Google Chat

Google Chat is a communication and collaboration service developed by Google. It supports one-to-one messaging, group conversations, and Spaces, which are topic-based environments designed to combine discussion with shared files, tasks, and other Google Workspace functions. The service is available through its dedicated website and applications and is also integrated into Gmail, allowing users to move between email, messaging, meetings, and collaborative work without leaving Google's productivity environment. The product originated as Hangouts Chat, which Google launched on March 9, 2017, for customers of G Suite, the productivity suite later renamed Google Workspace. It was introduced alongside Hangouts Meet as part of Google's effort to divide the older Google Hangouts experience into more specialized communication products. Hangouts Chat initially focused on organizations and business users rather than the general public. Its positioning emphasized managed workplace communication, administrative controls, and integration with other G Suite services. Google renamed Hangouts Chat to Google Chat on April 9, 2020. The change aligned the product with Google's broader Workspace branding and removed the Hangouts name from the business communication suite. Google subsequently expanded Chat beyond its original organizational audience. In February 2021, consumer accounts began receiving access through an early-access rollout, and by April 2021 Google Chat was available to ordinary Google account holders who chose to use it in place of Hangouts. The transition from Hangouts to Chat was gradual. Google began outlining the retirement of the original Hangouts in 2019 and planned to migrate conversations, contacts, and message history into Chat. During 2021, Google notified mobile Hangouts users and began moving them toward Chat. In 2022, the company carried out the final stages of the Workspace migration, and Google deprecated the original Hangouts service on November 1, 2022. This made Google Chat the principal successor for the messaging functions previously associated with Hangouts, although the migration formed part of a wider restructuring of Google's communication products rather than a simple one-for-one product replacement. A central element of Google Chat is the distinction between ordinary conversations and Spaces. Direct and group chats are primarily intended for messaging, while Spaces are structured around longer-running projects or topics. A Space can include threaded discussions, a shared files area, task creation and assignment, member and notification controls, and links to related Google Drive, Google Meet, and Calendar activity. The feature was originally called Rooms and was renamed Spaces during Google's expansion of Workspace capabilities to a broader user base. The service also supports organization-wide discovery and administrative or moderation features in managed environments. Google has continued to add features intended to make Chat more competitive with other modern messaging services. These include smart compose, message editing and deletion for consumer accounts, message quoting, group read receipts, text hyperlinks, inactive-conversation controls, and Google Workspace Marketplace integrations. The service also introduced warnings intended to alert users to possible phishing or malware risks from personal accounts. In December 2023, Google began rolling out a redesigned interface with an updated sidebar and logo, together with closer integration of artificial-intelligence capabilities. Google Chat remains an active component of the Google Workspace product family and is positioned as a bridge between workplace messaging, project coordination, and Google's wider cloud productivity ecosystem.

Google Chat developed from Google's attempt to separate the functions of Google Hangouts into more specialized communication products. On March 9, 2017, Google launched Hangouts Chat for G Suite customers. The service was intended primarily for workplace communication and was introduced alongside Hangouts Meet, which focused on video meetings. In its first form, Chat offered direct messaging and group discussions for organizations using Google's productivity suite. Its business orientation distinguished it from consumer-oriented messaging products and allowed it to fit into an administratively managed cloud-workplace environment. Google started planning the retirement of the original Hangouts experience in 2019. Rather than preserving Hangouts as a single product, the company moved its communication functions into Chat and Meet. This approach required the transfer of existing Hangouts conversations, contacts, and message history. In October 2020, Google stated that Chat would become available to consumer users in 2021, extending a service that had initially been restricted to G Suite customers. On April 9, 2020, Hangouts Chat was renamed Google Chat. The rebrand followed Google's decision to remove the Hangouts identity from Google Workspace and to present the service as part of a unified family of Google productivity products. Consumer access began in early access during February 2021 and became broadly available to free Google accounts in April of that year. Google also began directing mobile Hangouts users toward Chat, including notifications and sign-outs intended to encourage migration. The migration accelerated in 2022. Google announced a final transition for Workspace customers and subsequently deprecated the original Hangouts on November 1, 2022. Google said that Hangouts data would be deleted after the migration period. Chat therefore became the principal successor to the messaging and group-conversation functions of Hangouts, while Meet served the separate video-conferencing role. Google Chat's feature model expanded beyond basic messaging through Spaces. Previously known as Rooms, Spaces are topic-based collaboration areas for longer-running projects. They combine threaded or organized conversations with tabs for shared files and tasks. Members can create and assign tasks, work with Google Drive documents, arrange Google Meet meetings, and coordinate with Calendar-related activity. Spaces also provide features such as organization-wide discovery, manager roles, mention-based notifications, moderation controls, message pinning, custom emoji, search across spaces, and file sharing. Their capacity was expanded over time, including a reported increase in the maximum team size at the end of 2022. Google continued to develop Chat for both business and consumer use. In 2022, it added warnings concerning possible phishing and malware from personal accounts. In 2023, it expanded smart compose, message editing and deletion for consumer users, message quoting, read receipts in group conversations, text hyperlinks, inactive-chat controls, and connections to applications available through Google Workspace Marketplace. In December 2023, Google started rolling out an interface redesign with a revised sidebar and logo, while also emphasizing productivity and artificial-intelligence integration. Chat remains available as a standalone service and within Gmail, where it forms part of Google's integrated Workspace communication environment.

• 2023

  Chat receives feature and interface updates

  [1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Google adds consumer messaging capabilities and begins rolling out a redesigned interface with updated navigation and logo treatment.

• 2022

  Hangouts is deprecated

  [1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Google completes the main transition from Hangouts to Chat and deprecates the original Hangouts service on November 1.

• 2021

  Consumer rollout begins

  [1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Google starts offering Chat to consumer accounts through early access and makes it broadly available to free users later in the year.

• 2020

  Hangouts Chat becomes Google Chat

  [1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Google rebrands Hangouts Chat as Google Chat as part of the removal of the Hangouts identity from Workspace.

• 2017

  Hangouts Chat launches

  [1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Google launches Hangouts Chat for G Suite customers as a business messaging service and companion to Hangouts Meet.

A Google Workspace communication and collaboration service that combines instant messaging with project-oriented spaces, tasks, files, and integrations across Google's productivity tools.

• Messaging and collaboration service · 2017

  Google Chat

  The core Google Chat service supports direct messages and group conversations through a standalone web and app experience as well as Gmail integration. It includes modern messaging functions such as message editing and deletion, quoting, hyperlinks, read receipts in group chats, smart compose, search, presence indicators, smart replies, custom emoji, and message pinning. The service is available to Google Workspace organizations and consumer Google accounts, with feature availability varying by account type and administrative settings.

• Project collaboration spaces · 2021

  Spaces

  Spaces are topic-based areas intended for ongoing projects and organized group collaboration. In addition to conversation, a Space can provide separate areas for shared files and tasks, allowing members to create and assign work items. Spaces connect with Google Drive, Google Meet, Calendar, and other Workspace features, and can support organization-wide discovery, manager roles, mention-based notifications, and moderation controls.

• Productivity-suite integration · 2021

  Gmail-integrated Chat

  Google Chat is embedded in the Gmail website and mobile application alongside other Workspace communication tools. This integration lets users access direct messages, group chats, and Spaces while working in email, reducing the separation between asynchronous email and immediate team communication. It is a major part of Google's strategy to make Chat a native layer within its broader cloud productivity environment.

• 2023

  Broaden Chat's messaging feature setProduct launch

  Background

  Google sought to provide features expected in widely used instant-messaging services and reduce differences between Workspace and consumer experiences.

  Action taken

  Google added or expanded smart compose, consumer message editing and deletion, quoting, group read receipts, hyperlinks, inactive-conversation controls, and Marketplace app integrations.

  Aftermath

  Chat became more capable as a general-purpose messaging product while retaining its Workspace collaboration focus.

  Source

• 2022

  Complete the Hangouts-to-Chat transitionGeneration change

  Background

  Google had been migrating Hangouts conversations, contacts, and history into Chat and announced a final transition for Workspace customers.

  Action taken

  Google directed remaining users to Chat and deprecated the original Hangouts service on November 1, 2022.

  Aftermath

  Google Chat became the principal successor for Hangouts messaging and group-chat functions.

  Source

• 2021

  Expand Google Chat to consumer accountsStrategy

  Background

  Chat had initially been limited to G Suite and Workspace customers, while Google was preparing to retire the consumer Hangouts experience.

  Action taken

  Google began an early-access rollout to ordinary Google accounts and later made Chat broadly available to free users.

  Aftermath

  Chat became both a workplace and consumer messaging service and the main destination for users transitioning from Hangouts.

  Source

• 2020

  Rebrand Hangouts Chat as Google ChatStrategy

  Background

  Google was restructuring Hangouts into more specialized communication products and aligning its business software under the Google Workspace identity.

  Action taken

  The company removed the Hangouts name from the workplace messaging product and adopted Google Chat.

  Aftermath

  The rebrand established Chat as the long-term messaging brand within Workspace and supported the later migration of Hangouts users.

  Source

• 2023

  Google Chat adds feature-parity improvements[1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Product generation

  New or expanded capabilities included smart compose, consumer message editing and deletion, message quoting, group read receipts, hyperlinks, inactive-conversation controls, and Marketplace app integrations.

• 2023

  Google rolls out a redesigned Google Chat interface[1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Product generation · Product launch

  Google began distributing a redesigned Chat experience with a changed sidebar, an updated logo, and deeper productivity and artificial-intelligence integration.

• 2022

  Google begins final Hangouts migration for Workspace[1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Product generation

  Google announced the final migration of Workspace customers from Hangouts to Chat and later deprecated the original Hangouts service.

• 2022

  Google Chat adds consumer messaging and security features[1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Regulation · Other

  Google introduced warnings about possible phishing and malware in messages from personal accounts and continued expanding Chat's consumer safety features.

• 2021

  Google Chat begins consumer early access[1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Google began rolling Chat out to ordinary consumer accounts in early access, expanding the service beyond its original G Suite and Workspace audience.

• 2021

  Google expands Spaces as a Workspace collaboration feature[1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Product generation

  The Rooms feature was reworked and renamed Spaces as Google integrated topic-based chat, files, tasks, and other Workspace functions for a wider audience.

• 2020

  Hangouts Chat is renamed Google Chat[1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Product generation

  Google removed the Hangouts name from its Workspace messaging product and adopted the Google Chat brand.

• 2020

  Google announces broader consumer access and Hangouts migration[1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Product generation

  Google announced plans to make Chat available to consumer accounts and to migrate Hangouts conversations, contacts, and history into the newer service.

• 2017

  Google launches Hangouts Chat for G Suite customers[1]Google Chaten.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Google introduced Hangouts Chat as a business-oriented messaging service and positioned it as one of the successors to Google Hangouts, alongside Hangouts Meet.

1. 1Google Chaten.wikipedia.org