Slack redesigns Slackbot into an AI assistant for business users

In short: Slack has updated Slackbot into a more capable AI assistant, with new features rolling out in early 2026 for higher-priced business plans.

What happened

Slack introduced an upgraded Slackbot that acts more like an AI assistant inside Slack. The update started becoming available on January 13, 2026, and a bigger redesign landed in February 2026. It is aimed mainly at Slack customers on Business+ and Enterprise+ plans.

The new Slackbot can search across a company’s Slack workspace using plain questions, like asking it to find a decision made in a past thread. It can look through messages, files, direct messages, and Slack “canvases” (shared documents inside Slack). Slack says the assistant only sees information a person already has permission to see, which is like giving it the same keycard access you have.

Slackbot can also summarize and compare uploaded documents, create meeting notes and project updates, and help schedule meetings by checking calendars and sending invites. These additions build on other Slack AI features, such as conversation summaries and file summaries, which Slack says are available across Pro, Business+, and Enterprise+ plans.

Slack also announced other February updates, including a split view so people can read and write messages side by side, and new admin controls like excluding sensitive content from some AI features. Admins should also note a deadline: Slack says audit logs must be exported before April 30, 2026, due to a two-year retention limit.

Why it matters

For many workers, Slack is where decisions and files end up, but finding them later can be slow. Slack is betting that an AI assistant that can search, summarize, and draft documents will save time. The company says internal pilot users saved about 97 minutes per week from summaries and search.

Source: TechCrunch AI