Announcing the ability to see and respond to approval requests in Slack

Announced on | Rollout starts | Rollout ends
May 6, 2026 | May 6, 2026 | May 14, 2026

Zendesk is excited to announce the addition of Slack as a notification and response channel for approval requests.

This announcement includes the following topics:

What is changing?

Why is Zendesk making this change?

What do I need to do?

What is changing?

Until now, approval requests have relied on email notifications and required all responses to be made within the Agent Workspace or the help center. With this release, in addition to the automated email notifications, admins can configure notifications of approval requests to be sent to approvers, including end users, in Slack. Individual approvers receive a direct message in Slack every time an approval request is assigned to them. If an approval request is assigned to a group, a temporary private Slack channel is created with all members of the group.

From the notifications, the approver can approve or deny the request without needing to leave Slack. Within their response, they can submit a reason for their decision. A direct link to the approval request is also included so the approver can open the request in the Agent Workspace or help center if they need to respond with a comment prior to approving or denying the request.

Additionally, the Slack notification reflects real-time status changes to the approval request. When a response is submitted for an approval request or the request is withdrawn, that status is reflected in the Agent Workspace, the help center, and in the Slack notification messages about the request.

For more information, see:

Configuring the Slack for Zendesk Support integration

Using the Slack for Zendesk Support integration

Understanding approvals and how they work

Why is Zendesk making this change?

Zendesk understands that email is not always the best way to reach approvers, especially managers and stakeholders who spend most of their day connecting with people in meetings and through messaging software, such as Slack, and rarely work in Zendesk. Email-only notifications for these users can result in approval requests being missed, delayed, or requiring repeated follow-ups from agents and admins.

Supporting Slack notifications and responses moves approvals into the communication tool many approvers are already using day-to-day, which reduces delays, workflow friction, and follow-up effort.

What do I need to do?

This feature is being rolled out to all accounts with approval requests and the Slack for Zendesk Support app. To start using Slack to notify and respond to approval requests, admins must turn it on in the integration and train agent and end user approvers how to respond through Slack.

If you have feedback or questions related to this announcement, visit our community forum where we collect and manage customer product feedback. For general assistance with your Zendesk products, contact Zendesk Customer Support.