Zoom chat lets you message other Zoom users one to one, in a group chat or in a channel, and edit, delete or react to messages after they're sent. With meeting chat before and after the meeting switched on, a meeting's chat, reactions, files and images also land in a group chat that carries on after the call ends.
Here's what trips people up. Private messages you send during a meeting never appear in that group chat, and the feature only works for scheduled meetings that don't use your personal meeting ID. Call someone for an instant meeting and there's no group chat waiting afterwards.
How meeting chat before and after works
When it's on, Zoom creates a dedicated group chat in Zoom Chat for everyone invited to the meeting. It works both ways: people who can't attend can follow the in-meeting chat, and someone running late can post in the group chat and it shows up in the meeting. The group chat is created when one of two things happens:
- An invitee clicks Chat with Everyone from the Meetings or Calendar tab and sends a message
- A participant sends the first message in the in-meeting chat
If nobody sends a message, no group chat is created. Recurring meetings get one group chat for the whole series. Every other meeting gets its own, even when the same people meet again. Scheduled 1:1 meetings get a group chat too, separate from your existing 1:1 chat.
Who can see the meeting chat, and when
| Person | Before the meeting | During | After it ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internal users on the invite | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| External invitees | No | From the moment they join | Only if the host adds them |
| Guests who joined from a shared link | No | From the moment they join | Only if they're added to the group |
After the meeting, the host can add internal participants who were there but weren't on the original invite. You can add people who weren't invited at all, but Zoom's advice is to add them to the meeting invite instead, so they get both the meeting and the chat. External people can only join if their account and chat settings allow external participants in group chats.
Switching it on for a meeting
- Enable meeting chat before and after the meeting in your Zoom web settings.
- When you schedule a meeting in the desktop app, mobile app, web scheduler or Zoom Calendar, leave Allow users to access meeting chats before and after the meeting ticked.
- To skip it for one meeting, untick that box and no group chat is created.
Meetings scheduled before the feature existed don't get it automatically. Edit the meeting, tick the option and save, and all current invitees can use the group chat. To find a meeting's chat later, look in the left sidebar for a group chat with the meeting's name and a calendar icon, or a recurring icon for a series. If you sort Chats and Channels into sections, they sit under Meeting Chats.
Replying in a thread
- In the Chat tab, open the 1:1 chat, group chat or channel.
- Hover over the message you want to reply to.
- Use the extra options that appear to the right of the message to reply.
- Type your reply in the compose box and press Enter.
Your reply sits under the parent message, and so does every reply after it, which keeps a topic in one tidy thread. Replies can carry screenshots, files, code snippets, emojis or animated GIFs as well as text. To find an emoji fast, type a colon and at least two characters: :jo brings up :joy:, :joy_cat: and :joystick:.
Editing, deleting and reacting
You can edit or delete your messages, files and images after sending. An edited message changes for everyone in the thread and in search results, with (Edited) next to the original time. Deleted messages don't notify anyone, and the content and files are no longer accessible in Zoom. Your admin may stop you editing or deleting, and if you're in several groups with conflicting settings, the most restrictive one wins unless a priority group is set.
To react, hover over a message, click the reaction icon and pick an emoji. Reactions show under the message for everyone, a number counts repeats, and hovering over one shows who used it. Admins can limit or switch off emojis entirely.
Formatting shortcuts in Zoom Chat
| Format | How |
|---|---|
| Bold, italic, strikethrough, lists | Highlight text and pick from the standard options |
| Strikethrough | Ctrl or Cmd + Shift + X |
| Bulleted list | Ctrl or Cmd + Shift + 8 |
| Colour, highlight, size, headings, indent, quote, link | Click Format below the compose box for rich text |
| Markdown | Type Markdown as you write |
One gotcha: with rich text formatting on, pressing Enter starts a new paragraph instead of sending, so click the send icon. If a message triggers a Chat Etiquette policy, you'll be warned or blocked depending on what your admin has set, and Zoom says that check doesn't send your message content to the admin, to Zoom or to any third party. Compose with AI can also suggest replies using context from the conversation.
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My verdict on Zoom chat
I'd switch on meeting chat before and after for every scheduled team meeting. The links and files people drop mid-call stop vanishing when the call ends, and anyone who missed it can catch up in one place. Keep sensitive side notes in private messages, because they never reach the group chat. If you're running workshops, the same rule applies to chat in breakout rooms: plan where the useful links should live before you start.
Chat that runs before and after a meeting is a small change that saves a lot of follow-up emails. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement and workflow automation, so the busywork runs itself and people get time back. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see Zoom meeting chat after the meeting ends?
Yes, if meeting chat before and after the meeting is switched on. In-meeting chats, reactions, files and images appear in a dedicated group chat in Zoom Chat that stays available after the meeting.
Do private Zoom meeting messages go to the group chat?
No. Messages sent privately in a meeting don't show up in the dedicated group chat.
Why wasn't a group chat created for my Zoom meeting?
Either nobody sent a message, or it wasn't a scheduled, non-PMI meeting. Instant meetings and meetings using your personal meeting ID don't get one.
Can I edit a message in Zoom Chat?
Yes. The edited version appears for everyone in the thread and in search, marked (Edited) next to the original time, unless your admin has restricted editing.
Why does Enter not send my Zoom Chat message?
You're using rich text formatting, where Enter starts a new paragraph. Click the send icon instead.
