Google Chat Overview

Google Chat Overview

About: At HHM we use Google Chat to keep in touch with our teams. If you are brand new Chat, check out this Getting Started with Chat Help Article from Google.

How to access Google Chat

You can access Google Chat any of the following ways:

Via chat.google.com

In your web browser, go to chat.google.com or from any Google app click the Google app selector then click Chat. This will open Google Chat in a separate browser tab.

Via Gmail

By default, along the left side of your Gmail, you will see your Google chats including chats with people, rooms and bots. To start a new chat, click the + sign. Current chat windows will be displayed along the bottom of your Gmail. If you prefer to hide your chats in Gmail and only view them in a separate tab, see the help article below to learn how to turn off Chat in Gmail.

Google Training:




Via the Google Chat mobile app

You can access your Chats on the go using the iOS or Android Google Chat app. Simply download the app from your app store, open it, and sign in with your HHM Google Account.


Status, Out of Office & Notification Settings

  1. When you are logged in to Google Chat via the web or mobile app, your status will appear as Active denoted by a green dot.
  2. When you are not logged in to Google Chat, your status will appear as Away denoted by a white dot with grey outline.
  3. If you have your vacation responder (out of office) configured in Gmail, other people will see that you are out of the office when they open a chat with you.

  1. To configure your notification settings, click where it says active, and choose from the following options.

Tips & Tricks

Starred Chats - If you frequently talk to a person, Group or Room and would like that chat to appear at the top of your list, click the 3 dots next to their name and click Star.


Search - You can search for chats, attachments, people, etc by clicking the search button in the top right corner.

Start a video call with Google Meet - You can quickly send a Google Meet link to the person, Group or Room chat by clicking the Google Meet icon and clicking send. To join, simply click the link.

Group chats vs Room chats

Google Chat now offers Room chats which are a little different than Group chats. From our experience the main differences are that Room chats can have multiple threads / conversations going on at one time - where as a Group chat is a single unthreaded conversation.

See below to learn about the differences or view this Google Help Article.

Bots

You can use special accounts known as bots to connect to services in Google Chat. You can use bots to help you with tasks, such as looking up information and scheduling meetings. For more information, check out this Google Help Article.



Examples

  • Use the @Google Drive bot to prompt you when people share files with you, make comments, or request access to your docs.
  • Use the @Meet bot, which integrates with Google Calendar, to schedule meetings.

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