Forum Discussion
Add Group Chat As A Channel
Marisa_Thompson I would add your support and explain how this would add value to this thread on the suggestion site, so the developers will consider this for development.
Create "Chat Channels" in Teams · Community (microsoft.com)
Until then I would mention that with the new Teams you can open a single conversation within a channel then have a more chat-like experience.
StevenC365 My organization uses individual 1-off chats as well as group chats that represent teams and are ongoing conversations, meetings, etc. It seems very disconnected. For example, we have the "Support Team" channel where all of our Support Help material (documents) live and other information vital to the team yet we run our daily support operations/communications out of the "Support Team" group chat. The conversation piece in the channel is impossible to stay on top of unless you @ everyone on everything you type, the switching between the Teams & chat tabs/windows, and the general disconnect. For example, someone posted a quick guide in the chat for an issue that was occurring. That info should be auto-included in the team's channel but it's not unless done manually.
I think that the communication piece should be removed from the channels entirely. Instead, each channel should auto-create a group chat that includes all the channel members. Any files, tabs, etc should be auto-added on the channel side when created in the group chat. Channels would remain the hub for team management, organization, and information while chat is for communication within specific channels or 1-off threads of communication outside of any specific team/channel.