diff --git a/proto/types/userpb/v3/group.proto b/proto/types/userpb/v3/group.proto
index 0ee4d5c..c5cf3a0 100644
--- a/proto/types/userpb/v3/group.proto
+++ b/proto/types/userpb/v3/group.proto
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ message GroupSpec {
   string type = 3
       [ (grpc.gateway.protoc_gen_openapiv2.options.openapiv2_field) = {
         title : "Type"
-        description : "Type of group"
+        description : "Type of group, defaults to `SYSYTEM`"
       } ];
 }
 
diff --git a/server/group.go b/server/group.go
index 77ce85f..eaf7861 100644
--- a/server/group.go
+++ b/server/group.go
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@ func updateGroupStatus(req *userpbv3.Group, resp *userpbv3.Group, err error) *us
 		}
 		return req
 	}
+	if req.Spec.Type == "" {
+		req.Spec.Type = "SYSTEM"
+	}
 	resp.Status = &v3.Status{ConditionStatus: v3.ConditionStatus_StatusOK}
 	return resp
 }