How to use Slackbot

Navigate your workday with help from Slackbot – your personal AI-powered agent in Slack. Slackbot has the same context and access to information that you do, so answers are always relevant and personalised. Start a conversation to get answers to your questions, or choose from a variety of helpful prompts to get started even more quickly.  

Note: The new version of Slackbot is being rolled out gradually. For more details on release timing and subscription availability, visit A reintroduction to Slackbot. 

What to expect

• By default, all members of a workspace or Enterprise organisation with access to Slackbot can use it. If you can’t see Slackbot, you might need to upgrade your subscription or ask an owner or admin if they’ve restricted access to the feature. 
• You can ask Slackbot for help with anything – answering questions, finding files, generating content such as meeting agendas and project plans, scheduling meetings and more. 
  Slackbot can also interact with other services you’ve connected to Slack like your Google or Outlook Calendar, Salesforce and enterprise search data sources.

Ask Slackbot anything

Be clear and concise with your requests, but remember that you can always ask follow-up questions or provide different instructions if you need to. 

Choose a prompt 

1. From Slack on desktop, click   Slackbot at the top of the screen. 
2. From the   Chat tab, pick a prompt –   Discover,   Create,
      Find or   Brainstorm. Within each broader category, you’ll see a variety of options to choose from. 
3. Depending on the complexity of your request, it may take Slackbot a minute or two to respond. 

Write your own prompt

Here are some examples to get your creative juices flowing:

• Which direct messages or mentions do I need to follow up on today? 
• Create an agenda for my upcoming call with [@name] based on our previous conversations. 
• What context do I need to prepare for my meetings today?

When you’re ready, open Slackbot to start chatting. 

1. From Slack on desktop, click   Slackbot at the top of the screen. You can also open Slackbot with CmdShiftO (Mac) or CtrlShiftO (Windows/Linux). 
2. Send your message or question. 
3. As Slackbot works to generate a response, you can see the steps it’s taking (like performing searches, refining results, checking your calendar, etc).

Tip: Slackbot can schedule meetings for you as long as the attendees you specify have also connected their Google or Outlook Calendar to Slack.

View conversation history

You can always access previous conversations with Slackbot and reopen a thread to pick up a discussion where you left off. Here’s how: 

1. From your desktop, click Slackbot at the top of the screen. 
2. Click the   History tab. 
3. Select a conversation to reread it or send a follow-up message.

Manage Slackbot preferences

By default, your past conversations with Slackbot will be available for it to reference when generating responses. To change this, you can manage your preferences: 

1. From your desktop, click your profile picture in the sidebar.
   
2. Select Preferences.
3. Select   AI. 
4. Below Slackbot, untick the box next to Past conversations are always available.

Who can use this feature?

• All members 
• Available on the new versions of the Business+ and Enterprise+ subscriptions
• Available on the legacy Business+, Enterprise Select and Enterprise Grid subscriptions with the Slack AI add-on