Techniques for augmenting entity references in messages are described. In one embodiment, a method may comprise receiving a message from a referencing client device at a messaging system intended for a third-party receiving user account; determining that the message includes an entity reference referencing an entity; selecting an augmentation element associated with the entity reference; generating an augmented entity reference by augmenting the entity reference with the augmentation element; and sending the augmented entity reference to the one or more client devices associated with the third-party receiving user account. Other embodiments are described and claimed.