Slack Unveils New AI Features, Productivity Tools, and Salesforce CRM Integration

Exciting news from Slack as they recently announced the rollout of several new AI features, productivity tools, and ways to connect to Salesforce CRM on September 16th. These updates showcase Slack’s commitment to rapid innovation, particularly in the realm of AI-driven capabilities, with a focus on text summarization. This follows the introduction of AI search and summarization earlier this year, along with automated workflow builders in August.

For those interested in leveraging Slack’s AI capabilities, it is now available at an additional cost of $10 per user, per month in addition to Slack Pro and Business+ plans, or as per Slack Enterprise contracts. The beta release of Salesforce’s Agentforce, previously known as Einstein Copilot, is set to make its debut on Slack in October.

According to James Lancaster, VP of AI and search at Slack, the goal of these AI features is to streamline workflows and enhance productivity by eliminating “low-value tasks” and simplifying the process of navigating through various apps and services employees use daily. The new AI enhancements aim to address the challenges of “context switching” that employees often face when their tools do not seamlessly integrate with each other.

Slack’s approach involves two key strategies: adding AI agents and utilizing generative AI natively within the platform. The agents framework closely integrates with Salesforce, aligning with Salesforce’s Agentforce initiative highlighted at this year’s Dreamforce conference season.

Slack’s AI Summarization Expands

Exciting developments are on the horizon for Slack users as AI-driven features will now enhance huddles in Slack, search functionalities, and Workflow Builder. During huddles, Slack will generate a canvas sidebar containing an auto-generated transcript and notes, improving collaboration and information retention.

Enhancements to AI search will now include a broader range of files such as videos, canvases, and Google Docs, giving users access to more contextual information. These new files will play a crucial role in Slack’s AI responses to search queries, offering more comprehensive and relevant insights.

Slack users can also expect AI agents from leading organizations like Adobe Express, Asana, and Box to enable seamless conversations across multiple applications. The ability to build custom agents using large language models will provide users with tailored solutions to enhance their workflows.

Furthermore, Slack AI will be integrated into Workflow Builder, allowing users to automate processes using natural language inputs. This user-centric approach aims to simplify the workflow creation process, making it more intuitive and convenient for employees.

New Productivity Tools Further Enmesh Slack and Salesforce

In addition to AI advancements, Salesforce has also introduced two new non-AI productivity tools to strengthen the Slack-Salesforce integration:

• Salesforce channels: Brings CRM information into Slack for easy access and collaboration.
• Slack templates: Integrates various Slack modules to simplify specific tasks and workflows.

Salesforce Channels will be included in the Salesforce Starter Suite in the near future, while Slack templates are set to launch in October. These tools aim to streamline business processes, enhance collaboration, and save employees valuable time.

With these exciting updates, Slack users can look forward to a more efficient and seamless working experience, leveraging cutting-edge AI technologies and enhanced productivity tools to drive innovation and success.