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Guide to AI features in Slack

Slack offers a set of generative AI tools built right into your workspace or Enterprise organization so you and your team can be at your most productive. AI features in Slack use your conversation data to create an intuitive and secure AI experience tailored to you and your organization.


Feature availability

The AI features available to you in Slack depend on your plan: 

Feature Pro Business+ Enterprise+
Conversation and thread summaries
Huddle notes
AI search  
Recaps  
Translations  
File summaries  
Workflow generation  
Summarize channels workflow step  
Enterprise search    

Note: Starting July 17, 2025, customers who did not purchase the Slack AI add-on will have access to conversation and thread summaries and huddle notes. To use other AI features, customers will need the new version of Business+ or the new Enterprise+ plan. 


Summarize channels and threads

Save time by getting up to speed more quickly across channels, threads, and direct messages (DMs). Whether you’re joining a new channel, returning from time off, or catching up on a fast-moving discussion, AI can summarize conversations in seconds.

Generating a summary with Slack AI

Summarize channels and DMs

In channels and DMs, you can summarize just your unread messages, the last seven days, or a custom date range (desktop only).

  1. Open the channel or DM you'd like to summarize.
  2. Click   Summarize in the top right.
  3. Choose an option to generate your summary, which will appear when it's ready.
  4. If you'd like, click the   More details icon to view the summary's sources. 
  1. Open the channel or DM you'd like to summarize.
  2. Tap   Summarize in the top right.
  3. Choose an option to generate your summary. When it's ready, you’ll see a badge on the   Summarize icon. Tap it to view your summary.


Summarize threads 

  1. Open the thread you'd like to summarize.
  2. Click   Summarize in the top right. Your summary will appear when it's ready. 
  3. If you'd like, click the   More details icon to view the summary's sources. 
  1. Open the thread you'd like to summarize.
  2. Tap   Summarize in the top right.
  3. When your summary is ready, you’ll see a badge on the   Summarize icon. Tap it to view your summary.

Note: Summaries can take longer to generate for larger time frames or message histories. We’ll notify you when your summary is ready, so feel free to take a break or move on to other work in the meantime.


Search for answers

Ask a question in your own words and get a concise answer based on relevant knowledge already in Slack. Try asking questions that start with “how” or “what,” or use keywords like a project name to get started.

Searching for the answer to a question with Slack AI

  1. Click the search field at the top of Slack.
  2. Type your question into the search field and press Enter.
  3. AI answers will appear at the top of your search results.

AI answers will have citations that refer to the source messages or files that informed them. Hover over a citation to preview the source, or click on it to view the message or file in Slack.

  1. Tap the search field at the top of Slack.
  2. Type your question into the search field and tap Search or the   magnifying glass icon on your device's keyboard
  3. AI answers will appear at the top of your search results.

AI answers will have citations that refer to the source messages that informed them. Tap a citation to view the source message or file in Slack.

Tip: If you're on an Enterprise plan, an Org Owner or Admin can enable enterprise search to include content and information from other sources (like Google Drive, GitHub, and more) in search results.


Recap your day

Get caught up after some time away from Slack with a customized summary of your unread channels. With recaps, you can get automated daily summaries for channels that you’re interested in keeping tabs on, but don’t want to interrupt you throughout your workday.

Adding channels to a Slack AI recap

  • When you set up your recap for the first time, Slack will recommend a few channels that you visit often, but don’t tend to participate in, that you might want to include in your recap.
  • Once you review which channels to include and turn recap on, you can mute those channels to keep your sidebar tidy, or unmute the conversations you'd like to continue keeping a closer eye on.
  • You’ll get a new recap every morning with what you’ve missed from the previous day.


Read your daily recap

  1. Click   Recap in your sidebar.
  2. Review your recap. Click   More details to review a recap’s sources, or click the   three dots icon next to any channel to remove it from future recaps.
  1. From the   Home tab, tap   Recap.
  2. Review your recap. Tap a message to view more details, including the recap's sources.

Tip: You can also add conversations to your recap by right-clicking them in your sidebar on desktop and selecting Add to recap.


Manage your recap

You can add or remove conversations in your recap anytime, and decide which channels should be muted.

  1. From your desktop, click   Recap in the sidebar.
  2. Click   Manage Recap in the top right.
  3. To add conversations to your recap, search for and select the channel you’d like to add. 
  4. To remove conversations, uncheck the boxes next to the channels you no longer want to include.
  5. Mute or unmute channels by clicking the toggle.
  6. Click Save


Summarize files

When you share certain text-based file types (.pdf, .docx, .pptx, and .xlsx) in channels or DMs, Slack will automatically summarize the file. If you don’t see file summaries, reach out to an owner or admin for help as they may have restricted access to the feature.  

  • Summaries are only available for files that are accessible to everyone.
  • A summary will appear below the file with a   Summarize icon.
  • File summaries are provided in the same language as the file, regardless of your language preferences.
  • To view a more detailed summary, hover over the file and click   View summary.


Manage your file summaries

You can decide whether to display file summaries. If you turn file summaries off, they won’t be generated for any files you add to Slack, and you won’t see summaries for others’ files.

  1. From your desktop, click your profile picture in the sidebar.
    Static image of a cursor clicking the profile picture menu in the Slack app
  2. Click Preferences.
  3. Select   AI. 
  4. Below File summaries, choose whether you’d like to summarize files you upload and display summaries for files that other people upload.


Translate messages

Use AI to automatically translate messages in Slack written in another language. Get started by setting your translation language, then select a message to translate.

Set your translation language

  1. From your desktop, click your profile picture in the sidebar.
    Static image of a cursor clicking the profile picture menu in the Slack app
  2. Click Preferences.
  3. Select   Language & region. 
  4. Below Translation language, choose the default language you’d like to translate messages to.


Translate a message

Once you’ve set a translation language, you can translate messages in Slack. Translations are only visible to you, so other people will always see the original message.

  1. In any conversation, hover over a message.
  2. Click the   three dots icon in the top-right corner of the message, then select Translate message.
  3. Click See original below the translated message to view it in the original language.
  1.  In any conversation, long press a message.
  2. Tap   Translate Message.
  3. Tap See original below the translated message to view it in the original language. 

Your translation will appear when it’s finished. Tap See original to view the original message.

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