Choose the people you want to reach
Google Chat’s built-in mentions cover a person or everyone in the current conversation. If you’re used to group mentions on other platforms, the question is usually more specific: “How do I get the attention of the team that owns this?”
With a team shout, that team is a Chat space. A message containing !design-team can notify the Design Team space while you stay in your project conversation.
| What you need | What to use | Who it reaches |
|---|---|---|
| One person’s attention | A native @name mention | The person, when they’re a member of the conversation. |
| Everyone already here | A native @all mention | Members of the current conversation. |
| A team in another space | A team shout: !space-name | Members of the named space. Both spaces need Shout!. |
With an individual install, write @Shout! !space-name: @Shout! mentions the app so it receives your message; !space-name tells it where to send the shout. After an admin install, you can use !space-name on its own.
Send your first team shout
- Choose a team space. Use an existing space, or create one with the people you want to notify. A space named “Design Team” becomes
!design-team. - Install Shout! An administrator can install it for the organization. If your Workspace policy allows individual installs, you can start with one yourself.
- Add Shout! to both spaces. Add it through Apps & integrations in the team’s space and in the space where you’ll write your message. Its welcome message confirms the name to use.
- Send a test. With an admin install, write
!design-team can someone review the launch page?. With an individual install, start the message with@Shout!. - Check the delivery. Design Team receives an
@allnotification, your quoted message, and a link back to the original conversation.
Use /shout spaces in Chat to find the spaces you can reach. If two spaces have the same name, Shout! asks you to disambiguate instead of choosing for you. Paid plans support custom aliases.
Send an urgent shout with !!
For a message that needs immediate attention, use !!name. On paid plans, the extra exclamation mark sends an urgent notification that bypasses Google Chat’s Do Not Disturb setting.
Urgent message to Platform Team
!!platform-team checkout is down. Can someone investigate now?
A standard !name shout follows Chat’s normal notification settings. On Free, !!name is delivered as a standard shout. With an individual install, start either form with @Shout!. Read the urgent shout guide.
Google Groups and Chat spaces do different jobs
A Google Group is a membership group with an email address. A Chat space is a conversation. Google supports adding a Google Group to a space, which can help manage who belongs there; it’s separate from sending a team notification. See Google’s guide to adding a Google Group to a space.
Shout! uses the Chat space’s name and sends an @all message inside it. It doesn’t accept a Google Group email address as a shout target or keep its own list of group members. Keep the team space’s membership aligned with the people who should hear from you.
Know what a shout shares
A shout copies the message you wrote to the destination space. Everyone there can see the quote, even if they can’t open the original conversation. Share only what belongs with that team.
The link back doesn’t change permissions. A recipient needs access to the source conversation to open it. Shouts stay inside your organization, and direct messages can neither send nor receive them.
Urgent shouts bypass Google Chat’s Do Not Disturb setting. They don’t grant access to conversations or change who belongs to the destination space.
Try it with two of your spaces.
The Free plan includes 10 spaces per organization. Connect your project spaces and the teams they work with, then send your first shout.
Add Shout! to Google Chat ↗No credit card. See all plans · Moving from another platform?
For native mention behavior, see Google Chat’s mention documentation. For Shout! commands and troubleshooting, see the setup guide.