Team chat
Set up Google Chat
Bring Google Chat spaces in as chat-log documents — every named space a chosen workspace account is in becomes monthly documents, threads grouped under their opening message. Direct messages are never read. Runs on your company's OWN service account — the same kind the Google Drive source uses, and one account can serve both. No sign-in screens, nothing granted to anyone else's app. Read-only.
The service account
In the Google Cloud console (a project with the Google Chat API enabled) open IAM & Admin → Service accounts → Create service account, then Keys → Add key → JSON — a small file downloads; its entire contents get pasted into the source. If Google Drive is already connected with a service account, reuse that one and just enable the Chat API in its project.
Domain-wide delegation
Your Workspace admin authorises the service account's client ID once, under Admin console → Security → Access and data control → API controls → Domain-wide delegation → Add new, with exactly these three scopes: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.spaces.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.messages.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.memberships.readonly.
- Create (or reuse) the service account and set up the delegation as above.
- Documents → Google Chat, paste the JSON key and enter the workspace user to read Chat as — their named spaces are what syncs; a dedicated account sitting in the team's shared spaces is the clean choice.
- Choose access groups, Test, then Sync.
Only named spaces are read — a space is shared by design, a DM is not, and DMs are never read whatever the delegation allows.
Last updated 29 Aug 2026