Google Chat groups are about to get even more annoying

(Image credit: Shutterstock.com / monticello)

Your workplace Google Chat groups are about to get a lot bigger thanks to a new upgrade to the platform.

Google says that it is upgrading its chat software in order to "boost communication and collaboration for teams of all sizes", as going forward, up to 8,000 members can now be added to a Google Chat space, a huge increase from the current limit of 400.

The company says the change will be ideal for including everyone in an organization into a central group for the quick delivery of vital messages, but if we're honest, we're more worried about the constant ping of chat notifications.

Google Chat spaces

"We hope this update will increase connectivity and create broader communities for your organizations," Google wrote in a Workspace Updates blog post announcing the news.

The change, which will be available for all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers, won't require any admin changes to enable, but will only be applicable to newly created spaces for Chat-preferred domains - although Chat-only domains will see it for all new and existing spaces.

The change will not be available to Google Hangouts users following the recent announcement of the software's official end of life being announced as the company looks to modernize its Google Workspace suite to be as effective for users as possible.

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The upgrade follows a pledge earlier this year by Google Workspace to help improve communication and collaboration for all kinds of teams.

This included making video meetings more secure and interactive, with the latter point covering features ranging from in-meeting reactions to picture-in-picture video.

Users are also now able to start a Google Meet call directly from their Docs, Sheets or Slides file, with calls also now including polls, Q&As, and automatic noise cancellation across many different kinds of hardware.

Google Chat also recently introduced a new feature that allows users to create group chats (known as Spaces) within the platform that can then be shared with others in your organization. The company says this will be particularly useful for creating and sharing "topic-based conversations" within your business, such as team discussions, how-to guides and mentoring opportunities.

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Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.