I’m still not sure that Google has acknowledged the imminent death of Hangouts and the sneaky availability of Google Chat in recent weeks, but the rollout of Chat to more users in more places continues. If you happen to be the most productive human on Earth and need Chat within your Gmail app, it’s there for you.
This previously rolled out to GSuite users, but Gmail account users can now access Google Chat as a bottom tab in the Gmail app. This is all a part of that big Gmail update from last year that would bring both Chat and Meet into Gmail for Workspace (GSuite) users. Google is bringing it to the masses too.
To access the Chat (or Meet) tabs in Gmail, you’ll head into your Gmail app, swipe out the side menu and jump into Settings. From there, scroll until you find the “General” section where you should see a box to check called “Chat (Early Access).” Check that, watch the Gmail app refresh, and boom(!) you have Chat in Gmail.
Do you want Chat in Gmail? Hey, you tell me. I’ve enabled it after ditching Hangouts (and Chat) for Telegram because I feel like I spend enough time in Gmail that having Chat handy would be easier than going to find the Chat app. But that’s me.