Google Hangouts Is Now Google Chat, and Good Luck Figuring Out Why

Google is formally making itsWorkspace entourage of appsavailable to all drug user with a Google account instead of limit it to folks who use apps through their employers . Nearly 3 billion users with Google accounts now have access to the company ’s new versions of Gmail , Docs , and Chat . The variety for those who have been using Google Hangouts to claver could either be a cure - all for Google ’s messaging suffering or yet another Google chemise that will only serve to confuse the hell out of everyone .

If you ’re still using Hangouts in Gmail , you could manually switch over to Google Chat by channelise into the Gmail configurations on your internet browser , press “ See all configurations , ” and then navigate to the “ Chats and Meets ” tab . Once there , you ’ll see an alternative to flip-flop from the subsist Hangouts app to the new Google Chat experience . Gmail will freshen and bolt down up a dialog windowpane for onboarding to the new service as you preserve your changes . snap on Get Started , and Google will show you where it ’s placed shortcuts for Chat , Meet , and the new Rooms .

Google Chat has a very Google aspect . It bestow more emoji reactions , improved message threading , user character for larger New World chat rooms and communities , and temperance tool — all of which are features in chat apps like Discord and Slack . There ’s also a Spaces characteristic , in effect a coaction tool usable within any Room in Chat , which looks to be super handy for family line with large family or close - knit friend mathematical group . Spaces include share tasks and files , and you’re able to multitask between Docs and Chat mighty from within Gmail .

Google Chat is available to everyone today.

Google Chat is available to everyone today.Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo

The Chat app and its related features are n’t the only things you’re able to try out as part of this new push for folks to integrate into Workspace . you could also check off out the novel smart cow chip in Google Docs by typing the “ @ ” symbolisation and a name or command . This annunciation also ushers in the arrival of Google Workspace Individual , mean for small business owner and self-employed person . A subscription offer access code to sassy booking inspection and repair , a professional video meeting rooms , and personalized e-mail marketing dick . There ’s even a direction to route electronic mail from your website to a specific Gmail explanation . Plans start at $ 10 a calendar month .

The unmixed act of ticking off Hangouts and switching over to Chat feels like the conclusion to an strenuous slog : we ’ve beenwaitingandwaitingsome more , preparingfor the eventual end . Of of course , the saga wo n’t be final until Google in reality kills hangout and forces the transposition to Chat .

And what a saga it ’s been . Google ’s confab program has cycled through too many names in the last five years — it ’s the tech gargantuan equivalent weight of a soap opera house individuality crisis . First , Google killed Gtalkand rebranded the messaging serve as Hangouts . Then , Hangouts wasseparated outinto Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat . When Google refreshed its work - favorable feature of speech , Hangouts Meet became simplyMeet , and Hangouts Chat stay in the same box it ’s always been in Gmail , lead many to conceive ( myself included ) that we could retain on with business as common . And this is after I subsist through the Great Messaging Crisis of 2018 when Googlekilled Alloand left Android users exacerbate about having to migrate over to a newfangled app again .

You can manually turn on Google Chat from the Gmail settings.

You can manually turn on Google Chat from the Gmail settings.Screenshot: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

The irony of all these changes is that Google was actually trying to make its electronic messaging apps less confusing for users and smooth the passage with a moderate gait of change . But the upshot is more confusedness across the control board . multitude just want to use the same messaging functionality they ’ve always had — switch names and features for the sake of it is needlessly complex .

Google already has a net ton of competition in this kingdom , from Slack to Microsoft Teams , and the only leverage it has is its number of users . And many of those users may seamlessly make the switch from Hangouts to jaw . But Google , there ’s got to be a better way .

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You could use Spaces, or Rooms, to plan a family reunion.