Connect Your AI Assistant to Slack in 5 Minutes

Why Slack?

Slack is where your team already communicates. By connecting Alpha Agent to Slack, you bring your AI assistant directly into your workflow — no context switching, no separate apps.

Prerequisites

• An Alpha Agent account with an active subscription (see the getting started guide if you haven’t signed up yet)
• A Slack workspace where you have permission to add apps
• An AI provider configured (Claude, GPT, etc.) — not sure which to pick? See choosing your AI provider

Step 1: Create a Slack App

1. Go to api.slack.com/apps and click Create New App
2. Choose From scratch and give it a name (e.g., “Alpha Agent”)
3. Select your Slack workspace

Step 2: Configure bot permissions

Under OAuth & Permissions, add these bot token scopes:

• chat:write — Send messages
• app_mentions:read — Respond to @mentions
• channels:history — Read channel messages
• im:history — Read DM messages

Step 3: Install to workspace

Click Install to Workspace and authorize the app. Copy the Bot User OAuth Token — you’ll need this in the next step.

Step 4: Add to Alpha Agent

1. Open your Alpha Agent dashboard
2. Go to Integrations > Channels > Slack
3. Paste your Bot User OAuth Token
4. Configure the channels where your bot should be active
5. Click Save

Step 5: Test it

Invite your bot to a Slack channel (/invite @Alpha Agent) and send a message. Your AI assistant should respond within seconds.

What are the best practices for AI agents in Slack?

• Thread support — Your assistant automatically responds in threads to keep channels clean
• DM mode — Send direct messages to your bot for private conversations
• Channel filtering — Configure which channels your bot monitors to avoid noise
• Custom prefix — Set a trigger word so your bot only responds when addressed
• Desktop mode — Prefer running locally? The desktop app supports Slack and all other channels without cloud hosting