Google Workspace Changes

An optional in-line reply feature will enable members of a space to respond to or discuss an announcement in Google Chat.

While these announcement spaces aim to facilitate one-way controlled communication in Google Chat, we’re adding an optional in-line reply feature that will enable members of a space to respond to or discuss an announcement.

In-line replies are now available within announcement spaces in Google Chat.

Google Chat has introduced an optional in-line reply feature for announcement spaces, allowing space managers to enable members to respond to or discuss announcements. For newly created announcement spaces, the feature is enabled by default for all members, while for existing spaces, it is enabled by default for space managers only. Space managers can toggle this setting via the space menu under permissions.

Introduction of membership search within Google Chat spaces.

Google Chat is introducing the ability to search for members within a space. This feature allows users to verify if a member is present, change their role if they are, or add them to the space if they are not.

Google Chat spaces now support up to 50,000 members.

Google is increasing the maximum number of users that can be added to a space in Google Chat from 8,000 to 50,000. This update is intended to better support company-wide announcements, event-oriented spaces, large internal communities, and support-related spaces.

Google Chat APIs for creating spaces, memberships, and managing messages are now generally available.

The Google Chat API is now generally available for all Google Workspace developers, providing the ability to programmatically create and manage spaces, memberships, group chats, messages, reactions, and attachments. These capabilities allow developers to build integrated workflows and pull contextual data directly into conversations, facilitating better collaboration and outreach within organizations.

Improved media viewing on Android devices in Google Chat

Google Chat on Android devices now features a new media viewer that improves the browsing experience. Media thumbnails open faster in full screen, repeat playback is quicker, and users can swipe between media in a conversation. Additionally, a shared media option allows users to quickly browse all media shared within a Chat conversation.

Add hyperlinks to text in Google Chat

Users can now hyperlink text on web and Android when composing or editing messages in Google Chat. This update also includes the ability to copy over hyperlinks from other Google Workspace applications such as Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides to make messages cleaner and more compact.

Customizable error messages for Google Chat data loss prevention (DLP) rules are now in open beta.

Admins can now customize the messages displayed to users when a Google Chat message is blocked or intercepted by data loss prevention (DLP) rules. Instead of a standard warning, admins can provide specific context, instructions on how to unblock the message, or links to additional safety resources. This feature is available in open beta for web users across various Google Workspace Enterprise, Education, and Frontline editions.