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Google Chat for web can now expedite conversations with Smart Compose
Smart Compose is now available for Google Chat on the web.
Smart Compose is a feature that's been around for some time now, making its first appearance on Gmail and then later arriving on GBoard, WhatsApp, and a few other platforms supported by Google. The feature is powered by machine learning and can help users complete sentences using contextual phrases, not only saving time but also reducing the chance of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. The feature is now rolling out to users on Google Chat for the web and will be available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian.
Google Chat update enhances message context with new quote reply feature
Chats are going to be much easier to follow going forward.
Over the years, Google Chat has evolved and expanded its capabilities, giving users the ability to communicate with each other using direct messages, group chats, and conversation spaces. While things can generally be pretty straightforward, there are times when it can become harder to follow conversations, especially when there are lots of users and messages in the same space. Thankfully, Google has introduced a new feature that will allow users to 'quote a previous message when sending a reply', which should bring better context to chats going forward.
Best messaging apps in 2023
There are loads of messaging apps for our phones these days. But not all are created equal. So, we've gathered up the best for you in one place.
Smartphones have become a lot more capable over the years and so have the messaging apps and services that we use on a daily basis to connect with our friends and family. All the advancements in smartphone technology have given us some powerful communication tools, and you are no longer limited to SMS messages or voice calls. There are some incredibly powerful messaging apps out there that let you send everything from simple texts to media files or even play games in some cases.
Google Chat will replace classic Hangouts for Workspace users in a month
Google has announced that Google Chat will replace classic Hangouts for Workspace users starting March 22, 2022.
Google's plan to retire classic Hangouts has finally reached its final phase. The company has been slowly migrating users from Hangouts to Google Chats over the last two years, and it has finally confirmed that Chat will replace classic Hangouts for Workspace users in a month.
Gmail's new "integrated view" goes live for Workspace users next week
Google Workspace users will be able to try out Gmail's new integrated view starting February 8. Here's what you need to know.
Last year Google gave us a sneak peek at a new layout for Gmail that combined Gmail, Chat, Meet, and Spaces in one space. Google has now shared when this new redesign would be available for users.
Google Chat for Android receives a new bottom bar UI
The Google Chat app for Android is getting a new UI for the bottom bar that now provides easy access to essential shortcuts.
Back in August Google started signing out free Hangouts accounts on Android and iOS, marking the final nail in the coffin for the service. Google is encouraging users to switch the Google Chat which is one of the two apps that constitute the Hangouts replacement (the other being Google Meet). Over the last few months, Google has given a fresh coat of paint to many of its first-party apps. And now, the Google Chat app is also getting some love.
Google starts signing out free Hangouts accounts on Android and iOS
Google has started signing out free accounts from Hangouts, marking yet another step towards the service’s slow and inevitable death.
Last year, Google laid out plans to retire classic Hangouts for all users. At the time, the search giant said free Hangouts users would be moved to a free version of Google Chat in the first half of 2021. As promised, Google has now started signing out free accounts from Hangouts, marking yet another step towards the service’s slow and inevitable death.
Google Chat makes it easier to search your messages
Google Chat is making it easier to search through your messages with the introduction of Search Chips. Check them out here!
It's about to get a whole lot easier to search through your messages in Google Chat, thanks to the introduction of new "Search Chips." In Gmail, the feature added clickable search suggestions for G Suite users, making search filters a whole lot easier to use. A couple of months after the initial release, Google rolled out Search Chips in Gmail for consumers. After it was leaked to be in development towards the end of 2020, Search Chips are finally rolling out for Google Chat users.
Google makes the unified Gmail interface and Google Chat available for everyone
Google starts rolling out the new unified Gmail interface for free Gmail accounts, allowing users to easily access Chat, Meet, and Rooms from the sidebar.
In August last year, Google rolled out a unified Gmail interface for G Suite (now Google Workspace) customers. The interface added new Google Meet, Chat, and Rooms tabs to Gmail, making it easier for users to stay in touch with their colleagues and collaborate on tasks. A few months ago, Google started rolling out Chat integration in Gmail for personal Google accounts, giving users easy access to Google Chat and Rooms with new tabs at the bottom of the Gmail app on Android. However, at the time, Google rolled it out to only a handful of users. Now, the unified Gmail interface is finally rolling out for everyone.
New Chromebooks will soon come with Meet and Chat apps preinstalled
New Chromebooks will soon come with Google Meet and Chat preinstalled, according to a recent merged commit spotted on the Chromium Gerrit.
Google's Meet and Chat apps will soon come pre-installed on Chrome OS devices. The company is currently working on adding this functionality to Chrome OS, which will automatically install Progress Web Apps (PWAs) for both these services on new Chromebooks.
Gmail is rolling out Chat integration for personal Google accounts
Gmail is rolling out Chat integration for personal Google accounts, shortly after Google Chat started fully replacing Hangouts for personal users.
In August last year, Google rolled out Google Meet, Chat, and Rooms tabs in Gmail for G Suite (now Google Workspace) customers. This added new tabs to the Gmail interface, making it easier for users to stay in touch with their colleagues and collaborate on tasks. Google is now extending the integration to personal accounts and giving all users access to the new Chat and Rooms tabs.
Google Chat web redesign making its way to Workspace accounts
Google is rolling out some interface changes to Google Chat on the web (i.e. chat.google.com) for Workspace accounts.
Google is rolling out some interface changes to Google Chat on the web (i.e., chat.google.com) for Workspace accounts, the company said on Monday.
Google Chat is rolling out support for classic Hangouts users
Some Google Chat users are reporting seeing a Hangouts "Preview" message ahead of a wider migration set for the first half of 2021.
Google Chat appears to be rolling out a preview of support for Hangouts to some lucky users. Google previously announced that Hangouts users would be migrated to a free version of Google Chat, which is essentially a competitor to Slack, in the first half of 2021.
[Update: Delayed for Fi users] Here's when Google plans to shut down Hangouts for all users
Google detailed plans to transition Hangouts users to Google Chat as well as when Google Fi subscribers need to migrate to Messages.
Google on Thursday provided an update for users who still rely on Hangouts to chat with friends and family. The search giant said in the first half of 2021, Hangouts users will be migrated to a free version of Google Chat — the Slack and Discord competitor currently available to enterprise users.
Group conversations from Hangouts will soon appear in Google Chat
Google announced that group conversations in Hangouts will soon start appearing in Google Chat. Here are all the details you need to know.
If you use Hangouts for group conversations, some important changes will be implemented in the coming weeks. The changes come on the heels of a much larger initiative, which will see Google eventually replace Hangouts with Chat by the first half of 2021.
Google Chat now lets you pin conversations and schedule Google Calendar events
Google Chat is adding the ability to pin conversations and also schedule Google Calendar events right from a conversation.
More and more people are relying on services like Google Chat to stay in touch. Whether you’re keeping in contact with family or collaborating with a team for work, Chat has become a critical part of Google’s suite of services, and new updates are making it even better.
Google Chat will default to unthreaded chat rooms to eliminate the confusing mess
Google Chat will switch to unthreaded rooms by default, allowing for Chat History and a cleaner experience, rather than Slack-like formatting.
Google Chat is about to change the way it organizes conversations. Following criticism that threaded conversations are confusing, Google has confirmed that newly created rooms will soon be unthreaded by default. According to a posting in the Google Workplace blog, the change will kick in on all rooms created after November 16th. Google notes, however, that you won’t be able to switch between threaded and unthreaded in existing rooms, but you can toggle between the two options when you create new ones.
Gmail for Android prepares to add Search Chips for filtering Chat messages
A teardown of the Gmail app has revealed new strings that suggest that search chips are coming to filter Chat messages.
Google introduced a new feature in Gmail called "Search Chips" earlier this year in February. The feature added clickable search suggestions in Gmail for G Suite users, making search filters a whole lot easier to use. A couple of months after the initial release, Google rolled out Search Chips in Gmail for consumers. While the company has yet to add the feature in the mobile version of Gmail, they are bringing a similar search filtering feature for users of Chat.
Gmail prepares to let you opt out of personalizing other Google services
The Gmail app prepares to let you opt out of having your emails read for personalizing Google Maps, Assistant, Pay, and other Google services.
Given how important email has become in our day-to-day lives, it's important that you sign up with an email service that you can trust. Most people are using free email services like Gmail, and it's thanks to Gmail's huge userbase that Google is able to collect massive amounts of aggregated data on our email habits. Google uses this data to show you more targeted ads, but they also use this data to improve their own services. Features like smart reply and nudges are two of the ways that Gmail has become smarter for the user, but there are also various cross-product integrations like Google Pay surfacing your loyalty cards, Google Assistant reminding you of your bills, and Google Maps displaying your restaurant reservations.
Google rolls out Google Meet, Chat, and Rooms tabs in Gmail for G Suite customers
The Gmail mobile app and desktop site for G Suite customers are adding tabs that integrate Google Meet, Google Chat, and Google Rooms.
Google has a lot of different tools for staying productive while working from home, including Meet, Chat, and Rooms. Now, the search giant is adding tabs for each service inside the Gmail app, but only for G Suite customers at this time.