Slack
Slack
Add Asks to a Slack workspace so your AI agent answers questions in DMs, mentions, and channels.
The Slack channel installs an Asks bot into a Slack workspace. People DM the bot or @mention it in a channel; your AI agent answers in place, and every exchange shows up as a conversation in the inbox.
Availability — this channel is rolling out and may not be enabled for your workspace yet. It will appear under Channels in your dashboard as soon as it's available.
Prerequisites
- A Slack workspace where you're allowed to install apps. If your Slack workspace requires admin approval for new apps, get that first.
Connect Slack
Go to app.asks.app/channels/slack and click Add to Slack. You're sent to Slack's authorization screen.
Pick the Slack workspace, review the requested permissions, and allow. Slack returns you to Asks with the channel connected.
The bot answers DMs immediately. To use it in a channel, invite it there (/invite @yourbot) and @mention it in messages.
Verify it works — in Slack, open a DM with the bot and ask it a question your knowledge base covers. The reply should arrive in Slack and the conversation should appear in your Asks inbox.
How messaging works
By default the bot is conservative: it replies to direct messages and @mentions only. You can widen this per connection on the channel's settings page:
- Slack integration active — the master switch. When off, Slack messages are not received or replied to; the workspace stays connected, and turning the switch back on resumes from the next message.
- Reply to everyone in thread — the bot keeps answering follow-ups in a thread it's already part of, without needing a fresh @mention.
- Reply to all messages in channel — the bot answers every message in channels it's been invited to. Use with care; this can get noisy.
In channels, replies post in the message's thread. In DMs, replies post directly in the conversation. There are no messaging-window restrictions on Slack.
Files and screenshots shared with the bot are captured into the conversation. Asks also pulls the sender's Slack name, email, and avatar, so conversations in the inbox show who's asking. You can install Asks into more than one Slack workspace; each becomes its own channel.
The bot ignores messages from other bots and its own posts, so it can't get into reply loops. It also skips edits, deletions, join notices, and other system messages — only plain messages written by people are handled.
Troubleshooting
The bot doesn't reply in a channel
Check three things: the bot is invited to the channel, you @mentioned it (or Reply to all messages in channel is on), and Slack integration active is enabled on the channel's settings page.
The bot replies to too much
Turn off Reply to all messages in channel. With it off, the bot only responds when @mentioned (plus in threads, if Reply to everyone in thread is on).
Someone uninstalled the app from Slack
Asks detects the uninstall, marks the channel as needing attention, and emails your team an alert. Reconnect from app.asks.app/channels/slack with Add to Slack. Past conversations stay in your inbox.