Keep Zoom Groups in Sync With Google Groups
SyncMyGroup team · October 14, 2026
Zoom groups don't get much attention until something goes wrong. Someone in Sales can't record to the cloud. A contractor can start meetings with settings meant for employees. A new support hire gets the default meeting policy instead of the one the support team uses.
In each case the cause is the same: the person is in the wrong Zoom group, or in none. Zoom groups decide which settings apply to which people, so stale membership means the wrong policy.
If your organisation already keeps department and team membership in Google Groups, the obvious fix is to make Zoom follow it. This post covers how Zoom groups work, the native options for automating membership, and how to sync from Google Groups.
What Zoom groups do
In the Zoom web portal, groups live under User Management → Groups. Zoom's admin library (2026) describes them as the way to manage settings and policies for sets of users:
- Settings by group. Admins choose which settings categories (Meetings, AI Companion and others) or individual settings each group manages.
- Groups without settings. A group can exist purely for other purposes, such as workspace reservations, app approvals, or scoping an admin role.
- Priority ranking. A user can be in several groups. When two groups manage the same setting, the higher-priority group's value applies.
- Group admins. A group can have its own admin who manages its members and settings, without being an account admin.
So group membership is effectively policy assignment. Getting it right matters more than it looks.
The native options
Manual and CSV
You can add members in the portal or import a CSV. Both work for a one-off setup. Neither keeps up with joiners, movers and leavers.
SAML mapping
If you use SSO, Zoom can assign group membership from your identity provider's SAML assertion. Zoom's 2026 guidance covers a few important behaviours:
- SAML mapping becomes the authoritative source for group membership. A user is removed from any group the assertion doesn't match.
- It applies at sign-in. Membership changes take effect after the user next signs in to the Zoom Workplace app or web portal.
- One rule by default. Without multi-mapping, SAML mapping matches only the first applicable rule. Multi-mapping lets one assertion match up to 50 rules, but you have to request it from Zoom Support.
- No mixing. When SAML mapping is configured, you can't combine SAML-assigned groups with manual or CSV assignments for the same user.
Google Workspace can send group membership in a SAML response. Google's admin help notes the group membership attribute is available for both catalog and custom SAML apps, with a limit of 75 group names per response.
SAML mapping is a reasonable choice if everyone signs in through SSO regularly and one-group-per-user (or multi-mapping) covers your needs. Its weak point is timing. A user who moves from Sales to Support keeps the Sales policy until they sign in again, and a leaver who never signs in again keeps their membership indefinitely.
API-driven sync
The third option is to manage group membership through Zoom's API, driven by an external source. That's what a sync tool does, and what a custom script would do. Changes apply when the sync runs, not when the user signs in.
Choosing between SAML mapping and a sync
| SAML mapping | Sync from Google Groups | |
|---|---|---|
| When membership updates | At the user's next sign-in | When the sync runs |
| Users who rarely sign in | Stay in old groups | Updated anyway |
| Multiple groups per user | Needs multi-mapping (request from Zoom Support) | Each mapping is independent |
| Manual exceptions | Not combinable for the same user | Permanent users and exclusions |
| Requires SSO | Yes | No |
| Preview before changes | No | Yes (with SyncMyGroup) |
Pick one mechanism per user population. Running SAML mapping and an API sync against the same groups means two systems deciding membership, and Zoom's own documentation says SAML mapping wins.
Mapping Google Groups to Zoom groups
Before setting anything up, sketch the mapping. A typical one:
| Google Group | Zoom group | Why |
|---|---|---|
sales@ | Sales | Cloud recording on |
support@ | Support | Waiting room off for customer calls |
contractors@ | External Contractors | Recording off, restricted sharing |
exec@ | Executives | Higher-priority group with stricter security settings |
Two rules make this easier to live with:
- One Google Group per Zoom group. Avoid many-to-one mappings. If two Google Groups should share a policy, create a parent Google Group that contains both and map the parent. Nested Google Groups are flattened on the way in; see how flattening works.
- Decide priority up front. If someone is in both
sales@andexec@, Zoom's group priority decides which settings win. Set the priority order in Zoom before turning on the sync, not after.
Setting it up with SyncMyGroup
SyncMyGroup syncs Google Groups with Zoom groups and creates groups or adds and removes members so Zoom matches the source.
1. Connect Google Workspace and Zoom
Add both integrations in the app. For Zoom, authorise with an account that can manage groups in your Zoom account.
2. Create one sync team per mapping
Source: sales@company.com. Destination: the Zoom group Sales. If the Zoom group doesn't exist, SyncMyGroup can create it. You'll still configure its settings and priority in Zoom.
3. Exclude and pin
- Exclude users who shouldn't be moved: the account owner, admins whose group assignment is deliberate, test accounts.
- Permanent users stay in a Zoom group regardless of the Google Group. Use this for a room account or a shared account that should always have a specific policy.
4. Preview
The preview lists who will be added to and removed from each Zoom group. Check removals carefully. Removing someone from a Zoom group changes which settings apply to them, so a wrong removal changes their meeting experience, not only a list.
Also check that the people being added already have Zoom users in your account. Group sync manages membership; licensing is a separate decision in Zoom.
5. Turn on notifications
Subscribe a channel in Slack or Microsoft Teams so the IT team sees every change:
@SyncMyGroups subscribe sales-zoom
6. Run, then add the next mapping
Start with one group with a clear policy difference, such as contractors. Confirm settings apply as expected for a couple of people, then add the rest.
Going the other way: Zoom → Slack
Some teams keep Zoom groups carefully and want Slack to follow — for example, a Support Zoom group that should match @support in Slack. The Zoom → Slack workflow covers that. The same logic applies: one source, one destination, preview first.
If Google Groups already drive your Slack user groups, it's simpler to drive both from Google. See Google Group → Zoom and Google Group → Slack.
Edge cases
People in several groups. Zoom handles this with priority, so it's allowed. But if someone is in sales@ and support@ in Google, they'll be in both Zoom groups, and the higher-priority group's settings apply. Make sure that's what you want.
Email mismatches. The same person needs the same email in Google and Zoom. Accounts created before SSO, or personal Zoom accounts that were later consolidated, are the usual culprits. Review anyone the sync can't match.
Leavers. When someone is removed from the Google Group, they're removed from the Zoom group. Deactivating or deleting their Zoom user is a separate offboarding step. See our post on offboarding and removing users from groups.
Room and shared accounts. These usually aren't in Google Groups. Pin them as permanent users or leave them out of synced groups entirely.
FAQ
Can a Zoom user be in more than one group?
Yes. Zoom's 2026 groups experience allows multiple group memberships and uses group priority to decide which value applies when two groups manage the same setting. With SAML mapping, assigning multiple groups at sign-in needs multi-mapping, which you request from Zoom Support.
Why does SAML mapping not update someone's group right away?
Zoom applies SAML-mapped group changes when the user next signs in to the Zoom Workplace app or web portal. Until then, they keep their previous group. An API-based sync doesn't depend on the user signing in.
Can I use SAML mapping for some groups and a sync for others?
Zoom's documentation says SAML mapping is authoritative for group membership and can't be combined with manual assignment for the same user. Keep the two populations separate, or use one mechanism for everyone.
Does syncing a group give someone a Zoom licence?
Don't rely on it. Zoom groups control settings and policies. Check how your Zoom account assigns user types and licences before you treat group membership as a licensing tool.
See what your Zoom groups would look like with Google as the source. Connect both in SyncMyGroup and read the preview. It's free up to 5 users; see pricing for larger teams.