Create, send & reply to messages in Google Chat

You can send a direct message to a person or group of people in Google Chat.

Create a direct message

To send a new message:

On your computer, open Google Chat or Gmail.
- In Gmail: On the left, click Chat.
At the top left, click New chat .
Enter the person’s name you want to message.
- To create a group direct message, enter multiple names.
Click Start chat.

Send & reply to messages

To send or reply to a message, you can use the message field in Chat. There are multiple ways to reply.

When you reply, you can:

Send a message	Send the message you wrote in the message field.
Share files and more	Share Google Drive files, set up a Calendar invite, or add apps to a message.
Start a meeting	Start a video call with Google Meet.
Add a video meeting	Add a Google Meet link to a video meeting.
Edit a message	Edit a sent message.
Delete a message	Delete a sent message.
Format messages	Bold or italicize text, use bullet points, or add color.
React to messages	Add an emoji.
Upload a file	Share a file from your computer.
Share a GIF	React with an animated GIF.
Quote a message	To directly respond, quote a previous message in Chat.
Start a thread	In a space, create a new thread based on a message.

Troubleshoot permissions

Contact the Workspace administrator if you:

Can’t create a new conversation
Can’t add members to a space
Get a permission error like "You don't have permission to start a new conversation”

Learn how to manage space settings.

Schedule messages

You can write a message, then schedule it to be sent later.

On your computer, open Google Chat or Gmail.
- In Gmail: On the left, click Chat.
Select a Space or Chat.
Type your message.
To the right of the "Send" arrow, click the Down arrow .
A pop-up appears with suggested send times, which includes the recipient's time zone.
Select a suggested time or click Pick a custom time.

Confirm a scheduled message

After you schedule your message delivery, at the bottom of your chat, a banner appears. This confirms the message's scheduled delivery time and recipient.

To find and manage all your scheduled messages, click See all scheduled messages.

Manage your scheduled messages

On the left navigation panel, in the "Drafts" tab, you can access and manage all your scheduled messages.

In "Drafts," you can:

Find all your pending scheduled messages.
Get the send time in your time zone.
Get the send time in the receiver's time zone.
Perform different actions on scheduled messages.

Perform actions on scheduled messages

In "Drafts," you have full control over your scheduled messages. For each scheduled message, you can:

Edit message: Modify the content of a scheduled message.
Reschedule: Change the scheduled delivery time of a message.
Send immediately: Bypass the scheduled time and send the message immediately.
Delete: Remove a scheduled message.

Identify conversations with scheduled messages

A draft icon next to a conversation indicates that it contains either a draft or scheduled message.