Get website inquiries in a Google Chat space
For a business on Google Workspace whose team talks in Google Chat: each inquiry from your site can appear in a space the moment it is sent, as a message the team can read and act on.
The inquiry still lands in your Webkio Inbox. The shared rules are on Send your website inquiries to your CRM; this page is the Google Chat part.
Before you start
Incoming webhooks in Google Chat have two requirements that are Google's, not ours:
- A Google Workspace Business or Enterprise account. A personal Gmail account cannot create a webhook, and neither can the Business Starter tier in some configurations. If the option below is missing, this is why.
- Your organization must allow webhooks. A Workspace admin can switch them off. If you can open the space's integrations but cannot click Add webhooks, ask your admin.
What you need
One value: the space's webhook URL.
- Open the space in Google Chat.
- Click the space's name at the top > Apps & integrations.
- Add webhooks. Name it (the name messages will post under) and optionally give it an avatar URL.
- Save, then copy the URL beside the new webhook.
The URL carries a key and a token; the token is what makes it yours, so the whole URL is stored encrypted and never shown again. A webhook works only in the space it was created in.
Setting it up
- Project settings > CRM, choose Google Chat under Notifications.
- Paste the URL. It starts with
https://chat.googleapis.com/v1/spaces/. - Tick which inquiries to send.
- Add destination, then Send test.
No field mapping: a message is not a record.
What the message says
One text message per inquiry:
- A bold first line: "Website inquiry from Ada Lovelace" (the email address when no name was given).
- Their message.
- Email, Phone and Company, one per line, then any extra fields the form collected.
- A last line naming the form, the site and the page they wrote from.
Google Chat stores the message and answers with its resource name, which is what the destination checks, so a green result means it posted.
What it will not do
Cards or buttons. The message is text, which is the part of Chat's webhook format every space renders the same way.
Mentions. Nobody is @-mentioned.
Threads. Each inquiry is a new message in the space. If the space is set to threaded replies, each starts its own thread.
Reply. Google Chat webhooks are one-way; replying in the space reaches nobody outside it. Reply from the Inbox or by email.
When something fails
Google answers failures with an error code; Google's own documentation says the message text beside it is not something to rely on, so the table is by code.
| What the destination shows | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A 403 answer | Webhooks are not allowed in your organization, or the webhook was removed from the space, or the account that made it lost access to the space. | Open the space's Apps & integrations and check the webhook is still listed; if Add webhooks is missing, ask your Workspace admin. |
| A 404 answer | The space no longer exists, or the URL's space id is wrong. | Make the webhook again in the right space and paste the new URL. |
| A 400 answer | The URL is incomplete: the key or token at its end is missing or cut. | Copy the whole URL again from the space. |
| A 429 answer | Chat allows one webhook message per second per space, shared by all webhooks there. | Retried by itself; a burst of inquiries arrives a few seconds apart. |
| Accepted, but nothing in the space | It posted. | Check the space the webhook was created in; a webhook cannot post anywhere else. |
Four consecutive failures pause the destination; Resume after the fix.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send to a direct message or a group chat?
Webhooks can be added to spaces. Google notes they work in direct messages only when everyone in the conversation has Chat apps enabled; a named space is the reliable choice.
Can two sites post to one space?
Yes, with one destination each, or one webhook shared by both. The last line of each message names the site.
My Workspace is Business Starter and I cannot add a webhook
Google gates webhooks by Workspace edition and admin settings. If the button is missing after an admin has allowed webhooks, the edition does not include them; the JSON webhook through a Google Apps Script is the workaround.
Is the URL a secret?
Yes. The token in it lets anyone post to the space. It is stored encrypted, never displayed, and the pattern check accepts only a chat.googleapis.com address.
What is the "Webkio Test" message?
From Send test. Delete it or leave it.
Related reading
- Send leads to your CRM - the switchboard every destination hangs off.
- All your customers in one place - the record that stays here whatever is sent on.
- Understanding notifications - the email and bell alerts that fire alongside a delivery.
- Integrations - every destination and connector on one page.
- The automated emails every business should send - the follow-up once a lead is in your CRM.