Google Chat Huddles Now Rolling Out for Users; Here's How It Works

Google Chat
By Himani Jha | Updated Nov 28, 2024, 3:26 PM IST

Google has started rolling out a new feature for Google Chat called Huddles. This feature allows users to quickly start audio or video calls with colleagues, similar to a drop-in meeting. Users can initiate a Huddle by clicking on a colleague's name in the chat list and selecting the "Huddles" option. Check out all details here.

Google has officially added Huddles to its Google Chat. It has been created especially to offer a quicker and more efficient way to conduct audio-first meetings. Users can create real-time chats within their existing chat threads with this feature, which was first shown off in August 2023. This updated version, which resembles Slack's "Huddles" feature and the previous Google+ Huddles text chat tool, blends in perfectly with Google Chat's environment and makes it easier to start a meeting without needing a separate meeting link. Check out all details here.

Google Chat Huddles: How it works

From the upper-right corner of a (web) conversation, you can access the Google Chat version. Huddles start an audio-first meeting, with a floating window displaying controls. They can be found in Spaces, group chats, and direct messages. In your message thread, recipients will "see a chat chip that says [user] has started a huddle."

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In addition to sharing your screen, you can add video. The Huddle can be swiftly ended using a toggle at the top. Google Meet powers all of this behind the scenes.

Google claims that "huddles integrates directly and smoothly into the Chat experience" as opposed to sending a meeting link by hand. "Multi-tasking while in Chat as you can easily resize or share your screen" is allegedly supported by the format.

Google Chat Huddles enables users to share their screens and add video during meetings. When the meeting is over, participants can quickly end the session using the toggle at the top of the screen. Additionally, Google has stated that Google Meet powers the new Huddles.

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Google claims that one of the primary features is the capacity to simplify communication. In order to facilitate task switching, users must manually send meeting links. By rapidly sharing their screen or resizing the floating meeting window, users can multitask during the conversation.

Users of Google Workspace, including those with Business Starter, Standard, and Plus versions as well as Enterprise and Frontline Plans, will be able to access the Huddles feature gradually over the next few weeks. Non-profits and other Essentials and Enterprise Essentials subscribers will also be able to access it.