver sign-in instructions securely

After each user is created, Google sends the administrator Workspace sign-in instructions. Forward them to a verified secondary address or deliver them through another secure channel. Do not send temporary credentials to the Microsoft mailbox after access has been disabled.

Require users to change temporary passwords and enroll in two-step verification. Test recovery details and administrator access before the old tenant is retired.

How to avoid duplicate mail and files

The most important warning in Google's help page is that using the data import tool on content already imported during setup creates duplicates. The tool is a copy process, not a continuous synchronization service.

Use these safeguards:

1. Choose one migration owner who records every job.
2. Define the source, destination, users, data types and start time for each run.
3. Test with one low-risk user before migrating the full team.
4. Do not run both the setup import and a separate Exchange or OneDrive migration against the same content range.
5. Pause manual bulk uploads while the import is running.
6. Keep an exception log for missing or duplicated items.

A backup is still worthwhile even though Google copies rather than deletes source data. Use an export that your organization can open and verify, not merely a dashboard that says backup is enabled. The same principle applies to other SaaS platforms; see our Notion workspace backup guide for a practical verification checklist.

What to test after the import

Do not judge success only by the import status. For every user, verify a representative sample:

• recent, old, sent and attachment-heavy email;
• folders or labels and message timestamps;
• recurring meetings, invitations and time zones;
• personal and delegated contacts;
• OneDrive folders, Office documents, PDFs and large files;
• file ownership, sharing permissions and external links;
• tasks with dates and notes; and
• new inbound and outbound email after MX activation.

Send test messages from an external account to each important address, including aliases and departmental addresses. Reply from Gmail and inspect authentication results. Confirm that automated systems such as invoicing, contact forms, scanners and support platforms still send from approved domains.

What will need a separate migration plan

The setup tool solves the core small-business data move, but it is not a complete tenant transformation. Make separate decisions for:

• Teams: chat history, channels, meeting recordings and connected apps;
• SharePoint: sites, libraries, permissions, metadata and workflows;
• shared mailboxes and groups: destination structure, membership and delegation;
• Office automation: macros, Power Automate flows and add-ins;
• identity: single sign-on, conditional access, recovery and administrator roles;
• devices: endpoint management, encryption, browser policies and mobile access;
• retention: legal holds, archives and regulatory records.

If the business depends on a Microsoft application being retired or replaced, treat that project separately from the email cutover. Our guide to migrating from Microsoft Project Online shows why application data, integrations and user workflows need their own validation.

When should you cancel Microsoft 365?

Cancel only after the verification window is complete. At minimum, confirm that:

• all users can sign in and use two-step verification;
• new mail consistently reaches Gmail;
• historical email and files have been checked;
• aliases, shared addresses and groups work;
• business apps have been reconfigured;
• retention and compliance requirements are satisfied; and
• a rollback or recovery copy is documented.

Also review Microsoft's subscription term and billing date. Turning off licenses too early can remove access before the team has finished verification, while leaving unused subscriptions active indefinitely creates unnecessary cost.

The bottom line

Google's new setup import is a strong option for a small organization with 10 or fewer Microsoft 365 users. It reduces manual account creation and copies the most common business data types in one guided workflow. The safe approach is still a staged migration: inventory the tenant, verify the domain and licenses, test one user, run one clearly documented import, validate the results and keep Microsoft available until the cutover is proven.

For larger teams or complex Microsoft environments, use Google's separate migration tools and build a workload-by-workload plan. The new wizard is a convenient small-business path, not a replacement for planning around Teams, SharePoint, shared mailboxes, identity and compliance.