Slack’s new generative AI features include thread summaries and conversational search

Slack has finally unleashed its generative AI toolset on the world, after teasing it last year. The vast majority of these features look to simplify your day-to-day life when using the work-focused chat platform.

First up, the AI will auto-generate channel recaps to give you key highlights of anything you missed while away from the keyboard or smartphone. Slack says the algorithm that generates these recaps is smart enough to separate the content from the various topics discussed. In other words, if your co-workers launched into a debate about coffee beans and also talked about third-quarter earnings or whatever, you should get a paragraph on both.

There’s a similar tool available for threads, which are basically just one-on-one or group conversations that don’t occupy an entire channel. This lets users “get up to speed on any thread in just one click.” Now you can safely ignore that one colleague who messages you eight times in a row when one short paragraph would absolutely suffice.

Another cool feature here is conversational search. This allows you to ask a question using natural language instead of using Slack’s pre-existing search bar to slowly crawl through previous chats. The algorithm does the crawling for you, providing you with a “clear, concise answer based on relevant conversational data.”

It remains to be seen just how much time these tools will save the average user throughout the workday, but Slack says it remains committed to artificial intelligence. To that end, the company is prepping more native AI features, including the ability to generate personalized summaries of channels that users don’t check daily but want to keep an eye on. Additionally, Slack says it’ll soon integrate some of its most-used third-party apps into the AI ecosystem.