Salesforce has announced three new advanced productivity tools for Slack in Slack AI, Slack lists and new automation capabilities.
Slack AI is built natively into the platform to offer tools such as channel recaps and thread summaries. Slack lists empowers users to track work tasks, oversee requests, and manage cross-functional projects with a clear communication flow.
Additionally, the new automation capabilities empower every user, regardless of coding expertise, to automate specific tasks. The Taskflow Builder allows users to connect tools and a hub for more straightforward access. Developers can also build and deploy custom apps with Slack as the host.
Noah Desai Weiss, Chief Product Officer at Slack, commented:
At Slack, we’re taking a collaboration-first approach to delivering an intelligent productivity platform in the age of AI and automation. We are focused on providing customers with a simpler, more delightful, and more efficient set of tools so every person can do the best work of their lives."
Slack AI and Slack lists will be in pilot this winter, with the former scheduled for general availability in 2024. The new automation hub will be available later his month, and the new Workflow Builder is generally available now on paid plans, subject to platform pricing.
Slack AI in Detail
Slack AI is built into Slack's conversational interface and provides a raft of helpful features.
Channel recaps summarise highlights of a Slack channel, providing users with the critical information. This can be time-efficient and allow users to draft status reports from project channels and extract the essential takeaways from feedback channels.
Thread summaries allow users to catch up on a thread with one click, even if the discussion is extensively long. They can determine whether their team is equivocating on the next steps, compiling ideas or responding to an incident.
Search answers allow customers to leverage their conversational data and its full context across the variety of expertise and experiences across the business. Users ask a question, and search will not only return results with pertinent messages, files, and channels but provide an AI-generated summary, too. They receive the answers they need promptly.
Slack AI doesn't send customer data to third parties or train its models on customers' data, ensuring no data sharing between customers.
What About Slack Lists?
Slack lists' feature set includes the ability to track projects, such as the development of new products or ad campaigns. Users can assign owners, update statuses, and converse about the task details in one hub. Slack lists also include dedicated threads for each project item, making it simple to clarify the details within teams.
Slack lists also makes it easier to oversee project launches by being able to track dependencies and monitor progress in Slack. When colleagues are cited in a list, they will be alerted like they receive all Slack notifications, streamlining collaboration further.
