| What Is... | Being Available to Chat | Starting a Chat | Receiving a Chat Message | Switching Between Email and Chat | Turning Chat Off |

Email is great. It’s much faster than snail mail, and you usually get a response sooner than later. But, have you ever been writing an email wishing that you could have instant communication with your contact without picking up the phone? You can with AT&T Mail’s chat feature. Chat lets you and your contact exchange messages in "real time", meaning "right now", and all while using AT&T Mail and without having to download an instant messenger application. (And it’s free!)
Picture this. You have an urgent question regarding flight times for this evening. The only way you can reach your friend is through email. While typing your message, you notice that your friend is online. Instead of sending the email, you convert your message into chat, ask your question, and receive an immediate response. No worries!
Your contact must have a Yahoo! ID or a Windows Live™ Messenger ID and must be signed in to either Yahoo! Mail, AT&T Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, or another compatible instant messaging program. 
So, let’s just repeat the highlights and get you chatting!
All you have to do to start chatting is make yourself available to chat through your online status.
Tip: If you already use Yahoo! Messenger, you might want to know more about the differences between Messenger and chat. The If You Use Yahoo! Messenger tutorial has all the details.