Slack and Box have announced an expansion of their partnership with the release of Box AI in Slack.
The new solution will be available for joint customers from today, with the two tech firms promising to provide users with secure AI for enterprise content and “transform the way organizations work.”
Chief among the new capabilities is access to “unlimited” Box AI queries directly in Slack.
In addition, users will be able to raise important queries and view insights from the company’s Box files.
In discussing the news, Denise Dresser, CEO of Slack, explained how the new solution will enable companies to “intelligently surface insights from their most critical business content, right in the flow of work.”
Slack’s improved interoperability with Box makes it easy for enterprises to unify files from across their organization and then take action that accelerates their most important business outcomes.
“This integration is a perfect example of how companies are using Slack and Box to enhance their AI-powered work operating systems for the next generation of AI agents and applications.”
By having access to these AI agents and 2,600+ third-party applications within an existing workflow, users will be able to connect their most important business processes more easily – boosting productivity in the process.
The two companies also outlined a number of other integrations that the extended partnerhsip will deliver, including improved workflow automation across the two platforms; and access to Box’s Intelligent Content Cloud, which allows users to access and search through their enterprise content in the flow of work.
Specific Benefits
As well as the general features of Box AI in Slack discussed above, the companies also outlined several specific departmental examples that users will benefit from:
- Marketing Teams: Able to quickly extract insights from market analysis reports and share them, speeding up decision-making.
- Sales Teams: Able to highlight updates in customer presentations to ensure all team members have the latest information, improving client interactions.
- Legal Teams: Able to identify key clauses in contracts shared in Slack, streamlining reviews and ensuring no critical details are missed.
- Operations Teams: Able to extract and share important takeaways from budget updates, helping them stay aligned with financial goals.
- HR Teams: Able to summarize employee survey results to identify trends and areas for improvement, aiding in action plan development and enhancing workplace culture.
Moreover, the companies provided more details on how users will benefit in particular workflow scenarios:
- Dynamic and Secure Previews: Users can preview, scroll, and view the latest versions of Box documents, including PDFs, spreadsheets, and slide decks, directly from Slack channels.
- Enhanced Workflows: Slack users can create no-code workflows that incorporate Box content, automating business processes directly within Slack.
- Real-Time Content Updates: Box files shared in Slack update instantly to reflect changes made in the Box file, enhancing the user experience.
- Streamlined Admin Authorization: Simplified login and authorization for the Box app in Slack speeds up and eases integration deployment.
- Improved Content Workflow: Box, Slack, and Salesforce integration allows users to set Box as the default storage for uploads, syncing content across Slack channels and Salesforce accounts, and reducing redundancies.
More News from Slack and Box
Announced last week, Slack introduced new iOS app widgets to boost worker engagement and collaboration.
The update included four widgets: “Catch Up,” two versions of “Status,” and “Slack Launcher.”
The first three are designed for the home screen, while “Slack Launcher” is for the lock screen, allowing users to quickly access their workflows.
To use these features, users need to update their app and add the widgets from the Home or Lock Screen.
This move aligns with Slack’s goal of becoming a comprehensive collaboration and communication platform.
Elsewhere, last summer, Box launched its ‘Box for Microsoft 365 Copilot’ plugin to enhance content management.
This plugin, part of Box’s expanded integration with Microsoft 365, aimed to streamline sharing, editing, and collaboration within Teams and Office products like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
The Microsoft 365 Copilot, an AI assistant introduced earlier this year, will now work seamlessly with Box, allowing users to easily locate and manage shared documents, gain insights from collaborators, and quickly catch up on project-related conversations without having to search through multiple platforms.
This update is intended to improve productivity and accelerate project milestones.
