Google Hangouts Chat was designed to be a one-stop communication shop for G Suite users, featuring seamless integration with popular G Suite tools and bots to connect your favorite apps. But what if your favorite app doesn't have a bot or you just want to take your streamlining to the next level?

Use Zapier to connect Google Hangouts Chat with your favorite apps so you can keep important information in one place. Try out these popular automated workflows—we call them Zaps—to solve some common work annoyances and cut down on boring tasks.

|||{% include "blog/blocks/blog_post_cta.html" with image="https://cdn.zappy.app/c4746de44b9338f84c9dc8cbdfbe8171.png" title="Just getting started with Google Hangouts Chat?" description="Here's a quick guide to using it—and the hidden tips we've found to make Hangouts Chat a productive place to discuss your work and push projects forward." linkUrl="/blog/google-hangouts-chat-guide/" %}|||

Before you start: How to add a bot to your Hangouts Chat

Before you try these workflows, you'll need to add the Zapier bot to your Hangouts Chat. Here's how to do it:

Visit chat.google.com. To find bots, click the search button in the top-left corner, then click Find a bot.

Then search for the Zapier bot and add it to your desired room. You'll need to allow Zaps by clicking on the Zapier bot from the left-hand window and then Click to allow Zaps. Note that permissions are set per user.

Never miss a meeting

It's easy to lose track of time and realize you're 10 minutes late for a scheduled meeting. Or perhaps you're the designated sheep-herder on your team, making sure everyone shows up. Neither situation is ideal. Instead, set up an automation to post a message in a specific Hangout Chat room before a meeting starts.

To get started with a Zap template—what we call our pre-made workflows—just click on the button below, and we'll guide you through customizing it. It only takes a couple of minutes. You can read more about setting up Zaps here.

This template can help you get started, but you can customize it further by including the event description in your Google Chat message. You can do this by clicking in the Message Text field in the action step of your Zap and selecting Description from the dropdown. This can be especially useful if your team commonly puts conferencing links or room numbers in calendar descriptions.

If Google Hangouts Meet or your preferred video conferencing tool is integrated into your Google Calendar, you can also include the conference link during setup. Just click in the Message Text box and select Conference Data Points Entry Points Label from the dropdown.

Don't watch your inbox for important emails

No one likes to watch email, but it can't be helped when you're waiting on critical information to get work done. Instead of monitoring your inbox, set up an alert in Hangouts Chat for emails that meet a specific search criteria or label.

When setting up the action step of your Zap, be sure to select Zapier Bot Direct Message if you want a personal direct message, or the name of your team chat if you're monitoring a shared inbox.

Get alerts about specific updates to G Suite files

There are many reasons to love G Suite files, such as the ability to track changes and work on a file collaboratively with your team. By default, Google Drive alerts users about new comments, access requests, files shared, and storage. You can also get those notifications in Hangouts Chat through Google's built-in bots.

But if you want to get more granular—perhaps you want to know when a specific row in Google Sheets is updated or if everyone filled out that team survey—you're reduced to obsessively refreshing the file to check if your team updated it like you asked.

Instead, set up a Zap to connect your G Suite app of choice with Hangouts Chat. (Heck, connect all of them if you'd like.) You can choose a specific Drive folder or file, or even select a specific column or field change to trigger your Zap.

You can also add a filter step—available under our paid plans—if you only want your Zap to run under certain conditions. Read more about how to set up a filter step.

Stay up-to-date on customer feedback and project changes

Maybe you want to get alerts within chat about project updates so you can course-correct if something is delayed. Or you want to ensure someone on your team can quickly respond to feedback if a customer fills out a form.

Set up a Zap to connect your favorite project management or form app with Hangouts Chat.

Don't see your favorite app here? Head over to the Google Hangouts Chat page in our App Directory to see all the templates we offer. If you don't see what you need, you can create your own custom Zap connecting the apps you use by going into your Zapier account.

|||{% include "blog/blocks/foundational_page_cta.html" with title="Zapier connects your apps and moves information between them. Automatically." linkText="See how it works" linkUrl="/how-it-works" %}|||

Schedule reminders for yourself or your team

We're constantly juggling our to-do lists and sometimes need a gentle reminder. Instead of chasing down your coworkers to remind them to fill out your weekly meeting agenda, use Schedule by Zapier to trigger reminders hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly in a specific room.

This workflow can get you started:

You can also get your reminders through a direct message by selecting the Zapier Bot Direct Message when customizing the action step of your Zap. This can be helpful if you need regular personal reminders.