Learn the differences between Slack and Google Chat and get best practices for collaboration at work or school.
On this page
What you'll need
15 minutes
Google Workspace account — Don't have one? Start your 14-day trial today.
Comparison at a glance
- 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 .
- On your computer, go to Google Chat .
- On the left, under “Chat,” click the name of the person or group you want to message.
- If you can’t find their name, click New chator Start a chat.
- Enter a name or email address. Suggestions appear as you enter text.
- Tip:To send a direct message from a work or school account to someone outside your organization, enter their email address.
- Click the person you want to message.
- To create a group conversation, continue to enter people’s names.
- When you select everyone you want to include in the conversation, click Start chat.
- Tip:If you want to send a direct message to a specific person, next to their name, click Start chat, or use the keyboard shortcut ⌘ + Enter/ Ctrl + Enter.
- Enter a message.
- Click Send.
Tips:
- If you use a work or school account, suggestions include everyone in your organization, even those who don't have Google Chat.
- To message you back, the message recipient may need to accept your request.
- 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 Addor Join.
- To open the space, click Open.
You can chat with both people within your organization and with external guests.
Edit a sent message
- On your computer, go to a conversation and hover over your message.
- Click Edit.
- Make your changes.
- Click Update.
Delete a sent message
- On your computer, go to a conversation and hover over your message.
- Click MoreDelete.
- To confirm, click Delete.
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 Emojiand select the emoji you want to add.
- On your computer, open Google Chat or Gmail .
- Next to a space name, click More options Leave.
- Click Leave space.
- On your computer, open Google Chat
or Gmail
.
- In Gmail:On the left, click Chat.
- On the left, next to the person's name, click MoreDelete conversation.
- To confirm, click Delete.
- On your computer, open Google Chat
or Gmail
.
- In Gmail:On the left, click Chat.
- Open a conversation.
- Enter your message and choose an option:
Click Emoji.
Click GIF.
- If you use Google Chat on a work or school account, you may not have the option to send a GIF.
Click Upload file.
- The file is not added to Drive. Other users get the file directly in the message.
Click Add video meeting.
Click Integration menuDrive .
- 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 conversation or 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.
Click Integration menuCalendar invite.
4. Click Send .
- On your computer, open Google Chat or Gmail .
- 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.
- On your computer, go to Google Chat .
- At the top right, click Settings .
- To turn on notifications for Google Chat messages, under "Desktop notifications," check the box next to "Allow chat notifications."
* Note: The instructions in this guide are primarily web only. Get switching information for mobile devices .
Related topics
To set up Chat or Spaces, or get troubleshooting help, try these guides instead:
- Get started with Chat
- Use Spaces
- Import message data from another service to Chat
- Get more help with Chat and Spaces
Google, Google Workspace, and related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. All other company and product names are trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.