Slack, the popular workplace communication platform now owned by Salesforce, has unveiled new AI-powered features designed to boost productivity and simplify workflows.
The centerpiece of Slack's announcement is Agentforce, a new interface that brings AI agents directly into Slack channels. These agents, powered by Salesforce's AI technology, can interact with users through natural language, helping them access CRM data, update records, and even draft emails without leaving the Slack environment.
Denise Dresser, CEO of Slack, emphasized the significance of this development: "We've moved beyond collaboration; every day, millions of teams are leveraging purpose-built AI, with customer data, automation, and now agents seamlessly integrated into the flow of work."
Slack is also opening its platform to third-party AI agents, with integrations from companies like Adobe, Anthropic, and Cohere already available or coming soon. This will position Slack as a central hub for AI-assisted work across various applications.
In addition to Agentforce, Slack is enhancing its existing AI capabilities. New features include AI-generated summaries for "huddles" (informal video chats), an AI-powered workflow builder for easy automation, and improved AI search functionality that can find answers in uploaded documents and files.
To bridge the gap between communication and customer data, Slack is introducing Salesforce channels. These specialized channels automatically bring in CRM data from Salesforce records, allowing teams to make data-driven decisions without switching between applications.
Slack's AI features are now available as a paid add-on for all paid Slack plans, with most new capabilities expected to roll out by early 2025.