Should suggested options show up in multiple sections in the same dropdown list?

Question

We have an autocomplete dropdown where the user can search from a list of people.

In this dropdown, we want to surface a "Suggested" section to surface the people that have been selected often.

So my question is - As the lists shows all the names (like in the mockup below) Should the suggested people be shown under the "All people" group too?

Other thoughts around this are :

1.If the names no longer appear in the "All people" list and if the user misses looking at the "Suggested" section and checks directly to the "All people" section, they might wonder on missing names missing.

2.If the names appear under both sections and if the user searches for a name, it might appear redundant as the name appears in both places?

Answer 1

Try visually distinguishing the 'suggested' from the strict categorization.

Seems like you're on the right track with placing both. Just a thought: try giving the Suggestions section a little differentiation, since it's the system generated assist, vs. the strict categories. This way it helps to visually show why it's a repeated element.

Answer 2

You should not have an "All people" as well as "Other people" category. "All" implies that "Other" is within the "All"

In terms for visual design, try what Mike M suggested.

In terms of content, you can do "Suggested people" followed by "Others".