AI chatbots work alongside your Slack team to handle visitor conversations. The chatbot responds instantly to common questions, and when a visitor needs human help, the conversation escalates to your Slack channel. Below we cover how to configure AI chatbots on a Slack-connected widget and how the AI-to-human handoff works.
How AI + Slack Works
- Visitor opens the chat widget and sends a message
- The AI chatbot (ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini) responds immediately
- If the AI can resolve the question, the conversation continues without involving a human
- If the visitor asks for a person or the AI cannot help, the chat escalates to your Slack channel
- An agent in Slack joins and takes over
The AI reduces the number of chats your team needs to handle directly while ensuring visitors get instant responses.
Setup
Confirm Slack Connection
Make sure your widget is connected to Slack. See Connect Social Intents to Slack if needed.
Open the AI Agent Tab
Go to Chat Widgets, select your widget, and click the AI Agent tab.
Turn On the AI and Choose a Model
Under Agent settings > Provider & credentials, select ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini and a model. The default, GPT-6 Luna, and GPT-5.6 Luna, GPT-4o and GPT-4o Mini are included with your subscription, so no API key is needed. Other models (such as GPT-5.6, Claude Sonnet 5 or Gemini 3 Pro) run on your own provider API key, which you paste in the API key field. Also turn on the AI agent toggle and choose When the AI responds. See Choosing Your AI Engine.
Write the Instructions
Open the Playground tab and enter AI Instructions that tell the AI who it is and how to behave. Example:
"You are a helpful assistant for [Company]. Answer questions about our product. If you cannot answer or the visitor wants a person, let them know you will connect them with a team member."
Add Training Content
In the AI Agent tab, open Data sources to add website pages, sitemaps, or files, and Q&A for exact answers. See Training Your Chatbot.
Save and Test
Save, then test in the Playground and on your website. Ask questions the AI should handle, then ask for a human to verify escalation works. Set your escalation trigger phrases under AI Agent > Handoff (see Escalation to Human Agents).
Escalation to Slack
When the visitor requests human help, Social Intents routes the conversation to your Slack channel. The chat notification in Slack includes the full AI conversation history, so the agent knows what the visitor already discussed. If you are using Threaded Mode, the escalation appears as a new thread in your notification channel with the full AI transcript included, so the agent can pick up right where the AI left off.
For department-based routing, set up Escalation Routing to direct chats to specific channels.
What the Agent Sees
The Slack notification includes:
- Visitor name (if provided)
- Page URL where the chat started
- Full AI conversation transcript
- A join button to enter the conversation
Whether the AI stops once an agent joins depends on When the AI responds in the AI Agent tab: with AI + human agents, AI drops when an agent answers (or AI answers offline or missed chats) the AI steps aside as soon as an agent replies; with AI + human agents on all chats both stay in the chat.
The /chatbot Command
Agents can invoke the AI chatbot from within a Slack chat by typing /chatbot. This sends the AI's suggested response to the visitor, which is useful when an agent wants AI assistance composing a reply.
Common Configurations
AI-First with Human Backup
The AI handles all initial conversations. Agents only get involved when escalation is triggered. Best for reducing chat volume.
After-Hours AI
During business hours, chats go directly to Slack. After hours, the AI chatbot takes over and collects visitor contact information for follow-up.
AI Triage + Department Routing
The AI identifies the visitor's need and routes to the correct Slack channel using multiple escalation actions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the AI learn from Slack conversations?
No. The AI is trained on content you provide (documents, URLs, custom text). It does not read your Slack message history.
Can I use different AI engines for different widgets?
Yes. Each widget has its own chatbot configuration. You can use ChatGPT on one widget and Claude on another.
Does the AI continue responding after an agent joins?
Whether the AI stops once an agent joins depends on When the AI responds in the AI Agent tab: with AI + human agents, AI drops when an agent answers (or AI answers offline or missed chats) the AI steps aside as soon as an agent replies; with AI + human agents on all chats both stay in the chat.
Does the AI answer WhatsApp chats that go to Slack?
Yes. WhatsApp conversations routed to the widget use the same AI agent, and escalations land in Slack. See WhatsApp with Slack and How to Connect WhatsApp to ChatGPT.