Switch from Slack to Google Chat

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Learn the differences between Slack and Google Chat and get best practices for collaboration at work or school.

Comparison at a glance

In Slack...	In Chat...*
Open Slack in a browser, mobile app, Mac^®, or Windows^®	Open Chat in a browser, mobile app, Mac, or Windows To open Chat in a browser, go to Chat. To open Chat on Mac, Windows, Android or iOS, go to Chat and download the corresponding app. For more details, see Get started with Google Chat.
Send a DM to someone	Send a DM to someone or a group Send a direct message to a person Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. If the name isn’t already under "Chat," click Start a chat . Enter a name or email address. Suggestions appear as you enter text. To send a 1:1 message to someone outside of your organization, enter their email address. Click the person you want to message. Enter a message, then click Send . Send a direct message to a group Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. Under "Chat," click on an existing group conversation, enter a message click Send . If the group conversation isn’t under "Chat,” click Start a chat Start group conversation. Enter a name or email address. Suggestions appear as you enter text. Click Done . Enter a message, then click Send .
Join a channel	Preview and join a space Open Google Chat. At the top left, click Start a chat . Click Browse spaces. The spaces that you're directly invited to appear at the top of the list. To find a space, enter its name. To preview a space, point to the space name and click Preview. When you preview a space, you can read messages, but you can't participate in the conversation or get notifications. To join the space, in the preview, click Add or Join. To open the space, click Open. For more details, see Get started with Google Chat.
Create a channel	Create a space You can chat with both people within your organization and with external guests. Create a space grouped by conversation topic from Chat or Gmail Important: You can only create a space grouped by conversation topic if you use Chat on a work or school account. Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. Next to “Spaces,” click Create or find a space Create space. Enter a space name. Optional: At the top left, click Choose an emoji . If you don't select an emoji, a default avatar is used. Enter names or email addresses of people and groups you want to add. You can also select from suggestions. If you use a Google Workspace account, suggestions include everyone in your organization, even if they don't have Google Chat. Choose an access level for your organization, either “Restricted” or “All of your organization.” Restricted: Only directly added and invited users have access to the space. This is the default option. To make your space discoverable, choose “All of your organization.” All of your organization: All members in your organization have access to the space and can join if they have the space’s link. Learn more about creating a discoverable space. Note: If you have a work or school account with Google, you may see additional target options created by your administrator. If you have questions about the audience options available, reach out to your administrator. Optional: To allow external people to join the space, select Allow people outside your organization to join. If your administrator doesn’t allow this feature, you may not have this option. Important: You can’t change this setting. The option to create spaces that allow guests is only available on Google Workspace accounts. Click Advanced the checkbox marked “Organize the conversation by topic.” Click Create. Optional: To add more people to the space, click Manage members, then click Add. Enter their name or email, then click Add again. Turn a group chat into a space If you created a group chat, you can turn it into a space. When you use a space, you can name the space, share files, and assign tasks with other people in the space. Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. From the Chat panel, find and click the group chat you want to change to a space. At the top, next to the group chat name, click the Down arrow Turn this chat into a space . Add a space name. To add an optional space icon, click Add . Click Done. A notification confirms your chat is now a space, and notifies members in the group of the change. After you make the change, you can find chat, files, and tasks tabs in your space. Tip: You can add and remove people from a space at any time. Delete a space grouped by conversation topic Important: You can only delete a space if you have the Space Manager role. When you delete a space, all messages and tasks in the space are deleted. Permissions on Drive files are removed, but the file isn’t deleted. Once a space is deleted, you can’t recover it. Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. Open the space that you want to delete. At the top, next to the space name, click Down arrow Delete this space Delete. Tip: If you didn’t create the space, learn how to leave a space.
Edit a message	Edit text in a conversation In a chat message, click one of the following: Edit : Make your changes, then click Update . Delete : To confirm, click Delete.
Add styles and emoji to your message	Add styles and emoji to your text To add markdown formatting to your Google Chat messages, you can include special characters in the text. To bold text, add asterisks * before and after the text you want bolded. For example, if you type Tuesday, the chat will display Tuesday. To italicize text, add underscores _ before and after the text you want italicized. For example, if you type _every week_ , the chat will display every week. To strike through text, add tildes ~ before and after the text you want struck through. To create an inline code block, add backticks ` before and after the text you want in a code block. To create a multiline code block, add three backticks ``` before and after the text you want in a code block. You can also click Emoji and select the emoji you want to add.
Leave a channel	Leave a space Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. Next to a space name, click More options Leave. Click Leave space.
Delete messages	Delete an entire DM Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. On the left, next to the person's name, click More Delete conversation. Click Delete to confirm.
Upload and share files	Upload and share files Go to Google Chator your Gmail account. Optional: Enter a message. Choose an option: To add an emoji, click Emoji . To send a GIF, click GIF . If you use Google Chat on a work or school account, you may not have the option to send a GIF. To attach a file from your computer, click Upload file . The file is not added to Drive. Other users get the file directly in the message. To add a link to a video meeting, click Add video meeting . To attach a Drive file, click Integration menu Drive . When you send the file, you’re notified if someone needs access. With edit access, you have an option to grant access. If you grant access to a space, people who join the space later also have access. If people leave the space, they lose access to the file unless they’re given access individually or through a group. To create a Google Calendar invite, click Integration menu Calendar invite . Click Send .
Search your messages	Search your messages Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. At the top, click in the search box that says “Search all conversations” or “Search in chat and spaces.” Enter search text and press Enter. Gmail: Under the search box, click Messages. To open a result, click on it. To search your chat messages from Gmail, see Get started with Google Chat.
Manage your notifications	Manage your notifications Open Chat. At the top, click your statusNotification settings. Under Desktop, click the Down arrow and choose an option: All Messages—Get a notification for all direct messages and all messages in spaces. New threads, threads I’m following and direct messages—Get a notification for all direct messages, the first message of every new thread, and all threads you’re following. Threads I’m following and direct messages—Get a notification for all direct messages and threads you’re following. Only @mentions and direct messages—Get a notification for direct messages and @mentions in Spaces. Off—Turn off all notifications. (Optional) To hear a sound for incoming notifications, check the Play notification sounds box. (Optional) To set mobile notifications, under Mobile, click the Down arrow and choose an option. (Optional) To turn email notifications for unread messages on or off, under Email, select Only @mentions & direct messages or Off. Email reminders apply to messages that you haven't read after 12 hours. They are not sent for @mentions. For more details, see Get started with Google Chat.