‘Google is working on an app for business users with chat and mail integration’

Google is said to be working on a new mobile app for businesses that will allow employees to chat, as well as use services such as Gmail and Drive. The app would have integrated the existing Hangouts chat app, among other things.

The Information writes this based on sources within the company. Thomas Kurian, the CEO of Google’s Cloud division, is said to have spoken about the app during an internal conference. It would be an app that becomes part of G-Suite, Google’s business platform. It would mainly be a chat app, but one that works together with email and other services, such as Calendar and Drive. It seems that the app has to compete with other apps that are widely used for business, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams.

The new app would also integrate with Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet, Google’s chat and video calling apps for consumers. The application would not replace those products. In recent years, Google has pursued a sometimes confusing strategy for chat apps, with Hangouts still around but slowly being phased out, and Hangouts Meet and Chat. Before that, there was also Allo. Most of those applications were mainly aimed at consumers. It is not yet known when the app will be released or when Google will announce anything about it publicly.