---
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title: Chat in the Service Chat SDK for Android
collection: developer
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locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/developer/current/en-us/service-cloud/service-sdk-android/guides/android-chat-overview.md
canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/service/service-sdk-android/guide/android-chat-overview.html
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content_type: documentation
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  - Embedded Service Chat SDK for Android Developer Guide
  - Service Cloud Developer Content
---

# Chat in the Service Chat SDK for Android

Using Chat within the Service Chat SDK, you can provide real-time chat sessions from within your native app.

**important:** The legacy chat product is scheduled for retirement on February 14, 2026, and is in maintenance mode until then. During this phase, you can continue to use chat, but we no longer recommend that you implement new chat channels. To avoid service interruptions to your customers, migrate to [Messaging for In-App and Web](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.miaw_intro_landing.htm&type=5) before that date. Messaging offers many of the [chat features](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.miaw_chat_vs_messaging.htm&type=5) that you love plus asynchronous conversations that can be picked back up at any time. Learn about chat retirement in [Help](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=001790618&type=1).

Once you’ve [set up chat for Service Cloud](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/service/service-sdk-android/guide/shared/live-agent-cloud-setup.md), it takes [just a few calls to the SDK](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/service/service-sdk-android/guide/android-chat-basic-setup.md) to have your app ready to handle agent chat sessions.

When a chat session initiates, it is minimized by default so the user can keep using the app.

![Chat session minimized](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/media/service-sdk/android_lac_chat_minimized.png '{"class": "image-sm"}')

When the user taps the chat thumbnail, the app goes full screen.

![Chat session full screen](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/media/service-sdk/android_lac_chat_normal.png '{"class": "image-sm"}')

If you've implemented Einstein Bots, the user first [speaks with a chat bot](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/service/service-sdk-android/guide/android-chat-einstein-bots.md) before optionally getting transferred to an agent.

If the user isn't using the app during a chat session, they receive a new message notification when an agent sends a message.

When an agent sends links to your users, they see link previews right from within the chat session. The SDK tries to use Open Graph meta tags (`og:title`, `og:description`, `og:image`) to extract relevant information for the preview.

![Chat session hyperlinks](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/media/service-sdk/android_lac_chat_hyperlinks.png '{"class": "image-sm"}')

You can also [customize the look and feel](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/service/service-sdk-android/guide/android-customization.md) of the interface so that it fits naturally within your app.