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.

Learn about enhancements to Google Chat

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.

An image of the new Home shortcut in Google Chat

In the left-hand menu, you can choose from:

Shortcuts

Get quick access to:

Home: Find all your conversations and toggle between all or unread conversations.
Mentions: Find all messages where someone directly mentions you.
Starred: Track important messages that you've starred.

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:

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.

An image of a space in Google 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.