Email your users

To notify your users about the Hangouts Chat transition, you can customize the template below and send it as an email.

Sample email

To: all users @ company

Subject: Moving to Hangouts Chat on [Date]

Hello [Users],

We’re excited to share that we’ll be transitioning everyone in the company to Google’s newest enterprise-grade collaboration product, Hangouts Chat (Chat). Hangouts Chat has a modern UI, team rooms that support better team collaboration, emoji reactions to make work fun, and bots to help you be more productive, and much more. Our company is receiving early access to some great new features, such as an upgraded Gmail integration and the ability to chat with external users.

Beginning [DATE], all teams will be using Hangouts Chat for 1:1 direct messages (DMs), group messages, and team discussions. Classic Hangouts apps will be turned off.

How do I get Chat? It's important to do the following before [DATE] as classic Hangout apps will stop working:

• Explore the new Web experience at chat.google.com
• Download the new mobile app for Android or iOS
• Download the new standalone desktop app if you've been using the classic Hangouts Chrome extension or app. You'll be able to access the desktop app from a prompt that will appear inside chat.google.com
• On [DATE], refresh your Gmail to get the new Chat in Gmail experience.

Again, please make sure you install the Hangouts Chat mobile app (Android or iOS) before [DATE] to minimize chances of missed messages.

Where do I find my old chats?

• You will be able to continue recent 1:1 direct messages from classic Hangouts in Chat, but group messages from classic Hangouts (including their history) will not be migrated to Chat.
• All previous classic Hangouts chat history will be accessible in Gmail.
• The classic Hangouts web interface, hangouts.google.com will remain available during this transition in case you need more time to access and move certain group conversations.
• The classic Hangouts bot in Chat will also notify you of missed messages from classic Hangouts.

Where do I go for help?

• Watch this short video that explains the new Chat
• G Suite Learning Center for more information about the new Chat
• Our support desk is ready to answer your questions
• We’ve also created a Chat room to help with Q&A

What are the limitations of Hangouts Chat?

• Google Voice and Google Fi are not currently available through Chat:
  • Users who already have a Google Voice account can access Google Voice at voice.google.com, by selecting Voice from the App launcher , or by downloading the Google Voice app (Android, iOS).
  • Google Fi users must use the default SMS app on their mobile device to send and receive SMS messages.

• Group messages from classic Hangouts (including their history) will not be migrated to Chat. Users can still access these group messages in hangouts.google.com.
• Group direct messages and rooms that are started in the new Chat will not send messages to users who are still on the old classic Hangout apps.

What will my Gmail inbox look like?

Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have in the meanwhile.

Administrative Team at [Company]