In August last year, Google rolled out Google Meet, Chat, and Rooms tabs in Gmail for G Suite (now Google Workspace) customers. This added new tabs to the Gmail interface, making it easier for users to stay in touch with their colleagues and collaborate on tasks. Google is now extending the integration to personal accounts and giving all users access to the new Chat and Rooms tabs.
Twitter user Pratik Goswami recently spotted the new Chat integration, and you can enable it on your phone by following a couple of simple steps. As you can see in the following screenshots, you’ll find a new “Chat” option in the app settings that enables the Chat and Rooms tabs. To enable the feature, tap on the checkbox next to it and then tap on “Try it” in the following pop-up.
After enabling the feature, you’ll see a new pop-up highlighting the changes when you navigate back to the Gmail home screen (screenshots attached below). The pop-up includes three pages talking about the new Gmail interface that will let you access your emails, chats, and video calls by tapping on the tabs at the bottom. The first tab will let you view all your emails, the second will show all your Chats, and the third will let you access your Rooms.
You’ll also see an additional pop-up that will give you the option to turn off duplicate chat notifications to “prevent being notified twice for each chat message.”
Do note that the new Chat integration in Gmail is currently in early access, and you may experience bugs or other issues if you turn it on. Thankfully, you can disable it by tapping on the checkbox next to the Chat option in the app settings and revert to the old Gmail interface.
The new Chat integration is live in version 2021.03.07.364486182 of the Gmail app on Android. You can update to the latest release by following the Play Store link below, in case you don’t find the new option in the app settings.
It’s worth noting that the Meet tab has already been available for both personal and enterprise Google accounts for quite a while now. The new Chat integration for personal Google accounts comes shortly after Google Chat started fully replacing Hangouts for personal users.
