Google Chat replacing Google Hangouts
August 4, 2020
Beginning August 10, users will see Google Chat replacing Google Hangouts in their web browser. Users will be prompted to install Google Chat on their smartphones if they currently use Google Hangouts.
Chat makes it easy for teams to get work done efficiently in one place. Along with 1:1 direct messaging and group messaging, Chat supports virtual rooms to help teams collaborate on projects in one place. Teams can share files from Drive, join online meetings with Meet, and add bots to pull other tools or workflows into the conversation.
Features in Google Chat
- Rooms where teams can collaborate and hold multiple threaded conversations
- Share documents and files from your Drive, computer, or mobile device
- Search for people and rooms, with filtering
- Rich previews for web links
- Bots
- Improved accessibility and compliance
- Expand rooms and direct messages to use full Gmail window
Differences between classic Hangouts and Chat
- Group messages in Chat aren't compatible with group messages in classic Hangouts. If you create a group message in Chat with people who don't have Chat, they won’t receive your messages. Hangouts.google.com will still be available if you need more time to transition group messages to Chat. Learn more about Chat and classic Hangouts interoperability.
- The default Chat notification is New threads, threads I'm following, and direct messages, which is different than classic Hangouts. To change notifications, users can go to chat.google.com/settings.
- The classic Hangouts web experience (hangouts.google.com) will still be available.
Resources
Getting started with Google Chat