Slack will generate thread summaries and AI notes from your huddles now

Slack is harnessing AI to make workplace collaboration and communication even smoother.

On Thursday, the workplace productivity software company announced four new AI-powered features built directly into its platform. The bundle is meant to function as a smart digital assistant operating in the background of a team’s normal operations, automating routine and time-consuming tasks. 

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Accessible now for subscribers to its Pro, Business+, and Enterprise+ plans, the new features streamline access and search within Slack: 

• Enterprise search allows employees to retrieve information from their company’s database by posing questions in natural language, similar to querying an AI chatbot that searches the web. Slack’s AI model searches across relevant files like team conversations, company files, PDFs, and images to formulate its response.

• Channel recaps and thread summaries provide quick AI-generated outlines of Slack conversations for team members who join mid-thread, saving them time reading. 

• AI-generated meeting notes following team huddles help outline critical information, including immediate action items, deadlines, and so on.  

• AI-powered translations in real time let team members collaborating across international borders communicate in Slack threads using their native languages. 

Other features coming soon 

The company added that a handful of other AI features are still to come. Users will soon be able to hover their cursor over unfamiliar jargon to receive AI-generated explanations based on a company’s unique vernacular and conversation history. Customized AI-generated action items will be shared in a user’s activity feed whenever they’re mentioned in a message that specifies a specific task and deadline for them. 

Additionally, Slack’s AI will provide writing tips in canvas, a feature within the platform designed to help teams view and work together on shared assets. An AI profile summaries tool will allow users to quickly learn about new team members, highlighting some details around their role and recent contributions.

According to the company, a new unified files view will be the first effort to reimagine the Slack interface. In it, you’ll be able to see all assets shared among your teammates, including canvases and documents, so you’ll no longer have to painstakingly dig through old and extensive chats to find files.

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Like most enterprise AI efforts, the new features are meant to provide assistant-level support by taking care of simpler busywork and operational tasks. Microsoft and Google deployed a similar marketing strategy when they integrated their proprietary AI models into their workplace productivity platforms (Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workplace, respectively). Meanwhile, OpenAI is reportedly working on a similar AI–powered software for businesses.

Several other companies, like Zoom and Box, have also recently introduced AI-powered solutions to help teams collaborate and share information more seamlessly.

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AI-powered features, in one form or another, are now available in every paid Slack subscription, but capabilities vary by plan. Pro is the most basic, followed by Business+, and then finally by Enterprise+, which offers the most powerful and expansive suite of AI features.