Switching to Google Workspace from Microsoft Teams

Now that you have Google Workspace, here are a few tips to help you begin replacing Microsoft Teams for all your collaboration needs.

Get Google Workspace apps on your mobile devices.

Note: Some Microsoft features do not directly correspond in Google Workspace and are not covered in this guide.

" "

Comparison at a glance

In Teams...	In Google Workspace...*
Have team conversations from a channel	Have team conversations in a chat space You can chat with both people within your organization and with external guests. Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. Next to “Spaces,” click Create or find a space Create space. Enter a space name. Optional: At the top left, click Choose an emoji . If you don't select an emoji, a default avatar is used. Enter names or email addresses of people and groups you want to add. You can also select from suggestions. If you use a Google Workspace account, suggestions include everyone in your organization, even if they don't have Google Chat. Optional: To allow threaded replies, select Use threaded replies. Important: You can’t change this setting. Threaded spaces can only be created by Google Workspace accounts. Optional: To allow external people to join the space, select Allow people outside your organization to join. If your administrator doesn’t allow this feature, you may not have this option. Important: You can’t change this setting. The option to create spaces that allow guests is only available on Google Workspace accounts. Click Create. Optional: To add more people and bots to the space, click Add people & bots. Enter names or emails. Click Send. Turn a group chat into a space If you created a group chat, you can turn it into a space. When you use a space, you can name the space, share files, and assign tasks with other people in the space. Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. From the Chat panel, find and click the group chat you want to change to a space. At the top, next to the group chat name, click the Down arrow Turn this chat into a space . Add a space name. To add an optional space icon, click Add . Click Done. A notification confirms your chat is now a space, and notifies members in the group of the change. After you make the change, you can find chat, files, and tasks tabs in your space. Tip: You can add and remove people from a space at any time. You can also assign tasks from a chat space in Gmail. For details, visit Create and assign tasks in spaces.
Chat in a direct message (DM) by clicking New Chat	Send a DM from Google Chat or Gmail Send a direct message to a person Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. If the name isn’t already under "Chat," click Start a chat . Enter a name or email address. Suggestions appear as you enter text. To send a 1:1 message to someone outside of your organization, enter their email address. Click the person you want to message. Enter a message, then click Send . Send a direct message to a group Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. Under "Chat," click on an existing group conversation, enter a message click Send . If the group conversation isn’t under "Chat,” click Start a chat Start group conversation. Enter a name or email address. Suggestions appear as you enter text. Click Done . Enter a message, then click Send .
Have video meetings with a team	Have video meetings with a team in Google Meet In a web browser, enter https://meet.google.com. Click New meetingStart an instant meeting. To add someone to a meeting, in the pop-up window that appears, choose an option: Click Add others and choose an option: Under the Invite section, select a name or enter an email address and click Send email. Under the Call section, enter a phone number and press Call . Click Copy and paste the meeting details into an email or another app. Note: You can send a meeting link to people outside of your organization, but someone from within your organization might need to give them access to the video meeting. For details about how to join meetings from Calendar and Gmail, visit Join a video meeting.
Share files with a team	Share files with a team in a shared drive Open Google Drive. On the left, click Shared drives. At the top, click New. Enter a name and click Create. For details, visit Get started with shared drives.
Collaborate on shared files in a meeting	Collaborate on shared files in a meeting in Google Meet Open Meet and join a video meeting. On the bottom, click Present now and choose what to share: Your entire screen A window A tab Click Share. When you’re done presenting, click Stop presenting.
See your schedule and create a meeting in Meetings	Schedule a video meeting in Google Calendar In Calendar, create an event. Click Add guests. Enter the names or email of the people you want to invite. Click Save. To notify guests, click Send. Guests receive an email with the event information and a link to the video meeting. For details, visit Start a new video meeting.
Add a wiki page for your team	Add a website for your team in Google Sites Choose an option: From the Sites homepage, at the top, click Create , or to choose a template, click Template gallery and select a template. From Google Drive, click New MoreGoogle Sites. For details, visit Get started with Sites.
Search in the Command box	Search in Google Cloud Search Sign in to Cloud Search at cloudsearch.google.com. If you can't sign in, your account doesn't have Cloud Search. Learn more Do a search, such as `slides audrey sent last month`. If the interpretation isn't quite right, click the Show results for the original query link. For details, visit Use everyday words to search.
Q&A during a live event	Audience Q&A during a meeting Open Meet . From a video meeting, at the bottom, click Activities Q&A. Next to Allow questions, click Turn on . For details, visit Ask questions in a video meeting.
Poll attendees during a meeting	Launch a poll during a meeting Open Meet. From a video meeting, at the bottom, click Activities Polls. Click Start a poll. Enter a question and add options for the poll. Choose an option: To post your poll, click Launch. To save your poll so you can launch it later, click Save. For details, visit Conduct a poll during a video meeting.
Share a whiteboard in a meeting	Use a whiteboard in a meeting Open Meet. From a video meeting, at the bottom, click Activities Whiteboarding. Choose an option: To create a new jam, click Start a new whiteboard. To open an existing jam from Drive, shared drives, or from your computer, click Choose from Drive. For details, visit Use a whiteboard in a video meeting.
Raise your hand in a meeting	Raise your hand in a meeting Open Meet. From a video meeting, at the bottom, click Raise hand or Lower hand . For details, visit Raise your hand during a video meeting.
Use breakout rooms in meetings	Add breakout rooms to meetings Open Meet. From a video meeting, at the bottom, click Activities Breakout rooms. Click Set up breakout rooms . Choose the number of breakout rooms. You can create up to 100. (Optional) To move people into different rooms, drag a participant's name to another room. Click Open rooms. You can also create breakout rooms from a Calendar event. For details, visit Use breakout rooms in a video meeting.
Change your background in a meeting	Change your background in a meeting Open Meet. Depending on when you want to change your background, choose an option: To change your background before you join a meeting, on the bottom right of your meeting image, click Change background . To change your background after you join a meeting, at the bottom, click MoreChange background. Choose a background option. For details, visit Change your background in a video meeting.

*These instructions are primarily web only.

Google, Google Workspace, and related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. All other company and product names are trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.

Was this helpful?

How can we improve it?

Switching to Google Workspace from Microsoft Teams

Now that you have Google Workspace, here are a few tips to help you begin replacing Microsoft Teams for all your collaboration needs.

Comparison at a glance

Turn a group chat into a space

Send a direct message to a person

Send a direct message to a group