Update 5/14/18: Google Hangouts Chat will not be enabled at this time
Google Hangouts Chat is rolling out on the UMICH domain over the next 15 days.
Chat helps teams collaborate more efficiently with direct messages and group conversations. It also allows teams to track progress and follow up on tasks using dedicated, virtual rooms to house projects over time and threaded conversations. In one place, you can:
- Work with other G Suite apps. Upload items from Drive, collaborate on Docs, Sheets or Slides, join online meetings with Hangouts Meet, or use Google’s search to look up room members, past conversations, and shared files.
- Use artificial intelligence to speed up workflows. When your teams collaborate in Chat, you can speed up manual work, like booking conference rooms and searching for files.
- Collaborate with colleagues around the globe. Chat currently supports 28 languages and each room can support up to 8,000 members. It’s available on desktop for Windows and MacOS, as well as iOS and Android.
Chat also comes equipped with 25 bots to help speed up workflows, ranging from finance and human resources to CRM and project management. There are bots that integrate directly with other G Suite apps, like:
- The @Google Drive bot which lets you know when files are shared with you, comments are made, or when people request access to your docs.
- The @Meet bot which integrates directly with Calendar to schedule meetings for you.
Chat is compatible with the classic Hangouts and works with your existing contacts. Together with Hangouts Meet, the two are intended to eventually replace classic Hangouts. We will send additional messages as we know more. To get started (once available), go to chat.google.com on the web or download the app on your desktop or mobile devices.