Learn how to use Google Chat

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

• Navigate around Chat
• Change section display preferences
• Create a DM or space
• Send & reply to messages
• Search for messages

Navigate around Chat

At the bottom of the Chat app (or when you open Chat from the bottom of the Gmail app ), tap the bottom navigation menu to switch between:

Home	Find all conversations you follow and toggle for unread conversations or threads.
Direct messages	Find all DMs between you and others. You can send a DM to one or more people.
Sections	Find all of your spaces and Apps organized by section. You can also find DMs that you have moved into a custom section.
More	Tap to see additional options in the menu including: Mentions: Find all messages where someone mentions you. Starred: View messages that you’ve starred.
New chat	Start a new conversation.

Change section display preferences

In “Sections,” you can customize your display:

• Show all or unread messages only.
• Adjust the number of spaces you can find in each section.

Adjust custom section heights

1. To adjust the section height, touch and hold the section name.
2. Under “Section height,” tap:
   • Show all
   • Show 5 more
   • Show 5 less
   • Show active conversations only

Show all messages or unread messages only

In "Sections," for each custom section, you can toggle Show all messages  or Show unread messages .

Create a DM or space

When you tap New chat , you can add one or more people to start a DM, or select another option in the menu:

Create a space	Create a focused conversation around a topic, project, or shared interest. You can give your space a unique name and avatar.
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.
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	Find options to share Google Drive files, set up a Calendar invite, and more.
Start a meeting	Start a video call instantly with another person with Google Meet.
Share a photo	Select a photo to send.
Take a photo	Take a photo to send.
Share a GIF	React with an animated GIF.
Add a video meeting	Add a Google Meet link to a video meeting.
Schedule a meeting	Add a Google Calendar invite.
Add a Drive file	Add a Google Drive file.
Format messages	Bold or italicize text, use bullet points, or add color.
Edit messages	Edit a sent message.
Delete messages	Delete a sent message.
React to messages	Add an emoji.
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.

Related resources

• Send a message in Google Chat
• Reply to a chat message
• Learn when to use & organize a space
• Search for Google Chat messages