Managing Google Meet Continuous Chat: User Feedback and work space google com dashboard Insights

Google Meet’s continuous meeting chat feature, designed to extend conversations beyond the live call, has sparked significant discussion and, for many users, frustration within the Google Workspace community. While intended to foster ongoing collaboration, a notable segment of users expresses a strong desire to disable this feature by default, particularly when participating as guests.

The User Perspective: A Call for Default-Off

Allison DeNoble initiated a thread seeking to turn off continuous chats in any meeting, even as a guest. She and others yearn for the "old format" where chat was ephemeral and disappeared after the meeting. This new persistent chat, recently introduced, is seen as disruptive rather than helpful.

Another user, Bob!, highlighted that manually adjusting settings for every single meeting is "an insurmountable task." The consensus points to a critical need for a default-off setting, ideally with an administrator override, to better manage communication preferences.

Host Controls vs. Guest Limitations

For meeting hosts, there's a direct method: disable continuous meeting chats by editing video call options within the Google Calendar event before the meeting begins. Google confirms that "continuous meeting chats are on by default" for scheduled meetings, but hosts can opt out.

However, the core frustration lies in the guest experience. There is currently no direct setting for a guest to unilaterally disable continuous chat if it's enabled by the host or organizational policy. The in-meeting messaging type is ultimately determined by the host.

Admin Policies and System Workarounds

While a direct guest-side toggle doesn't exist, Product Expert NinCoT provided scenarios where continuous chat might not function or can be indirectly controlled, offering insights for users and administrators:

• Continuous chat is not supported for instant meetings, live streams, breakout rooms, or events without a Meet ID.
• If the waiting room feature is enabled, or the meeting has more than 200 invited guests.
• If the host turns off chat in the Calendar event's video call options, or disables the "See guest list" setting.
• External users, temporary users, or those not on the calendar invite often lose chat history when the meeting ends.
• Administrator policies can force "Chat history off" for a user, resulting in a view-only chat experience, or disable the Google Chat service entirely for a user.

Many of these scenarios highlight the significant role of administrative control. Google Workspace administrators can configure policies that impact chat history and the availability of Google Chat services for their organization. These settings are typically managed from the work space google com dashboard, allowing for granular control over user experiences within Meet and Chat. Admins looking for more control over their Google Meet environment, including features like continuous chat, will find comprehensive options within the work space google com dashboard.

Providing Feedback to Google

Given the strong user demand for a default-off option, Product Experts strongly recommend submitting direct feedback to Google Meet through the application itself (via the exclamation mark icon) and via the Admin console for administrators. Engaging with Google Workspace Support by raising a ticket is also advised. The collective voice of users and administrators is vital in shaping future Google Meet features.