Google Chat is launching a new way for you to chat with colleagues. Called huddles, they work in the same way asSlack huddles, allowing you to jump on and off a call quickly right from within the app. Given the way they work, huddles make you more accessible than ever, which could be both a blessing and a curse.
You Can Now Launch Instant Meetings on Google Chat
As detailed in a post onGoogle Workspace Updates, Google Chat is gaining a new feature in the form of huddles. These are designed to give you “a fast and flexible way to connect […] making real-time collaboration easier than ever.”
To start a huddle, you need to click theVideoicon in the top right corner of a chat message with the person you want to talk to, then selectStart a huddlefrom the dropdown menu. This will start an audio-only call with your colleague (as long as they accept the invite).
Once the huddle has begun, you can resize the window or drag it to a new position, switch from audio to video, or share your screen. Huddles have started rolling out now, with Google promising that the feature should reach all Workspace users by August 14, 2025.
I Actually Don’t Like Being So Accessible All the Time
While some people will appreciate this new feature, I, for one, don’t appreciate being so accessible all the time. Especially while working. As someone who has had jobs where meetings were a daily requirement, I tend to view them as a necessary evil, but the least meetings I can get away with attending, the better.
So, the question is whether these huddles will work as advertised; allowing colleagues to jump on and off quickly without getting bogged down in long calls. They could, but they could also turn into long, drawn-out conversations that end up making you and your colleagues less productive rather than more productive.
To helpmake your online meetings more productive, be sure to make use of the tools that are readily available.
Only time will tell which of the two scenarios proves to be the case, but I won’t be accepting Google Chat huddles unless I absolutely have to do so.
