pbc-os/google-chat

Google Chat

Team messaging for small businesses using Google Workspace.

Uses the gws CLI for all Chat operations. See the google-workspace skill for setup. For platform-agnostic team messaging best practices, see SMB Team Messaging — it applies to both Google Chat and Slack.

Triggers

• "send a chat message"
• "post to [space/channel]"
• "message the team"
• "set up chat spaces"
• "post an update"
• Any request involving Google Chat spaces or messages

Prerequisites

• gws CLI installed and authenticated with Chat scope
• Run gws auth login -s chat if not already done
• Google Workspace account (Chat is not available on free Gmail)

Core Commands

# Send a message to a space
gws chat +send

# List spaces you're in
gws chat spaces list

# Get space details
gws chat spaces get --params '{"name": "spaces/SPACE_ID"}'

# List messages in a space
gws chat spaces messages list --params '{"parent": "spaces/SPACE_ID"}'

# Create a message
gws chat spaces messages create \
  --params '{"parent": "spaces/SPACE_ID"}' \
  --json '{"text": "Your message here"}'

# Reply in a thread
gws chat spaces messages create \
  --params '{"parent": "spaces/SPACE_ID"}' \
  --json '{"text": "Thread reply", "thread": {"name": "spaces/SPACE_ID/threads/THREAD_ID"}}'

SMB Space Structure

Recommended spaces for small businesses

| Space | Purpose | Who's In | Agent Posts | |-------|---------|----------|------------| | Daily Briefing | Morning digest + EOD summary | Everyone | Automated daily | | General | Company-wide announcements | Everyone | Major alerts only | | Orders | Order updates, fulfillment | Ops team | Order alerts | | Sales | Revenue, transactions, wins | Leadership | Daily numbers | | Inventory | Stock levels, vendor orders | Purchasing + ops | Low stock alerts | | Ops Log | Shift notes, equipment, facilities | Ops team | Shift reminders |

For very small teams (< 5 people)

Start with just 2-3 spaces:

| Space | Purpose | |-------|---------| | General | Everything | | Daily Briefing | Automated agent posts | | Alerts | Urgent items only |

Create spaces

# Create a new space
gws chat spaces create --json '{
  "displayName": "Daily Briefing",
  "spaceType": "SPACE",
  "externalUserAllowed": false
}'

SMB Messaging Patterns

Morning standup post

gws chat spaces messages create \
  --params '{"parent": "spaces/SPACE_ID"}' \
  --json '{"text": "*Daily Standup — Wednesday, Jan 15*\n\n*Yesterday:*\n• Revenue: $2,450 (forecast: $2,200, +11%)\n• 87 transactions, avg ticket $28.16\n• Vendor delivery received from Fresh Farms\n\n*Today:*\n• 3 deliveries scheduled\n• 2 customer pickups\n• Mike out — Sarah covering\n\n*Blockers:*\n• Cooler #2 running warm (38°F, target 34°F)"}'

Shift handoff

gws chat spaces messages create \
  --params '{"parent": "spaces/SPACE_ID"}' \
  --json '{"text": "*Shift Handoff — 3:00 PM*\n\n*Completed:*\n• Morning delivery received and checked in\n• Inventory count done for deli case\n• Customer order #4521 prepped for pickup\n\n*Needs attention:*\n• Paper towel supply low — reorder needed\n• Register 2 jamming on receipts\n\n*Heads up:*\n• Evening delivery from Sysco expected at 5pm\n• VIP customer (Johnson) pickup at 6pm"}'

Automated sales report

gws chat spaces messages create \
  --params '{"parent": "spaces/SPACE_ID"}' \
  --json '{"text": "📊 *Daily Sales — Wednesday, Jan 15*\n\n*Revenue:* $2,450 (+11% vs forecast)\n*Transactions:* 87 (avg ticket: $28.16)\n*Top seller:* NY Strip (23 units)\n\nStrong day. No action needed."}'

Alert — needs attention

gws chat spaces messages create \
  --params '{"parent": "spaces/SPACE_ID"}' \
  --json '{"text": "🚨 *Low Stock: Ground Beef*\n\nCurrent: 8 lbs (reorder point: 15 lbs)\nEstimated depletion: Tomorrow by 2pm\nSuggested: Order from Fresh Farms today for Thursday delivery."}'

Weekly recap

gws chat spaces messages create \
  --params '{"parent": "spaces/SPACE_ID"}' \
  --json '{"text": "*Weekly Recap — Week of Jan 13*\n\n*Revenue:* $12,450 (target: $11,500, +8.3%)\n*Best day:* Tuesday ($2,890)\n*Transactions:* 423 total, avg ticket $29.43\n\n*Highlights:*\n• New catering client signed\n• Google Ads ROAS improved to 3.2x\n\n*Issues:*\n• Cooler #2 still warm — repair Monday\n• 2 customer complaints (both resolved)\n\n*Next week:*\n• Vendor negotiation (Tuesday)\n• Monthly inventory count (Thursday)"}'

Announce a file from Drive

# Built-in workflow
gws workflow +file-announce

Rich Cards (Structured Messages)

For formatted messages with sections and buttons:

gws chat spaces messages create \
  --params '{"parent": "spaces/SPACE_ID"}' \
  --json '{
    "cardsV2": [{
      "cardId": "daily-sales",
      "card": {
        "header": {
          "title": "Daily Sales Report",
          "subtitle": "Wednesday, January 15"
        },
        "sections": [{
          "widgets": [{
            "columns": {
              "columnItems": [
                {"widgets": [{"decoratedText": {"topLabel": "Revenue", "text": "$2,450"}}]},
                {"widgets": [{"decoratedText": {"topLabel": "vs Forecast", "text": "+11%"}}]}
              ]
            }
          }]
        }]
      }
    }]
  }'

Communication Cadence

Daily rhythm

| Time | What | Where | |------|------|-------| | 7:30 AM | Morning briefing | Daily Briefing space | | 9:00 AM | Team reads + responds in thread | Daily Briefing (thread) | | Throughout day | Issues and updates | Relevant spaces | | 6:00 PM | EOD summary / shift handoff | Daily Briefing or Ops Log |

Weekly

| Day | What | Where | |-----|------|-------| | Monday AM | Week preview + priorities | Daily Briefing | | Friday PM | Week recap + wins | Sales or Daily Briefing |

Notification Rules

| Urgency | How to Post | When | |---------|-------------|------| | Urgent | @all mention + message | System down, safety issue | | Important | Direct message, no @all | Revenue miss, complaint | | Informational | Space message | Daily briefing, updates | | FYI | Thread reply | Meeting notes, minor updates |

Rule: If you @all more than once a week, you're doing it too much.

Integration with Other Skills

• morning-briefing — Post the daily briefing to a Chat space
• gmail — Forward important emails as Chat messages
• google-drive — Share files in Chat spaces via gws workflow +file-announce
• google-sheets — Pull KPI data for automated reports
• autoresearch — Post overnight experiment results
• google-ads — Post ad performance summaries
• slack — Alternative for Slack-based teams (same patterns, different platform)

Slack vs Google Chat?

| If your team... | Use | |----------------|-----| | Already uses Google Workspace for email/calendar/docs | Google Chat — it's integrated | | Uses Slack for other projects or prefers it | Slack — see the slack skill | | Is split or undecided | Pick one and commit — don't split communication across both |

Both platforms work. The patterns in SMB Team Messaging apply to either. The worst choice is using both — consolidate.

Tips

• Use gws chat spaces list to find space IDs
• Use --dry-run before sending to preview the request
• Use threads for discussions — keep the main space as a clean feed
• Set space descriptions so everyone knows what each space is for
• Consolidate bot posts into 1-2 spaces, not every space
• Archive spaces nobody uses

Related Skills

• google-workspace — Required setup (install and auth)
• slack — Alternative for Slack-based teams
• morning-briefing — Daily digest that can post to Chat

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Keep your team in sync. One update, one place, one time.