Explore collaborative features in the Zoom Team Chat app

As employees connect from different locations and devices, selecting the right team chat app is essential to achieve effective, productive, and meaningful teamwork. Let’s look at how Zoom Team Chat supports distributed teams.

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Explore collaborative features in the Zoom Team Chat app
What is a team chat app?

What is a team chat app?

A team chat app is a comprehensive solution that enables individuals to communicate through an online software application by sending text-based messages. Through these apps, individuals and groups can exchange ideas, collaborate on projects, or simply connect and get to know each other. While traditional in-office environments facilitate in-person communication, today’s flexible workforce relies heavily on digital communication tools such as team chat software to work together effectively.

A unified communications platform, like Zoom, combines team chat, phone, and video meetings, giving teams the freedom to choose their preferred communication method and easily transition between channels — whether starting with an instant message, switching to a voice call, or launching a video conference. This versatile approach supports efficiency while giving your workforce the tools they need to communicate effectively.

What makes a good team chat app?

All team chat apps are not created equal. It’s one thing for an application to enable real-time team communication; it’s another for it to improve communication across teams and throughout the entire organization. The latter occurs when the software offers multiple communication channels and supports integration with frequently used work apps.

Look for team chat apps that include the following features:

  • Real-time instant messaging capabilities

  • Easily accessible voice and video options

  • Mobile app for on-the-go communication

  • The ability to organize conversations

  • Scheduling and calendar integration

  • Customizable channel creation for group chats

  • Multimedia communication (GIFs, images, emojis) 

  • File sharing and search functionality

  • Native document sharing capabilities

  • Third-party app integrations

What makes a good team chat app?
What are the best team chat apps?

How to evaluate team chat apps

The best team chat app is the one that supports your organization’s unique digital communication needs based on its size, industry, geographic locations, and work environment (in-office, all-remote, or hybrid).

As you evaluate team chat app solutions, consider the following questions:

  • What is your organization’s geographic distribution, and how well does the team chat app support collaboration across different time zones, languages, and locations?
    • Does it offer features like presence indicators, status messages, and async communication capabilities? Does it effectively handle file sharing and storage across regions?
  • How do the app's security and administrative controls align with your industry requirements?
    • Does it offer necessary compliance features, data encryption, and user permission settings? Can you control external access and sharing policies?
  • What integration capabilities does the platform offer for your existing tools?
    • Does it connect with your current workplace applications? Can it streamline workflows across different departments?
  • How well does the app support your team’s size and scaling needs?
    • Does it handle large group conversations effectively? Are there limitations on the number of contacts, channels, or message history?
  • Does the app's interface and features match your work environment?
    • Is it optimized for mobile use? Does it support both formal and casual communication styles?

Zoom’s team chat app

Zoom Team Chat, Zoom’s feature-rich chat app, is a core component of Zoom's AI-first work platform. With features that go beyond basic instant messaging apps, Team Chat helps organizations of all sizes stay in touch and work together on tasks and projects in real time. 

With Team Chat tightly woven into Zoom Workplace, teams have easy access to instant messaging along with collaboration tools like video meetings, phone, email, calendar, documents, whiteboards, and more. Work is more efficient without switching between multiple applications, supporting better focus and productivity.

Team Chat comes included with all Zoom licenses at no extra charge, requiring no separate contracts or fees. Get full chat functionality with any paid Zoom plan, plus Zoom AI Companion included at no additional cost.

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Zoom’s team chat app
Intelligent design and familiar interface

Zoom Team Chat’s intelligent design and familiar interface

Zoom gives you access to the team chat app functionality you’re used to with other apps, with the added benefit of Zoom’s familiar, easy-to-navigate interface. Within the team chat app, you can:

  • Invite internal and external participants to chat

  • Schedule a new meeting or cancel an existing one

  • Identify the right stakeholder through an enhanced profile contact card with job title, department, extension, and more

  • Instantly transition from team chat to a video meeting to a phone call

  • Search and review recorded meetings, calls, and whiteboarding sessions

  • Dial and call any phone number instantly

  • Easily search and find messages, files, and shared content

  • Manage and customize group channels as an admin

  • Access third-party app integrations

  • Online presence indicators automatically show when you’re busy, in a meeting, on mobile, desktop, or offline

Zoom’s enhanced team chat app capabilities

  • Shared spaces

    Shared spaces

    Create project collaboration spaces with multiple channels that selected members can access. When new team members are onboarded, they automatically gain access to all associated channels.

  • AI-first capabilities

    AI-first capabilities

    Built into the Zoom platform, Zoom AI Companion* provides suggested prompts to help you draft quick messages, summarizes long chat threads, and identifies recent action items from a chat channel.

  • Channel meetings

    Channel meetings

    Schedule a meeting with all members of a chat channel without manually adding members or using your calendar app. Access channel members’ calendar availability to find a time that works for everyone.

  • Continuous in-meeting chat channel

    Continuous in-meeting chat channel

    Continuous meeting chats serve as group chats for meeting participants and are especially ideal for recurring meetings. AI Companion meeting summaries are automatically shared in the continuous meeting channel.

  • Workflow automation

    Workflow automation

    Improve productivity by automating everyday work using Zoom Workflow Automation. Use workflows with AI Companion and connect third-party apps. The no-code experience makes it easy for anyone to create and implement workflows.

  • Sidebar navigation

    Sidebar navigation

    Create an organized work chat space with a sidebar navigation that offers more advanced filtering and sorting capabilities, tabs that are easy to customize with drag, drop, and pin functionality, and more control with tab-level badging and notifications.

Secure communication and data storage

Security and privacy are core to Zoom’s team chat software, which is designed to safeguard your team’s data:

In addition to enabling HIPAA and PIPEDA/PHIPA compliance, Zoom maintains a comprehensive set of compliance certifications and attestations, including

  • green-check-mark

    SOC 2 Type 2

  • green-check-mark

    CSA STAR Level 2 

  • green-check-mark

    ISO 27001

Secure communication and data storage

Get started with Zoom Team Chat

Team Chat is included with every Zoom license — no additional costs or contracts required, including the free Zoom Workplace Basic plan.

*Zoom AI Companion is available with eligible paid Zoom Workplace plans. May not be available for all regions or industry verticals.

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A chat app designed for agile teams