Starting This Time Of Year, 'Slack AI' Will Summarize Your Work Chat

Following the introduction of the generative AI capabilities it was building for Slack earlier this year at World Tour NYC, Salesforce has disclosed as part of its Dreamforce announcements that it is now preparing to trial the new features this winter. Slack AI, as the capabilities are referred to collectively, is incorporated natively within the platform to facilitate access. One of its capabilities is the ability to automatically produce channel highlights, which may inform users of the most relevant parts of discussions, which they can then utilize for reports or just to read what they may have missed.

Slack AI can also produce thread summaries with a single click for users who only want to grasp the gist of certain talks rather than the entire channel. AI-generated summaries include not just highlights, but also lists of next steps users might take based on concerns, comments, and ideas given by others in the conversation. Furthermore, Slack AI may generate detailed responses when users search for information on the site. Currently, searching on Slack returns just messages, files, and channels that include the keyword, but Slack AI can combine all of that information in a package with a summary that makes it easier to digest.

Salesforce’s most recent updates came about a month after the company began rolling out a new look for its business-focused messaging tool. The revised interface is intended to improve user attention by reducing clutter that may be irritating to certain users. For example, Slack’s redesigned sidebar consolidates all of a user’s workspaces into a single tile and includes buttons for Home, DMs, and Activity, as well as Search and Create. The dedicated DM tab displays a user’s private conversations and allows users to examine the most recent message without entering the discussion. Users can also choose to just show unread messages if they wish to remove even more clutter.

More information on Slack AI and other new products are scheduled to be revealed at the company’s Dreamforce event, which will take place from September 12 to September 14 and will be streamed on Salesforce+.