In Google Chat, you can ask quick questions, send direct messages (DMs), collaborate in group chats, create virtual spaces for team projects, and more.
In this article
- Learn about enhancements to Google Chat
- Navigate around Chat
- Create a DM or space
- Send & reply to messages
- Search for messages
Learn about enhancements to Google Chat
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Previous Chat experience |
Current Chat experience |
| In Gmail, DMs and spaces are split into the “Chat” and “Spaces” tabs. | In Gmail, DMs and spaces are included in the “Chat” tab. The “Space” tab is no longer available in Gmail. |
| There are no shortcuts to find recent conversations, messages that mention you, or starred messages in one place. | Use these new shortcuts in Chat to find what you need faster: Home, Mentions, and Starred. |
| On mobile, you can navigate between “Chat” and “Spaces.” | On mobile, a navigation bar appears at the bottom when you go to the “Chat” tab. You can switch between home, DMs, spaces, mentions, and starred, or start a new chat. |
| There are different ways to start a new chat in Chat and Chat in Gmail. | Start a conversation or space with the New chat button. |
Navigate around Chat
In the main menu, you can:
- Start a new chat, which can be a DM to one or more people or a space to collaborate on projects.
- Catch up on your conversations using various shortcuts.
- Find all your DMs and spaces.
In the left-hand menu, you can choose from:
| Shortcuts |
Get quick access to:
|
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Direct messages |
Find all DMs between you and others. You can send a DM to one or more people. |
| Spaces | Find all spaces that you’ve created or joined. |
Create a DM or space
When you click New chat, you can add one or more people to start a DM, or select another option in the menu:
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Create a space |
Create a focused conversation around a topic, project, or shared interest. You can give your space a unique name and avatar. |
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Browse spaces |
Find spaces that your organization has created. If you use Chat for work, school, or another organization, you can find spaces that others in your organization create. |
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Find apps |
Look for Chat apps that can help automate your work. |
|
Message requests |
Find pending message requests from people outside your organization. If you use Chat for work, school, or another organization, these may also be people outside your organization. |
Send & reply to messages
When you send or reply to a message, use the reply area in Chat. There are multiple ways to reply to messages in Chat.
When you reply, you can:
| Send a message |
Send the message you wrote. |
| Share files and more |
Share Google Drive files, set up a Calendar invite, or add apps to a message. |
| Start a meeting |
Start a video call instantly with another person with Google Meet. |
Add a video meeting  |
Add a Google Meet link to a video meeting. |
Edit messages  |
Edit a sent message. |
| Delete messages |
Delete a sent message. |
| Format messages |
Bold or italicize text, use bullet points, or add color. |
| React to messages |
Add an emoji. |
| Upload a file |
Share a file from your computer. |
| Share a GIF |
React with an animated GIF. |
| Quote a message |
To directly respond, quote a previous message in Chat. |
Start a thread  |
In a space with inline threading, create a new thread based on a message. |
Search for messages
To locate messages, use the search bar at the top of Chat. When you search, you can filter by messages:
- Sent from specific people
- Sent in a specific conversation or space
- That include documents, spreadsheets, slides, and more
- Sent during a specific date range
- That include links
- That mention you
- From conversations that you’re a member of
You can also sort your messages by: most recent or relevance to your search criteria.