Google Chat
Google Chat, formally known as Hangouts Chat, is a business messaging app, similar to Slack. Google Chat allows for individual chat conversations as well as group collaboration. Previous Hangouts will be archived in Bmail.
There are several ways you can read and send chat messages:
For more information on "What you can do with Google Chat?", please visit https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9300511?hl=en
Note: You can search for Chat content from your Bmail inbox! If you type a search term in the Bmail search box, the results will include Bmail messages, Hangouts messages, and Chat messages.
Chat Rooms
Rooms are are stable, long term discussion spaces. You can create a Room, give it a name, add and remove people, share files, and assign tasks. Your department can create a Room to facilitiate communication.
Learn more about Rooms from Google Help: https://support.google.com/chat/answer/7659784?hl=en&ref_topic=7649113
Group Conversations vs Rooms
If you need to talk with more than one person, you can create a Group Conversation or a Room.
If you want to create a more permanent discussion space with a group of people, you can create a Room.
If you are having a spontaneous discussion with more than one person, you can create a group conversation.
Rooms and Group Conversations comparison chart: https://bucknell.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/40/LIT/KB/ArticleDet?ID=488
Chat Notifications
You can configure your Chat notifications separately for your computer and mobile devices. Learn more about Chat notifications from Google Help: https://support.google.com/chat/answer/7655718?hl=en&ref_topic=7649115
Switching to Chat from classic Hangouts
If you are using Hangouts on your mobile phone, you will need to download Google Chat.
For more information on switching to Chat from classic Hangouts, like sending a chat, creating a room, uploading photos, managing notifications, etc., please visit https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9310166