How to activate and use Google Chat – The Verge

Real-time collaborative chat, as evidenced by apps like slack, has become a common way for colleagues and friends to communicate, especially since the beginning of 2020 when many of us switched to working from home. In mid-2021, Google apparently took note of this and took on Slack by taking two of the features from its corporate workplace suite: Chat and Spaces (previously called Rooms), and integrating them into its standard Gmail app. .

google chat allows you to have chat sessions with friends and groups of friends, either informally or formally. The first can be done between just two people or between several people in what Google calls a group conversation. the latter is done through a separate area that google currently calls a space.

what’s the difference? According to Google, chat is simply a way for two or more people to chat together without any formality; For example, if you want to quickly talk about where you’re going to meet for lunch, you need to create a group chat between your friends. . once the conversation ends, it’s done and will be deleted after five days (if you’re using a personal account instead of a workspace account).

a space, on the other hand, is for longer conversations. each space has its own name, it remains available for people to leave and rejoin, it will send notifications and you can share files. It’s for work projects, party planning, or any other activity where you want to keep the conversation going over the course of days, weeks, or longer.

If you find this helpful, the first thing you need to do is turn on google chat for your gmail account. currently, at least, you have to do it separately in your browser and on your mobile device.

enable chat in a mobile app

• tap the three line icon in the upper left corner. scroll down and select “settings”.
• select your account
• scroll down to “general”
• if you are using an android phone, check ” show chat and spaces tabs.” If you’re using an iPhone or iPad, turn on “show chat and spaces tab.”

at the bottom of the screen, instead of just mail and meeting icons, you will now also have chat and space icons.

enable chat in a browser

• go to your gmail account and go to settings (the gear icon in the upper right corner)
• select “see all settings”
• in the top menu, select “chat and meet”
• you have the option to select “google chat”, “hangouts class” and “turn off”. Assuming you want to try chat, click that.
• Usually chat will appear on the left side of your gmail screen, but you can choose to have it appear on the right side
• by the way, “chat and meet” allows you to hide the meeting section in gmail if you want
• click “save changes”

Instead of the Meet and Hangouts boxes that used to be on the left-hand side of your Gmail screen, you’ll now have a Chat box, a Spaces box, and a Meet box. Any contacts with whom you previously had chats with via Hangouts will appear in the new Chat box; click on their names, and a small pop-up window in the lower left will show you those previous chats. (Note that if you blocked anyone in Hangouts previously, that blocking isn’t going to carry over to Chat.) And note the button on the right of the search box that lets you choose to be active, away, or undisturbed; you can also type in your own status.

Begin a chat on the web

• To start a new chat, click the plus sign in the corners of the chat boxes or spaces. you’ll get a dropdown menu.
• if you only want to chat with one person, type their name in the top field and you’ll be taken to a small popup chat box. (you can maximize it if you want). if you want to chat with more than one person, select “start group chat”. then you’ll be able to list the people you want to chat with.
• The same menu also allows you to start a space (more on that later), browse existing spaces, or search for message requests (in other words, search previous chat requests from other people).

Begin a chat on a mobile app

• tap on the chat icon and then in the little “new chat” popup in the bottom right corner
• you can type a person’s name here (there will be a list of your contacts under the links), or you can create a space or browse existing spaces.
• If you want to create a group chat (ie have a chat with multiple people), type the name of the first person you want to chat with (or choose their name from the drop-down menu). down), then tap the group icon that will appear in the same field you are typing and add any other names.

People who are invited to your chat will receive an email with a link and have the option to join or block the conversation; if they’re on hangouts or in chat, they’ll get a notification.

Whether you’re using the web or a mobile app, to add a new message, type in the field at the bottom of the screen. A series of icons (their location depends on whether you’re using the mobile app or the web) allow you to add an emoji or photo, start an audio or video meeting (essentially starting a google meeting), schedule an event, and more. . On the mobile app, if you tap the plus sign to the left of the bottom field, you’re offered several things you can add to your chat message, including a gif, calendar invite, or a file from Google Drive; in the web app, most of these are available on the right side of the field.

Create a Space

• On the web, go to the chat box or space box to the left of gmail and click the plus sign. in the mobile app, tap the spaces icon.
• select “create space”.

• Create a space name and add the people you want to include. (If they’re not on your contact list, you can just type in their email address.) Click “Create.” You’ll be taken into the new space.
• The people who are invited will get an email with a link. When they click on the link, they will be shown the new space and given the opportunity to either join it or block it. (If they haven’t joined Chat yet, they will get notifications from Hangouts.)
• To add a new message, type into the field at the bottom of the screen. Like Chat, a series of icons on the right of the field (on the web) or via the plus sign (on mobile) lets you add emoji, upload a file, add a file from Google Drive, start an audio or video meeting (which is essentially starting Google Meet), and schedule an event.

A couple of notes about spaces: if you’ve created a space using a personal account (as opposed to a business account), anyone in the space can change its name. There are a few other rules as to the use of spaces that can be found on a Google support page.

correction: an earlier version of this story said that “you can even have rooms within rooms”. that is not an available feature, and the line has been removed. We are sorry for the mistake.

Update December 28, 2021 1:50 PM: This article was originally published on June 21, 2021 and has been updated to reflect Google’s change from the term “rooms” to “spaces “. along with a few other minor changes.

update February 10, 2022, 4:00 PM m. et: This article’s introduction has been updated to reflect changing times.