Video messages in Google Chat are finally a thing

Google has just announced that it’s launching video messages in Google Chat, just months after bringing voice messages to the platform & a new mobile experience.

The Google Workspace team said in a recent update that video messages can be sent in chats and will be stored in the Media section, but recording is not available on ChromeOS, Linux, or Firefox. Building on the earlier voice messages addition, you can simply click the record button near the chatbox, and then click “Video message” to summon your desktop’s webcam.

Video messages in Google Chat can be useful for sales and customer support teams, executives sharing updates, and team members sending quick status updates instead of attending meetings. The rollout starts immediately for some users—not on mobile, though—and will continue for others on October 25, 2024.

Initially known as “Hangouts Chat” for business, Google finalized the rebrand to Google Chat during the COVID-19 pandemic era as the world started to close down and shift to a hybrid work/school environment. It was only in 2021 when Chat finally became available for general customers.

Around the same time, Google also announced the deprecation of Google Hangouts to make way for Google Chat and Google Meet. By early 2022, all Google Workspace customers were set to be fully migrated to Google Chat by May 2022. And, in September 2022, Google confirmed that all Hangouts data would be deleted by January 1, 2023.