This article is a part of the Gmail Tips series.

Reply by chat lets you and your contacts discuss an email you've sent or received. If you've enabled the Save chat history option in your account, it also groups your chat history in the same conversation as the message you're chatting about. This way, you can keep all of your communications in context.

Here's how to reply by chat:

• Log in to your Gmail account.


• Open the message you'd like to chat about, and make sure the sender is online and available to chat.


• Click Reply by chat at the bottom of the message.
  A new chat window will open displaying the subject of the email you're discussing.


• Click the X in the top-right corner of the chat window when you're done discussing the e-mail.

Chat histories are only grouped with conversations when you use the Reply by chat feature. If you close a chat window after you discuss an email with someone, and then initiate a new chat, your chat history won't be grouped with a conversation.