Slack Launches New AI Features: What You Need to Know

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes an increasingly important part of every business, Slack has joined the race. The enterprise communication platform has just introduced a series of new AI features that integrate directly into users' daily workflows. These features promise to help teams work more efficiently, save time, and reduce context-switching.

Here are the highlights you need to know about Slack's new AI features:

1. Conversation and Channel Summaries

This is one of the most anticipated features. Using AI, Slack can summarize long conversations in a thread or entire channel, helping you quickly grasp the main points without having to scroll through hundreds of messages. This is especially useful when you return to work after a vacation, join a new project, or simply want to catch up on what’s going on in a busy channel.

Slack Summary - Source: Slack

• Contextual summarization : AI will provide concise summaries, highlighting key topics, different perspectives, and actions to take.

• Huddle Call Summary : For Huddle voice and video calls, AI will generate a full transcript and summarize the key points, including action items, making it easy to keep track of work without having to take manual notes.

2. AI-powered Search

The old search function required you to use exact keywords. Now, with AI, you can ask questions in natural language, such as “Who is in charge of the Q3 marketing campaign?” or “What are the goals of the Phoenix project?”. AI will provide clear, concise answers, complete with quotes that link directly to relevant messages, files, or documents.

Slack Search - Source: Slack

• Linked search : Slack's search capabilities now extend to integrated third-party apps, like Google Drive and Salesforce, giving you access to information in a consolidated and efficient way.

3. AI Writing Assistance

Slack Writing Assistance - Source: Slack

Slack is also integrating an AI writing assistant into Canvas that can help you create action items, refine content, and even create first drafts based on natural language suggestions. This helps you write faster and ensures that documents like meeting notes or project descriptions are clear and concise.

4. Message Translations

Slack Translation - Source: Slack

This feature allows users to translate messages into their preferred language with just one click. It is a powerful tool that helps multinational teams communicate and collaborate more effectively, breaking down language barriers in a global workplace.

5. Customization and Extensibility

AI Agent - Source: Slack

Slack is also introducing AI Agents , which are automated, proactive applications designed to perform specialized tasks. These agents can be programmed to handle customer service issues, manage sales calls, or optimize marketing campaigns.

About price and availability

AI features in Slack are now built into all paid plans. While basic features like conversation summaries and channels are available on the Pro plan, more advanced features like AI search and translation will be available on the Business+ and Enterprise+ plans. This marks a significant shift, with AI moving away from being a standalone add-on and becoming a core part of the Slack experience.

In short, Slack's new AI features are more than just a set of convenient tools, they're also a major step forward in transforming workplace communication from reactive to proactive, helping teams work smarter and focus on what really matters.