Once reserved for Google Workspace subscribers, Chat generally offers more capabilities, so it’s a good trade.
[Google] began phasing out Hangouts for Workspace customers in February 2022 and is now encouraging all Hangouts users to make the switch to Google Chat by November. In most cases, Hangouts’ messages and contacts should appear within Chat automatically, making it easy to continue current conversations and reference past information.
Chat offers more features, including easy access to Google Meet — its video conferencing solution — and Google Spaces — an environment that allows Google Drive files and Google Tasks’ lists to be shared among multiple people and integrated with text, photo, and video messaging. In Gmail settings, Chat can be enabled on a sidebar so that it’s accessible without loading a separate webpage.
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