Turn off chat in Docs editors

Users can chat with each other inside the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files they are working on together with Google Chat. 

To turn off chat inside Docs, Sheets, and Slides:

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

   Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).

2. From the Admin console Home page, go to AppsGoogle WorkspaceGoogle Chat and classic Hangouts.
3. Click Service Status.
4. To apply the setting to everyone, leave the top organizational unit selected. Otherwise, select a child organizational unit or a configuration group.
5. Select Both turned off.
6. Click Save.

Note: The classic Hangouts service is not available in Essentials edition. Chat is always turned off in Docs editors if you have an Essentials account. 

Conditions that automatically turn off chat

Chat in Docs, Sheets, and Slides is automatically turned off for your users according to the applicable age in your country. Also, some chat history and sharing settings automatically disable chat in Docs, Sheets, and Slides. For example, chat is disabled when you:

• Select History is on, and uncheck the Allow users to change their history setting box. Learn more about chat history settings.
• Choose the Chat Externally setting Don't allow users to send messages outside your organization. Learn more about external chat settings.