Every platform is trying to build the same thing now: a small room, a closed door, and the feeling that someone saved you a seat. The group chat got there first.
Why the feed lost
Feeds optimize for the audience you might reach. Group chats optimize for the people who already showed up. Only one of those is a relationship.
The economics of small rooms
There's no ad unit for a nine-person chat, which is precisely why it works — nothing in the room is trying to grow.
The internet's center of gravity is wherever the algorithm can't follow.
What platforms will do about it
They'll bolt on chat, call it community, and measure it to death. The chats will move again. They always do.