Tag Archives: Google Chat

Customize notification frequency with more options in Google Chat and Chat in Gmail

What’s changing 

We’ve added more options for notification settings in Google Chat and Chat in Gmail. The new options affect push notifications on desktop and mobile, as well as notification badges on both the Chat and Gmail apps. You can set your notification preferences to:
  • Notify always: You’ll receive a notification for every message and new messages will be badged.
  • Notify less: You’ll receive notifications and badges for direct mentions, @all mentions, and followed threads. Additionally, there is an option to be notified about new threads in threaded rooms.
  • Notifications off: You will receive no notifications, but you’ll see a badge if you’re directly mentioned.

For existing Rooms, the notification setting may default to a state where you receive more notifications. To review and update your notification settings, simply select the three-dot overflow menu in each room.

Who’s impacted 

End users 

Why you’d use it 

These additional notification settings give you more control over the amount of notifications you’ll receive based on your level of engagement or involvement in specific conversations. We hope that by giving the ability you adjust your notifications as needed, you can stay on top of need-to-know conversations without being overwhelmed by notifications.

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the changes outlined in these Help Center articles and let your users know about the changes they can expect: 
  • End users: 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning notifications on or off in Gmail and Chat.
    • Make sure your Gmail and Google Chat apps are updated to the latest versions of the respective apps.

Rollout pace

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers


Resources 


New and improved Google Chat UI on the web

What’s changing

Starting March 24, we’re making some changes to the interface of Google Chat on the web (i.e. chat.google.com) and the Progressive Web Application (PWA).

Old and new Google Chat on the web



Who’s impacted

End users

Why you’d use it

The new interface is similar to that of Chat in Gmail, giving users a consistent and predictable Chat experience no matter where they are. We’ve also added some new integrations to help your users be more productive. See Additional details below for more information.

Additional details

In addition to the visual interface updates, you’ll also see the following changes on Chat on the web:
  • In Chat rooms, you can now access shared files and tasks via tabs at the top of the room
  • We’ve added the quick access side panel on the right side, like in Gmail, to provide access to apps like Calendar, Keep, Tasks, and Maps
  • Search for existing conversations or for people to start new conversations is now under the “+” on the left-side navigation.
  • You can use the search bar at the top to look for content across all rooms and direct messages (DMs). To search for content within each room or direct message, click on the search button at the top right corner of the room/DM first and then proceed to search for content in the search bar.
  • The “Chat” and “Rooms” sections on the left-side navigation bar are static, allowing you to scroll more easily within each section. You can readjust the height of each of the sections based on your preference.
  • Feature to toggle between full screen view and pop-up view for both rooms and DMs, allowing easier multi tasking between conversations.
  • Integration with Google Meet so you can join or start a call directly from Chat
  • chat.google.com will now redirect to mail.google.com/chat. However, users can continue to use chat.google.com to access Chat.

Note that these changes will only impact domains with the Gmail service turned on. We’ll launch these changes to domains with Gmail turned off in the coming months.

Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for these changes.
  • End users: These changes will take place automatically at chat.google.com and in the Chat PWA.

Rollout pace

Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Google Chat will automatically suggest 1:1 chat based on your Google Calendar

Quick launch summary 

In Google Chat, you’ll now see suggested 1:1 chats based on current meetings on your Google Calendar. You’ll see the suggested conversation shortcut at the top of the Chat section in Gmail on mobile and web and in Google Chat on mobile. Suggested chats will appear at the top of the Chat section in Gmail on mobile. 




The chat will be visible ten minutes prior to the 1:1 meeting and ten minutes after the meeting ends. We hope this feature makes it easier to share information and files before a meeting begins, let meeting attendees know you’re running late, or share quick follow-ups once a meeting has concluded. 


Getting started 

Suggested chats will appear at the top of the Chat section in Gmail on mobile.


Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, and Education Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, and Nonprofits 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials customers or consumers with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Adding Google Chat, Google Calendar, and Jamboard to Google Workspace Essentials

Quick launch summary

We’re giving teams and organizations more ways to connect and collaborate by adding Google Chat, Google Calendar, and Jamboard to Google Workspace Essentials, all included at no additional cost.

We know that different types of workers have different needs for communication and collaboration. We hope that, with the addition of these apps, Google Workspace Essentials customers will take advantage of new ways to communicate and collaborate by:

  • Using Chat to stay connected with your team and other stakeholders in your organization
  • Using Jamboard and Google Meet to conduct more immersive and engaging meetings
  • Using Calendar to schedule calls and team meetings

We’re also adding the ability for multiple teams within one domain to sign up for Google Workspace Essentials, even if other teams in their domain have previously signed up in the past.

Visit http://workspace.google.com/essentials to learn more about Google Workspace Essentials.

Getting started

Rollout pace

These features are available now.

Availability

  • These changes apply to Google Workspace Essentials customers only.
  • These changes are not relevant to Google Workspace Enterprise Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, or Enterprise Plus, or G Suite Basic, Business, Education, Enterprise for Education, or Nonprofits customers.

Resources

Resize the Chat and Rooms sections in Gmail on the web

Quick launch summary 

You can now resize the Chat and Rooms sections in the left-side navigation of Gmail on the web. This makes it easier to stay on top of your most important conversations and navigate to relevant chats faster. 

Hover over a section header and drag up or down to resize. 

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: There is no end-user setting for this feature. To resize a section, click on a section header and drag to adjust as needed. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers

Changes to Google Chat group conversations and classic Hangouts coming December 3, 2020

What’s changing

Starting December 3, 2020, we’ll make three changes to how group conversations work in Google Chat:
  • Add and change members. You’ll be able to add and change members of new group conversations.
  • Different Google Vault retention policy. If you have a Vault retention policy set, the updated group conversations will respect a different retention policy.
  • Compatibility with classic Hangouts. Group conversations in Hangouts will begin to appear in Google Chat over the coming weeks.
See below for more information on each of these updates.

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users

Why you’d use it

As we announced earlier this year, starting in the first half of 2021, everyone can begin upgrading from Hangouts to Chat. To ensure a smooth transition, we will help automatically migrate your Hangouts conversations and saved history. These changes further ensure compatibility between classic Hangouts and Chat to make migrating your users as seamless as possible.

Additional details

Updated group conversations
When a new member is added to a group conversation, all members will see a message announcing the new member. The new member will be able to see the entire conversation, even messages sent before they entered, allowing them to catch up easily.



If you have a group conversation created before December 3, you can easily create an updated conversation with the same people using the “Start a new chat” option in the conversation settings menu.


History and retention settings
While end users can toggle history on and off at the conversation level, admins can control whether to keep chat history for users in their organization. They can set the default and also let users change their history setting for each conversation.

Note that these updated group conversations will also respect a different retention policy in Vault. If you set custom Chat retention rules in Google Vault, the scope of coverage will change. Rules set for “All Chat Spaces” (previously known as “All Rooms”) will apply to existing chat rooms, plus updated group messages and group messages that synchronize between Chat and Hangouts. Visit the Help Center for more details.

Compatibility with classic Hangouts
Group conversations in Hangouts—beginning with conversations, followed by message history—will begin to appear in Google Chat over the coming weeks. This will allow your users to move from Hangouts to Chat without losing context. In addition, 1:1 messages, updated group conversations, and unthreaded rooms from Chat will begin to appear in Hangouts (Note: this change will only be available for users with Hangouts enabled).

Getting started

  • Admins: We recommend you review your existing retention rules and evaluate if you need to change them to retain only the message data you want. You can also visit the Help Center to learn more about turning history in Chat on or off for your organization.
  • End users: Membership in these updated group conversations will be editable by default starting December 3, 2020.

Rollout pace

Updated group conversations
Compatibility with classic Hangouts

Availability

  • Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials and Enterprise Essentials customers

Resources

Pin conversations in Google Chat

Quick launch summary

You can now pin a direct message or a room in Google Chat. This keeps that conversation at the top of your list view in Chat in Gmail. You can access pinned conversations from the left-hand navigation menu, making them quick and easy to find.



Getting started


Rollout pace

Availability

  • Available to Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers

Resources

Schedule Google Calendar events from Google Chat

Quick launch summary

You can now schedule meetings in Calendar directly from Chat conversations. You’ll see a new icon in the conversation’s compose bar.



Clicking on the icon will start a draft calendar event with the attendees from the chat. You can then customize the invite (including attendees) before sending it to guests.

On mobile, the draft event will open in the Calendar app.


On the web, the draft event will open in the side panel.



This feature is currently rolling out to Chat in the Android Gmail app as well as the Chat Android mobile app and will begin rolling out to the Chat in Gmail on the web and Chat iOS app in the coming weeks.

Getting started

  • Admins: This feature will be ON by default for all domains with Calendar enabled.
  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature.

Rollout pace


Availability

  • Available to Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers

 

Rooms in Google Chat to be unthreaded by default starting November 16

Quick launch summary

Starting November 16, 2020, new rooms created in Google Chat will be unthreaded by default.

Today, conversations in rooms must be grouped into threads. This change introduces a simpler type of conversation, without threads—giving you greater flexibility in your discussions.

With the change later this month, when you create a new room, conversations will not use threads unless you turn on threading. (Note that you cannot change whether a room is threaded or unthreaded after it’s created.)




Additionally, unlike in threaded rooms, in unthreaded rooms you can toggle history on and off. A room history setting is available in the Admin console that allows admins to decide the default history setting for rooms within their organization that support the toggle.

Your existing rooms won't change—you can continue to participate in threaded rooms and create more.

Getting started

  • Admins: This feature will be available by default. Admins can set a room history setting for unthreaded rooms.
  • End users: Unthreaded rooms will now be the default. You can turn on threaded replies when creating the room.

Rollout pace


Availability

  • Available to Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers,

Resources

Set your status as away in Google Chat in Gmail

Quick launch summary

You can now set yourself as “away” in Chat in Gmail.

When you set your status to away, you will show as offline to others, even when you’re active, helping you to focus solely on your work uninterrupted.

New presence menu in Gmail


Set your status as away on Gmail mobile apps


For domains that still use chat in classic Hangouts, disabling the “Show when you were last active” setting will now show you as away in Chat.

This feature is rolling out to Gmail on the web and the Gmail iOS app. It will be coming soon to the Gmail app on Android. We will post on the Google Workspace Updates blog when this rollout begins.

Getting started


Rollout pace

Availability

  • Available to Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers
  • Not available to Essentials customers

Resources