The next step of conversation’s flow in Google Chat, all existing spaces organized by conversation topic will be upgraded to in-line threaded.
In October 2022, Google Chat Space announced an “in-line threaded” feature to maximize user’s experience by organizing separate conversations to improve users’ interaction. It was an optional feature apart from “conversation topics” that users could choose which one was their favorites most. Until March 2023, Google updated all newly created Chat Space to be in-line threaded by default. Currently, they are preparing for the next stage; existing Space organized by conversation topic will be migrated to in-line threads conversation soon.
Google will start upgrading conversations grouped by topic to in-line threaded from the end of September 2023. They estimate this change to be completed by March 2024. During the upgrading period, if users utilize an impacted space when the upgrade begins, most functions such as sending and receiving messages can’t be accessible. However, this will only last for a few minutes, after users simply need to refresh the browser tab to access and use the newly upgraded space. Other direct messages, group conversations and in-line threaded spaces will not be impacted and will remain accessible during the upgrade.
Source: Google Workspace Update
After updates’ completion, the space will be organized by the in-line threaded. Messages sent before the upgrade will be maintained, and arranged chronologically instead of by topic. It will have a separator titled “Begin New Topic” to specify every time a new topic is started. In some cases, when users reply on previous topics, the message might not appear next to the original topic. On the contrary, it will quote the last communicating message that is responding to, as per below photo.
Source: Google Workspace Update
Users can notice a separator between the last message sent before the migration, and a message indicating that the space has been upgraded to a space with in-line replies. Moreover, users can also click to the Help Center for more information.
As mentioned before, the previous conversation organized by topic which related messages and replies were grouped together in the main conversation window. It is difficult to define which messages they should respond to. Especially, when there are plenty of chat conversations, causing users to fail to notice important topics.
On the contrary, in-line threaded looks well-organized, Space’s members can skim through conversation to understand the overview of discussion. Moreover, they can respond to any specific comments or discuss more details with in-line replies by creating a separate side panel from the main conversation. It won’t disrupt the flow of the main conversation in Space. Moreover, users can also follow specific threads, whereby they’ll receive notifications for replies and @ mentions in that thread, assisting to cut through clutter and stay on top of what updates most.
If you have any inquiry, please feel free to contact us here
Source: Google Workspace Update