Client work generates a lot of conversation, and too much of it ends up in places that have nothing to do with the work itself. We rebuilt chat in COLO so project conversations can live next to the projects they're about, with your team and your clients in the same place.
The new chat went live on October 29, 2026 for every COLO workspace, on every plan. It replaces the previous chat entirely.
TL;DR
COLO now has real-time chat built into the workspace. Every project gets its own conversation automatically, shared by your team and the client's contacts. Staff can also start direct one-to-one chats and staff-only groups of up to 50 people. You can attach images and PDFs, search your messages, mute conversations and use the chat interface in Arabic. Chat is on every plan; client chat runs in the client portal, so it is available on the plans that include the portal.
What's new
Real-time messages
Messages arrive live, without refreshing the page. If your connection drops, chat catches up on what you missed when it reconnects.
A conversation for every project
Each project has its own conversation, created automatically, including for projects that existed before this release. You don't pick members by hand: the project's staff and the contacts of the project's client are included. That means the discussion about a project sits with that project, not in a separate app. See project management for how projects are organized.
Direct chats with teammates
Use New chat to start a one-to-one conversation with anyone on your team who has chat access. There's one conversation per pair, so you won't end up with duplicate threads.
Staff groups
Create a group chat with between 2 and 50 people, including yourself. Groups are for staff only, which makes them a good place for internal discussion before something goes to a client. Team members with permission to create chats can add or remove people and rename the group; anyone can leave a group.
Unread counts and mute
A live badge on the chat icon shows when you have unread messages, and each conversation shows its own unread count. Opening a conversation clears it. If a conversation is noisy, mute it: it will no longer add to the header badge, though its own count still shows in the list.
Search
Search the text of messages in conversations you belong to. Searches need between 2 and 128 characters.
Delete a message
You can delete your own messages. Workspace administrators who are members of a conversation can delete anyone's message in it. Deleted messages show as a "deleted" placeholder for everyone, straight away.
Arabic interface
The chat interface is available in Arabic, alongside English.
Who can do what
| Your team (staff) | Your clients (portal contacts) | |
|---|---|---|
| Chat in project conversations | Yes, for their projects | Yes, for their own projects |
| Start a new chat | Yes, direct chats and groups (with chat permission) | No |
| Create or manage groups | Yes (with chat permission) | No |
| Join staff groups | Yes | No |
| Send an attachment | Yes | Yes |
| Delete messages | Their own; admins can delete others' | Their own only |
Clients take part only in the conversations for their projects. They can't start chats, see staff groups or message your team privately outside a project. That keeps internal discussion internal. Client chat happens through the client portal.
Attachments and limits
- One attachment per message.
- Supported types: JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF and PDF. Files are checked by their actual content, not just their name.
- Size: up to 10 MB per file.
- Messages: up to 4,000 characters.
- Upload limits: to prevent abuse, each person can upload up to 20 files per 10 minutes and 200 MB per day, and each workspace up to 2 GB per day.
- History: a conversation shows its 50 most recent messages.
Attachments are stored privately. Downloading one requires being signed in.
Plans
Chat is available on every COLO plan. Team direct chats, groups and project conversations work for your staff on all plans. Client chat needs the client portal, so your clients see project conversations on the plans that include the portal. You can compare plans on the pricing page.
Security improvements shipped alongside
We also shipped two security changes in the same release:
- Client portal login protection. After 10 failed login attempts within 15 minutes, the portal locks sign-in for that email for 15 minutes.
- Files are no longer public links. Opening a file stored in COLO now requires a signed-in session, for staff and for clients. If someone opens a file link while logged out, they'll need to sign in and then open the link again.
These apply across the workspace, not only to chat.
What's not in this release
To be clear about what chat does today, these are not included:
- pinning, editing or reacting to messages
- threaded replies or @mentions
- typing or online indicators
- email or push notifications for new messages, and replying by email
- chats attached to a proposal, contract, invoice or file
- video or office documents (such as Word or Excel files) as attachments
- timestamps converted to each viewer's local time
- loading messages older than the 50 most recent
Getting started
There's nothing to set up. Open any project and its conversation is already there. To talk to a teammate, use New chat. If you're on a plan with the client portal, your clients will find the project conversation in the portal. You can find more on the chat and messages feature page.
FAQ
Is the new chat available on my plan?
Yes. Chat is on every COLO plan. Client chat runs in the client portal, which is included on some plans. See the pricing page.
Can clients message my team directly?
Clients can post only in the conversations for their own projects. They can't start new chats or join staff groups.
What files can I send in chat?
One file per message: JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF or PDF, up to 10 MB.
Will I get an email when someone messages me?
No. Chat doesn't send email or push notifications. Unread messages show as a badge and per-conversation counts inside COLO.
Final thoughts
Project conversations belong with the project. The new COLO chat puts your team and your clients in one place, next to the work they're discussing. It's live now in every workspace.