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Google Hangouts Gets Slack-Like Update

Google Hangouts will be split into Hangouts Meet and Chat, the latter of which is a lot like Slack.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Going forward, Google Hangouts will be split into two services: Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat.

As its name suggests, Meet is designed to "make joining meetings effortless so that people can be as productive as they are when they're face-to-face," Director of Product Management for Hangouts Scott Johnston wrote in a blog post Thursday. Chat is an "intelligent communication app for teams that takes direct messaging in Hangouts and evolves it to reflect the way modern teams talk business."

Meet is available today and will gradually roll out to all G Suite users over the next few weeks. If you're interested in trying out Chat, you can apply via Google's Early Adopter Program. Meet aims to make even 30-person video conferences glitch free. Just send all participants a link to join your meeting, or click on the link you receive, and voila—no need to create an account or download anything to join.

"If you're dialing in from a conference room, your laptop or using the dedicated mobile app, just a few clicks and you're in," Johnston wrote. Google has been testing the service over the past three months with the help of Braintree, whose Manager of Systems Administration, Jerome Knapp, called Meet "one of the most frictionless video conferencing systems we've experienced."

The new Chat app, meanwhile, seems a lot like Slack. You can bring teams together in virtual rooms to "create a lasting home for each project, with threaded conversations [a feature Slack just added] so your team's progress is easy to follow," Johnston wrote.

Chat is integrated with G Suite, meaning you can easily share content from Drive and Docs, and view photos and videos right in your conversations.

There's also a search function, but perhaps the coolest feature of all: Chat can automatically schedule meetings for you. Just type "@meet find us a time to meet next week," and an intelligent bot will pencil a meeting into Google Calendar when everyone's available.

Google is also working with some third-party app makers to integrate their services into Chat, including Asana, Box, Prosperworks, and Zendesk.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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