Google Chat

After launching for Workspace earlier this year, Google Chat voice messages are now available for personal Gmail accounts. 

Following Gmail, Drive, and Docs/Sheets/Slides, the Gemini side panel is now available in Google Chat if you’re a paid Workspace subscriber.

The floating bottom bar introduced by Google Chat is almost a year old, and a design tweak makes it fit in better with Material You.

Workspace customers can soon send video messages in Google Chat, while voice transcripts are now available.

Google Chat now integrates with IFTTT (if this, then that) to power various automations. This is available for both Google Workspace and personal accounts. 

As previewed last year, Google Chat is rolling out the ability to record and send voice messages. However, at launch, they’re only available for paid Google Workspace accounts.

After introducing on desktop last year, Google Chat for Android now lets you star messages. However, this required the addition of an overflow button to the floating bar that now looks a bit crowded.

After widely rolling out the floating bottom bar earlier this week, Google Chat is adding some complexity to that UI in the form of an overflow button and sheet.

With the new icon widely rolled out, Google Chat’s homescreen redesign is now making its way to Android.

The new logo for Google Chat that was announced in November is currently rolling out on Android.

Back in August, Google announced a big redesign of Chat that adds Duet AI and other smart features, as well as audio huddles, to the work-focused messaging service. A new homescreen is core to this revamp, with the straightforward web version announced first. Last week, the redesigned mobile client was introduced with a new take on navigation for Google apps.

Following the web, Google Chat is getting a big redesign on Android and iOS to accompany its new icon.

With Apple’s RCS for iPhone announcement, Google is undoubtedly moving full steam ahead on Messages and RCS as its consumer messaging app. It is inherently aligned with Android, which bodes well for continued development, and consistently gets a slew of new features.

As we spotted over the weekend, Google Chat is getting a new icon, as well as redesigned navigation on the web app with dedicated views for “Home” and “Mentions.”

We spotted a new logo for Google Chat in May, but it did not get announced with the homescreen redesign that also adds Duet AI and audio huddles a few months later. What should be the final version of that new Google Chat logo has now leaked.

At Cloud Next ’23 in August, a big enterprise-focused revamp of Google Chat with a new homescreen, Duet AI, and audio-first huddles was previewed. A smaller redesign of Google Chat today adds message bubbles for a more modern look.

Besides the upcoming homescreen redesign and Duet AI, Google Chat is getting voice messages and interoperability with third-party messaging services.

As previously reported, Google Chat is getting a UI redesign as well as Duet AI features at Cloud Next 2023.

While Messages and RCS is how Google wants you to message friends, Google Chat also fits that role and the company today reminded people of that personal use case.

We’re expecting a big update to Google Chat in the future, but until then, the existing web app is adding Smart Compose to make writing messages “faster and easier.”