Talk to people outside of your domain in Google Chat
What’s changing
Now you’ll be able to start conversations in Google Chat (previously known as “Hangouts Chat”) with people outside of your domain. You’ll be able to do this by either sending a direct message or adding them to rooms.
Beginning today, conversations with external users in classic Hangouts will also appear in Chat as new messages are sent.
Who’s impacted
End users
Why you’d use it
Whether you’re talking to customers, coordinating with a vendor, or trying to keep in touch with your students’ parents, you’ll now be able to use Google Chat with your key contacts. With this change, you can keep all of your communication in one central place.
Additional details
To use Google Chat, people outside your domain need to have a Google Account. These users will have an “external” badge in Chat, so you’ll be sure you’re sharing information with the right people.
Additionally, you’ll need to designate a room as “External” when you create it, and you won’t be able to change this setting after the room is created. This means you won’t be able to add external users to any rooms created before this launch, as those will remain “internal.”
Note: While you can add external users to a room in Chat, you cannot include external users in a group chat.
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