Tips to work efficiently in chats & spaces

On this page

• Pin an important conversation
• Mark a message as read or unread
• Get a conversation summary in a space
• Hide or delete a chat conversation
• Send chat messages to your inbox
• Use apps in chat messages or spaces

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Pin an important conversation

If you want to keep track of an important conversation in a chat message or space, pin it to the top of your chat or spaces list. A red dot appears next to pinned conversations with unread messages.

Learn how

Pin or unpin a conversation

1. On your computer, open Google Chat or Gmail.
   • In Gmail: On the left, click Chat.

2. In Chat, next to a conversation, click More options .
3. Click Pin or Unpin.

 

 

Mark a message as read or unread

In a chat message or a space, you can mark messages unread to easily get back to important messages. You can also mark a message as read without opening a conversation.

Learn how

Mark a message as read or unread in a direct chat conversation or an unnamed group chat

1. On your computer,  open Google Chat or Gmail.
2. Under Chat:

• Point to a chat in the conversation list. Click More   Mark as read  or Mark as unread .
• Click a conversation to open it. Point to a message you've sent  click More   Mark as unread . Point to a message you've received  click Mark as unread .
• Click a conversation to open it. At the top, next to the chat name, click Conversation options   Mark as unread .

Mark a message as read or unread in a space

1. On your computer,  open Google Chat or Gmail.
2. Under Spaces: 

• Point to a chat in the conversation list. Click More   Mark as read  or Mark as unread . 
• Click a conversation to open it. At the top, next to the space name, click Conversation options   Mark as unread .

 

 

Get a conversation summary in space

Stay updated on long, unread conversations in spaces you’re a member of by using conversation summary.

Important: Currently, conversation summaries only:

• Appear when necessary in conversations.
• Summarize conversations in English.
• Are available on Google Workspace accounts.

Learn how

Turn conversation summary on & off in Google Chat

1. On your computer, open Google Chat.
2. Click Settings   Conversation summary.
3. Check or uncheck the box next to “Show summaries in spaces with many unread messages.”

Turn conversation summary on & off in Gmail

1. On your computer, open Gmail.
2. Click Settings   See all settings  Chat and Meet.
3. Click Manage chat settings  Conversation summary.
4. Check or uncheck the box next to “Show summaries in spaces with many unread messages.”

 

 

Hide or delete a chat conversation

You can hide or delete the history of a direct message conversation in Google Chat and Gmail. You can also delete a single message that you sent by mistake.

• Hide conversation—Removes your copy of a conversation. It doesn't remove the conversation from other participants' views. If you hide a conversation and then chat with that person or group again, your chat history reappears (if it's turned on).

  

• Delete conversation—Permanently deletes your copy of a conversation's history. It doesn't delete the conversation from other participants' history.

Learn how

Hide a direct message conversation

You can hide a direct message conversation from your Chat or Gmail view, including group conversations with 2 or more people.

1. On your computer,  open Google Chat or Gmail.
   • In Gmail: On the left, click Chat.
2. On the left, next to the person's name or group, click More  Hide conversation .

Delete a direct message conversation

You can't delete your history for group conversations with 2 or more people.

1. On your computer,  open Google Chat or Gmail.
   • In Gmail: On the left, click Chat.
2. On the left, next to the person's name, click More Delete conversation.
3. To confirm, click Delete.

Tip: If you send a message by mistake, you can update or delete just that message. Go to Edit and delete a message.

 

 

Send chat messages to your inbox

You can forward a message from Google Chat to your Gmail inbox. The email includes the last 4 messages in the conversation thread. Later, if you turn chat history off, the messages stay in your inbox. The email may take up to 2 minutes to appear in your inbox.

Learn how

1. Point to the message and click Forward to inbox .
2. Go to your Gmail inbox to find the forwarded messages.

 

 

Use apps in chat messages or spaces

Available only if your organization allows adding apps to Chat. 

You can add apps to a chat message or space to have the app perform tasks for you. You can add apps provided by Google, such as Google Drive or Meet. Or add custom apps created for your organization. For details on creating custom apps, go to the Google Chat API documentation.

Example

Add Google Meet to your chat messages. Then ask Meet to do tasks for you such as:

• "Schedule a meeting tomorrow with Cynthia"
• "Move my meeting with Cynthia to next week"
• "What is my schedule today?"

 

Learn how

Add an app to a 1:1 message

Available only if your organization allows adding apps to Chat. 

1. ​​​​Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account.
2. Next to “Chat,” click Start a new chat   Find apps.
   • For Chat in Gmail, click New chat   Find apps.
3. Search or browse for an app.
4. Click the app card.
5. Choose an option:
   • To install the app, click Install.
   • To add the app to a space:
     1. Click Add to space
     2. Select the space.
     3. Click Add.

Tips:

• You can search or browse an app in the Marketplace. Learn how to search or filter apps.

• To perform tasks on your behalf, the app sends you a prompt to get your permission to access your Google Account. To grant permission, go to the prompt and click Allow. Learn how to remove access to third-party apps to your account.
• To uninstall an app in a direct message, at the top, click the app name  Uninstall. For work or school accounts, you can’t uninstall apps that your admin installed.

Add an app to a group conversation or space

Important: If you have a work or school account, your admin can install apps on your behalf. When this happens, the app can send you direct messages. While you can't uninstall the app, you can turn off notifications for conversations with the app.

1. ​​​​​​Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account.
2. Select a conversation or space.
3. At the top, click the space name or conversation participants. 
4. Click Apps & integration Add apps.
5. Enter the app name.
6. Select the app.
   • You can add multiple apps.
7. Click Add.

Learn more at the Google Chat Help Center

 

 

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