How to use AI in Slack: what to ask it day to day
Use AI in Slack to catch up on channels, find answers, summarise files and translate, or hand jobs to an AI coworker. What to ask each day.
Here is how to use AI in Slack, starting with what is built in. Slack’s AI features summarise channels, answer questions from your messages and write daily recaps, depending on your plan. An AI coworker you add can do jobs in your other tools. Day to day, ask for catch-ups, answers, file summaries and lookups.
What AI is built into Slack?
Slack has built-in AI for summaries, search answers, recaps, file summaries, translations and Slackbot. Slack’s Guide to AI features says what you get depends on your Slack subscription, your role as a member or guest, and your admins’ settings.
Slack’s help centre describes Slackbot as “your personal AI agent”. It says Slackbot may be available to preview in a limited capacity for workspaces on the free and Pro subscriptions.
The table below shows who gets what, as listed in Slack’s help centre on 28 October 2026. For prices, check Slack’s own plan page.
| Feature | Pro | Business+ | Enterprise+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversation summaries, huddle notes, automatic search filters | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Search answers, recaps, file summaries, translations | No | Yes | Yes |
| Workflow automation, canvas content generation, Slackbot | No | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise search | No | No | Yes |
Slack’s note says the legacy Business+ or Enterprise Grid subscription without the Slack AI add-on gets only the Pro features. Plans change, so read Slack’s current page before you plan around one feature.
What should you ask AI in Slack each day?
Ask it for jobs where you already know what a good answer looks like. Catching up, finding a decision, summarising a file and translating are good starting points. Each one has a quick check before you rely on the result.
| What you want | Example ask | What to look at |
|---|---|---|
| Catch up on a channel | “Summarise the last seven days” | The sources under More details |
| Find a decision | “What did we decide about the Northwind rollout?” | The cited message |
| Get the gist of a long file | Open the file summary | The file itself |
| Understand a message in another language | Translate the message | The original, via See original |
| Look up a record in a connected tool | “Find the contact for Northwind” | That the record is the right one |
| Run a repeat job | “Post a morning brief each weekday” | The first few results |
Some of these asks are Slack features. Others need an app or coworker that is connected to the tool in question. The last two rows belong to that second group.
How do you catch up on a channel or thread?
Open the channel and choose Summarise channel from the three dots menu. Slack can summarise your unread messages, the last seven days or a custom date range. The custom range works on desktop only.
- Open the channel you want to catch up on.
- Click the three dots icon at the top and select Summarise channel.
- Choose unread messages, the last seven days or a custom date range.
- Read the summary when it appears. Click the More details icon to see its sources.
For a thread, open it and click Summarise at the top of the thread. On mobile, tap Summarise in the top right instead.
Slack’s recaps do the same job on a timer. You pick the channels, and you get a new recap each morning covering the previous day. If you are away longer, the recap covers the days you missed.
How do you get an answer instead of search results?
Type your question into the search bar in your own words and press Enter. On plans with search answers, Slack puts an AI answer above the usual results, with citations to the messages or files behind it.
Hover over a citation to preview the source. Open the cited message before you rely on the answer.
If an answer is worth sharing, click Share. Review the answer, then click Share anyway.
Two smaller features help too. Slack summarises shared .pdf, .docx, .pptx and .xlsx files. It also translates a single message into your chosen language, and only you see the translation.
How do you hand a job to an AI coworker in a thread?
Mention the coworker in the thread where the work already is, and say which tool and what result you want. An AI coworker is an app that takes a job, uses the tools it is connected to and posts the result back to you.
- Mention it in the thread where the work is.
- Name the tool and the result you want, in plain English.
- Make the first job a read, such as a lookup or a list.
- Check the result against something you already know.
- Give it a schedule for a repeat job, such as a morning brief, only once the first result is right.
Here is what that looks like.
Example. The names are made up and the thread contains no real results.
> Priya (operations): @Toby look up the Northwind contact in HubSpot. > > Toby: I found the Northwind contact in HubSpot. It is Sam Lee, the main contact for the account. > > Priya: Add a note that we spoke today. > > Toby: Please confirm. Approve or Reject.
The lookup is a read, so Priya checks it against what she knows. The note changes a record, so she approves it herself.
Keep decisions about money or staff, and anything sent in your name, with a person.
Where does Toby fit?
Toby is our AI coworker for Slack and Microsoft Teams. It works the same way in both. It connects to the tools a team already pays for and takes jobs off people’s plates instead of handing back advice.
You message Toby in plain English or mention it in a thread. It breaks the request into steps, uses the tools you connected and posts the finished result in the thread. You choose which channels it can see during setup.
Two connections show what that looks like.
- HubSpot. Toby reads contacts and companies, and creates a note after an Approve step. It says so when a record is not found.
- Xero. Toby reads invoices and bank transactions.
Before an external action, Toby shows an Approve or Reject step. The last call stays with a person.
Toby is not the best fit for everything. Lindy’s site describes a meeting notetaker and a private assistant for each person. If that is what you want, Lindy may suit you better, as our comparison with Lindy explains (as of 29 September 2026). For how an AI coworker differs from a chatbot, read what an AI employee is. If you are choosing a tool, our guide to choosing an AI assistant for Slack covers that.
To see a whole job from start to finish, book a demo. Plans are on the pricing page.
Slack is a trademark of Slack Technologies, LLC. HubSpot is a trademark of HubSpot, Inc. Xero is a trademark of Xero Limited.
Questions
Can you use AI in Slack for free?
Mostly not. Slack’s feature table starts at the Pro plan, and Slackbot may be available to preview in a limited capacity on the free and Pro plans. Check Slack’s plan page for current details.
How do I turn on AI in Slack?
Your AI features come with your Slack plan. Owners and admins can restrict them or turn some off, as Slack’s article “Manage access to AI features in Slack” explains. If a feature is missing, check your plan and ask your admin.
Is Slackbot an AI agent now?
Yes. Slack’s help centre describes Slackbot as “your personal AI agent”. Slack lists it for Business+ and Enterprise+, with a limited preview possible on the free and Pro plans.
How do I add an AI agent to Slack?
Add the app to your workspace, invite it to a channel, then mention it in a thread. Start with a small read job and check the first result before you ask for more.
What should I not ask AI in Slack to do?
Do not hand it decisions about money or staff. Do not let it send anything in your name without a person checking first. Ask it to prepare the work and keep the final call with a person.
