Guide
How to get more out of Slack with AI
Slack is where work happens, and also where requests and decisions get lost. AI helps, but only once you’ve brought a bit of order. Here are the habits and the tools, including the AI Slack already offers.
The problem: everything happens in Slack and nothing sticks
You come out of a meeting to eighty unread messages across twelve channels. Somewhere in there is a question for you, a decision that affects you and a “could you take a look?” nobody will remember by Thursday. Reading it all eats your morning; not reading it means something may slip.
And what you do read doesn’t stick either: decisions get made in threads and never written up anywhere. Three months later, “why did we do it this way?” has no answer unless someone remembers the exact thread.
How it works with Tessa
- 1
Install Tessa in Slack
An admin connects her in one click from Tessera. Then each person links their account.
- 2
Requests go to your inbox
Messages asking you for something land in For you with a priority. Reply in the thread or react and they close themselves.
- 3
Ask her in the channel
“@Tessa summarise this thread”, “create a task for Ana”, “what did we agree with Kirai?”, by mention or DM.
- 4
Decisions go to the wiki
Decisions and processes from channels go into the company wiki, linked to the original thread.
What you get
- No buried requestsSomething asked of you deep in a long thread ends up on your list with a date.
- Answers with sourcesTessa searches Slack, email, minutes and documents, and cites where each fact comes from.
- Faster repliesFor messages that need an answer, she drafts one in your tone that you send as yourself.
- DMs stay outDirect messages between colleagues never go into company memory.
Habits first (they help with or without AI)
No AI fixes a messy Slack. These habits make everything work better, AI tools included:
- Always reply in threads. A channel with interleaved conversations can’t be summarised.
- One request per message, with a name and a date: “@Ana, could you send me September’s numbers by Thursday?”.
- Clear channel prefixes (#client-, #proj-, #team-), and archive anything unused for a month.
- Make decisions visible, for example by starting the message with “Decision:”.
- Shared work goes in open channels; DMs are for personal things.
Search better before you ask
Slack’s search is more powerful than it looks. With these modifiers you can find almost anything without asking anyone:
- in:#channel to search a single channel.
- from:@person to see what someone wrote.
- before: and after: with a date to narrow the time range.
- Quotes for an exact phrase, such as “Decision:”.
The AI Slack already has
Slack offers its own AI features on some of its plans: channel and thread summaries, recaps of what you missed and AI answers in search based on your messages. Features and the plans that include them change over time, so check what yours covers.
If your work happens almost entirely in Slack and what you need is to catch up quickly, those features may be all you need. Their natural limit is that they see Slack: they don’t know what was decided in a Meet call, what a client asked you by email or which tasks each person has open.
Four ways AI in Slack saves time
- Summarise a long thread before diving in: what’s being discussed, what’s been decided and what’s missing.
- Turn a message into a task on the spot, with an owner and a date, so it doesn’t rely on anyone’s memory.
- Ask about past decisions (“what did we agree with this client about deadlines?”) and get the answer with a link to the thread.
- Draft replies to messages that need an answer, so you review and send rather than write from scratch.
Example: a Monday with Tessa in Slack
For example, the head of operations at a software company comes out of a meeting. Instead of reading twelve channels, she opens her inbox: three pending Slack requests and one email, each with a date. In #proj-migration she types “@Tessa summarise this thread” and within a minute knows a decision on the cut-over date is still missing. She asks “@Tessa, what did we agree with the client about the cut-over?” and the answer comes back with a link to last week’s meeting minutes.
What makes Tessa different
Tessa doesn’t stop at Slack. She connects what happens in channels with each person’s email, meetings and tasks, and keeps working when you’re not in Slack: requests from a channel land in the same inbox as your email, meeting minutes are searchable alongside threads, and channel decisions go into the wiki with their source.
Privacy works the same as across Tessera: what Tessa reads from each person stays private, DMs between colleagues aren’t used for company memory, a page that comes from a private channel is visible only to its members, and data is stored in the EU. When you connect a channel, Tessa pulls in the last 30 days of history and everything new from then on.
What Tessa reads for each person stays private, your data is stored in the EU and nothing goes out without your approval.
Frequently asked questions
Does Slack have built-in AI?
Yes. Slack offers its own AI features on some plans, such as channel and thread summaries and AI answers in search. What each plan includes changes, so check Slack’s site for the current details.
How do I summarise a Slack thread?
Use Slack’s AI if your plan includes it, or an assistant like Tessa: mention “@Tessa summarise this thread” and she’ll tell you what’s being discussed, what’s been decided and what’s missing.
How do I turn a Slack message into a task?
You can save it for later or set a reminder in Slack. With Tessa, messages asking you for something land in your inbox as tasks with a priority and date automatically, or you can say “@Tessa create a task for Ana”.
How do I find an old decision in Slack?
Use search with in:#channel, from:@person and dates. If decisions are tagged with a fixed word like “Decision:”, it’s even easier. Tessa also moves them into the wiki with a link to the thread.
Does Tessa read my Slack DMs?
Only the ones you send to her. Direct messages between colleagues aren’t used for the wiki or company memory.
Which plan includes the Slack integration?
Tessera’s Team and Business plans. You can try it free for 14 days.
Keep reading
- IntegrationsA Slack AI assistant that reads the channels for youMention @Tessa to create tasks, summarise threads or ask what was agreed. Requests aimed at you land in your inbox and close themselves once you reply.
- FeaturesEvery email that asks for something becomes a taskTessa reads your email and Slack, turns every request into a prioritized task with a due date and clears what's already done. Try it free.
- FeaturesOne search box for everything at your companySearch your email, Slack, meeting minutes, docs, tasks and contacts at once, and get answers from Tessa with every source cited. Try it free.
- FeaturesYour company wiki, written while you workDecisions, processes and “how we do things here” pulled from meetings and channels, with sources and the right permissions. Try it free today.
- FeaturesYour reply, already written and waiting for a yesTessa drafts the reply to every email or Slack message with the real context and in your tone. Review it, tweak it, send it in one click.
- GuidesHow to reduce meetings (and make the ones you keep worthwhile)How to cut your team’s meetings: a calendar audit, what to move to async and minutes with tasks so the meetings you keep are actually worth having.
What does your team look like?
Same AI for both. Where you start is what changes.
Startups
5 to 30 people
Grow without losing the thread
Tasks from email and Slack, follow-ups, sales and investors, without everything landing on the founders.
Companies
30 to 250 people
What gets decided gets done
Minutes and tasks from every meeting, commitments that get followed up and a pulse per team, without watching anyone.
Install Tessa in your Slack and stop digging through channels. Try it free for 14 days.
Start freeFree plan for teams of up to 3 people. Anything that leaves the company waits for your approval.