Slack bots are automated programs that streamline workflows by responding to commands and integrating with other tools directly within Slack channels. As AI use in the workplace has nearly doubled in the last two years, these bots have become essential for automating routine tasks like sending notifications, sharing files, and answering common questions.

This guide covers everything you need to know about Slack bots, from how they work to the best examples for your team, plus step-by-step installation instructions.

What is a Slack bot?

A Slack bot is an automated program that operates within Slack to perform tasks, respond to user commands, and integrate with external tools without human intervention.

Key capabilities of Slack bots include:

• Task automation: Sending reminders and notifications for events or projects

• Data management: Collecting and analyzing information from connected systems

• Content sharing: Distributing files, images, and documents on command

• Workflow integration: Connecting Slack to tools like Asana, Salesforce, and Google Drive

This eliminates context switching between apps and reduces interruptions to team members who would otherwise field repetitive questions.

Bots are available through the Slack App Directory or can be custom-built using Slack APIs.

Types of Slack bots

While Slack bots can perform a wide range of tasks, they generally fall into a few key categories based on their primary function. Understanding these types can help you choose the right bots for your team's needs.

• Knowledge management bots: These bots act as a central brain for your company, aligning with a common employee need to use AI to consolidate information or data. They connect to your various knowledge sources to provide instant, trusted answers to questions asked in Slack, like Guru's AI Knowledge Agent.

• Project management bots: Bots with integrations for tools like Asana or Trello help teams track tasks, receive project updates, and manage workflows directly within Slack channels, keeping everyone aligned without switching apps.

• Human resources bots: These bots automate HR processes, from onboarding new hires with welcome messages and resources to celebrating team milestones like birthdays and work anniversaries.

• Workflow automation bots: Tools like Zapier allow you to connect Slack to hundreds of other apps, creating automated workflows that trigger notifications or actions in Slack based on events in other systems.

How do Slack bots work?

Slack bots operate through three core components: triggers, actions, and conditions.

• Triggers: Keywords, slash commands, or specific actions that activate the bot

• Actions: The bot's response, such as sending messages, creating tasks, or sharing files

• Conditions: Logic that determines the appropriate response based on context and user history

Example scenarios:

• Returning user: Bot uses chat history to continue previous conversations seamlessly

• New user: Bot provides welcome message and explains available functions

Benefits of using Slack bots

Integrating bots into your Slack workspace goes beyond simple convenience; it delivers tangible benefits that improve how your team operates. By automating workflows and centralizing information, bots drive significant gains in productivity and efficiency.

• Increased productivity: Bots automate repetitive, manual tasks like sending reminders, pulling reports, or answering common questions. Since AI tools have been shown to make professionals 37% more productive on certain tasks, this frees up employees to focus on more strategic, high-value work.

• Centralized information access: Instead of searching through different drives, apps, and platforms, team members can ask a bot for information directly in Slack. This reduces context switching and ensures everyone gets consistent answers from a single source of truth, a crucial benefit when collaborative tasks can consume 85% or more of an employee's work week.

• Streamlined workflows: Bots can connect disparate tools, allowing actions in one system to trigger notifications or tasks in another. This creates a more seamless and connected work environment, reducing delays and improving cross-functional collaboration.

• Improved employee experience: From simplifying onboarding to providing instant support for IT or HR questions, bots reduce friction in daily work. This leads to a more empowered and less frustrated workforce, particularly for new hires who see productivity gains of over 30% when using AI assistance.

What can Slack bots do?

Slack bots can do different things like automating manual human resources tasks (remembering birthdays and anniversaries), collecting all knowledge files in a single place, or creating tasks for projects.

In fact, 87% of Slack users say that this tool makes them more productive, which is why you should invest in a Slack bot.

Slack bot capabilities vary by use case. The most common applications include:

• Knowledge management: Some Slack bots like Guru help companies manage and store your company's knowledge. Others allow you to create polls to get employee feedback or get instant answers to search queries.

• Human resource management: There are lots of Slack bots that take care of HR tasks, such as onboarding new employees or fostering a more positive work environment. Aloha, Donut, and Birthday bots are some good examples.

• Project management: Slack bots like Asana or Trello help you manage your projects directly in Slack. You can create tasks with a slash command or get real-time notifications directly in a Slack message or channel.

You can also use Slackbot for video meetings or automating workflows. It all depends on your needs.

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What are some examples of Slack bots?

Here are proven Slack bots organized by use case:

1. Guru

Guru is your company’s AI Source of Truth—a trusted knowledge layer that connects all your tools, documents, and conversations to deliver verified, permission-aware answers right inside Slack.

Through its deep Slack integration, Guru’s Knowledge Agent lets you ask questions in natural language and get cited, accurate responses instantly—no tab switching, no guesswork. You can capture new knowledge, share insights, and access your company’s collective intelligence without ever leaving your workflow.

With Guru, Slack becomes more than a communication tool—it becomes the fastest way to access trusted company knowledge, wherever you work.

[Take a look at this video to see Guru and Slack in action.] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWNOpyl87WE&ab_channel=Guru)

Or read some reviews:

"[...] We additionally love the Slack integration since that's where most of our work gets done/talked about."

Use cases: AI Knowledge management.

Curious about Guru and how it can simplify your life? Try it for Slack today!

2. Zoom

Zoom took the world by storm, allowing many remote teams and people to connect more easily via this collaboration tool. Even today, it's a necessity for organizing meetings and events through video or audio calls.

Zoom easily integrates with Slack, allowing you to start a video meeting via the /zoom command in any channel, private group, or direct message. In addition, you can easily share a whiteboard with your users, where they'll see a preview of the file if they have access or receive notifications when you share it.

"The ability to create a Zoom meeting from within Slack has massively improved our meeting quality."

Use cases: Video conferencing and meeting.

3. Trello

Trello is a productivity platform that replaces time-consuming spreadsheets with boards, to-do lists, and cards so you can improve collaboration among your team members.

Together, these two tools work to boost collaboration and communication by linking your workspaces without switching apps. All you need to do is paste a Trello link into a channel and the app will automatically show key info about the project like comments, members, etc.

"These integrations allow users to connect Trello with their existing workflow, sync data, and enhance productivity by bringing multiple tools together."

Use cases: Project management.

4. Aloha

Aloha is a friendly onboarding bot for growing Slack teams but it also helps busy managers. It's highly useful when you're introducing new hires into your community because it prompts them to introduce themselves and break the ice through a scheduled message.

Plus, it helps new employees get familiar with your operations by offering guidance on whatever channel they use. Which, in turn, helps you build a positive company culture, set standards, and avoid interruptions.

Use cases: New hire onboarding.

5. Zapier

Zapier is a workflow automation platform that allows you to automate your workflows and build no-code applications.

In general, the Zapier + Slack integration saves users a lot of time.

"Mostly, it helps us centralize different events happening between the apps we use inside Slack. New interview request? Notification on Slack."

You can set automated workflows in a few minutes, letting you bring social media algorithms, calendar events, and new leads directly to a Slack chat. Moreover, you can create automated to-do lists whenever you save a Slack message.

Use cases: Workflow automation.

How can I install a Slack bot to my workspace?

Installing a Slack bot can be done through the Slack App Directory or directly within Slack.

Usually, users can add the bots of apps they like via the Slack app directory. Here, you can search for the app or service you already use. Another method is to search for the bot directly in Slack.

Scroll down the left menu until you find the Apps section. There, you'll have an Add apps button. After clicking the button, you'll be able to search for the bot you want.

So, you've selected the bot you like. Click the Add button. Your default browser will open the tool's page in the Slack directory.

On this page, you only have to click Add to Slack on the left of the screen. A pop-up will appear that will ask you to give the bot permission to operate in your Slack workspace.

And voila — that's all! Now, you're ready to configure the bot however you want.

In the next section, let's talk a bit about the difference between a Slack bot and a Slack app.

What is the difference between a Slack bot and a Slack app?

The main difference between a Slack bot and a Slack app is their purpose and how they operate.

A Slack bot is a program that interacts with users via natural language, a technology with massive reach, as research suggests large language models could affect 80% of the US workforce in some form. Its purpose is to offer automated custom responses to user questions, send reminders and notifications, and share information whenever the user needs help.

On the other hand, a Slack app does more than just respond to questions; it can include other functionalities, such as interactive messages.

In a nutshell, Slack bots can be a part of an app. But not every single app has a bot. The apps that do have Slack bots usually post notifications into a Slack channel, like project updates.

One more thing before we go — let's see how you can create your very own Slack bot.

How can I create a Slack bot?

So, you wanna create your own Slack bot? Awesome! Be warned, though: it does require a bit of tech-savviness, especially since you'll be working with APIs and Requests.

But we promise we won't go too technical. We'll keep it simple.

There are two different ways to create a bot for Slack. The first one is using Slack API and scripts. Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Go to api.slack.com and log into your Slack account. When done, click on Create an app.

2. Select From scratch and a pop-up will appear. Name your app and choose the workspace you want to use it in.

3. Click the Bots box — here's where you can start creating your bot.

4. After clicking on Review scopes to add, scroll down till you find Bot token scopes. Here, you can give the bot permission to send files or write messages into Slack channels by adding chat:write, etc.

5. Is the bot ready? Then, click Install to workspace and Allow. After this step, you'll have a Bot User OAuth Token which you'll use to send messages.

6. Last step is to create the channel where you want your bot to operate. Just use the /invite @<botname> command to get started.

If you don't want to bother going through all these steps, then you can use the second method, which is to use a no-code tool like Flow XO, Zapier, or other chatbot software.

Turn Slack into your AI source of truth with Guru

So, what is a Slack bot? Simply put, it's a better way to do work, as it enables your team to be more productive by automating mundane tasks. Plus, it has sooo many uses!

You can send gifs, welcome new employees with just a template — anything is possible!

But a Slack bot helps your business most when it organizes your knowledge.

Which is only possible, of course, with Guru. With this combo, you'll be able to make searching for relevant information easier and transform every bit of conversation into content your team can access easily.

We can talk about Guru for hours. However, we think signing up and getting hands-on experience with it would be your better option.

Ready to see how Guru can transform your Slack workspace into a trusted AI source of truth? Watch a demo to see it in action.