Google Play Support now has a “Chat with us” option that lets you ask questions about hardware before making a purchase. Previously if you required any support from Google Play, you could either call support or email them. While both of these options work well, some of us would rather chat online to take care of business, which is now possible.

When you engage in an online chat with a Google Support representative, you will find yourself in an popup chat session, which is extremely similar to the Hangouts layout.

You do have to sign into your Google account to engage in a chat with a Support representative so consequently, when you close the chat you will find your entire conversation listed as a chat in your Gmail inbox. If you would like to a have a private conversation with the support representative for whatever reason, you do have the option to go “off the record” so anything you say will not be recorded in the chat history.

The new chat support is only available for pre-sales of devices, this means that you can not get any support for apps, books or movie returns from chat support it is for hardware only.

If you wish to access the “Chat with us” option, simply head into the Google Play Support section, then navigate to the Nexus help centre and select the device you’re enquiring about, then click the “Contact us” button, then the “Buying devices” button, you will now need to click the “I have questions” button and finally select the device you are enquiring about. You should then see the button to start a live chat.

If you’re planning to buy a new piece of hardware from Google and have any questions, consider giving this new chat service a try. The representatives are super friendly and really helpful.

• SourceGoogle Support