Using an AI agent in the Slack Direct Messages channel (Legacy)

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">You can add an AI agent to yourSlack Direct Messages channelto deliver automated AI agent functionality to your Slack-messaging connection.</p>
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<div class="note attention" id="Slack_conversation_bot__note_xx1_j3f_g2c">
<span class="attentiontitle"></span> <span class="ph">This article describes functionality that moved into
legacy status on July 31, 2025. On December 10, 2026, this functionality will no
longer be available. For more information, see <a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10487730059034" target="_blank">this announcement</a>.</span>
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<p class="p">You can add an AI agent to your <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4629038081306" target="_blank">Slack Direct Messages channel</a> to deliver automated AI
agent functionality to your Slack-messaging connection.</p>
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<div class="note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> This doesn't apply to the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408833756698" target="_blank">Slack for Zendesk Support integration</a>.</div>
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<p class="p">This article contains the following topics:</p>
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<ul class="ul" id="Slack_conversation_bot__ul_pvw_gpp_zxb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_rrv_cpp_zxb">Account requirements, feature limitations, and best practices</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_cdz_cpp_zxb">Adding an AI agent to your Slack DM channel</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_mxc_dpp_zxb">Removing an AI agent from your Slack DM channel</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_rrv_cpp_zxb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Account requirements, feature limitations, and best practices</h2>
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<p class="p">Before adding an AI agent to your Slack DM configuration, your account must meet the following
requirements:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_rrv_cpp_zxb__ul_rx2_jpp_zxb">
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581758611866" target="_blank">Agent Workspace</a> and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408827701530" target="_blank">messaging</a> activated</li>
<li class="li">At least one <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408882929946" target="_blank">Chat-enabled agent</a>
</li>
<li class="li">The <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4629038081306" target="_blank">Slack Direct Messages channel for Zendesk
messaging</a> activated</li>
<li class="li">An AI agent (You can use a previously built AI agent or <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824263578" target="_blank">create a new one</a>.)</li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Some AI agent features perform differently in the Slack DM channel than in other messaging
channels:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_rrv_cpp_zxb__ul_sx2_jpp_zxb">
<li class="li">The <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7510607688730#topic_e41_f1q_hvb" target="_blank">greeting response</a> does not appear in the
conversation.</li>
<li class="li">(Legacy AI agent functionality) The <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408836323738#topic_i5r_grz_n5b" target="_blank">Ask for details step</a> is not available in the
Slack DM channel. If it is included as part of an answer in your
conversation flow, it will be bypassed.</li>
<li class="li">(Legacy AI agent functionality) Panels in the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408836323738#topic_il3_pmj_tvb" target="_blank">Add carousel</a> step are displayed in a list,
rather than as a scrollable array. Otherwise, they function as expected. </li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Because of the above limitations, there are a number of best practices we recommend when creating
your AI agent:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_rrv_cpp_zxb__ul_tx2_jpp_zxb">
<li class="li">Turn off the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7510607688730#topic_umz_cft_byb" target="_blank">automated fallback response</a>.</li>
<li class="li">Create a trigger to <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824482586#topic_xbt_3sq_5pb" target="_blank">immediately close solved tickets</a>.</li>
<li class="li">(Legacy AI agent functionality) Because the greeting response is not active
in the conversation, we recommend <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4422584657434" target="_blank">creating an answer</a> that includes a welcome
message, with conversation starters (such as “hello”) as intents.</li>
</ul>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_cdz_cpp_zxb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Adding an AI agent to your Slack DM channel</h2>
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<div class="p"><div class="div">
<p class="p">When your account is ready, you can integrate the AI agent with your Slack DM channel.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To add the AI agent to your Slack DM channel</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_cdz_cpp_zxb__ol_vrn_ppp_zxb">
<li class="li">Sign in to Slack using the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4629038081306#topic_rtk_w2w_v5b" target="_blank">dedicated Zendesk user account</a>.</li>
<li class="li">In Admin Center, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9543022336794" target="_blank">configure the AI agent's
channels</a> so that the Slack DM channel is
selected.</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7232810932250" target="_blank">Publish the AI
agent</a>.</li>
</ol>
</div></div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_mxc_dpp_zxb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Removing an AI agent from your Slack DM channel</h2>
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<p class="p">If you no longer want to include an AI agent in your Slack DM channel, you can disconnect it. The
channel will then resume Slack DM Support functionality.</p>
<p class="p">When you disconnect the AI agent from the channel:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_mxc_dpp_zxb__ul_rkb_vpp_zxb">
<li class="li">Conversations that have been handed off to an agent are
unaffected.</li>
<li class="li">If the end user interacts with the AI agent, for example by entering text or clicking a button,
they are handed off to an agent. This is a “silent handoff”, and the end
user will not receive an automated response or notification of the handoff
until the agent responds.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To remove the AI agent from your Slack DM channel</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_mxc_dpp_zxb__ol_skb_vpp_zxb">
<li class="li">In Admin Center, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9543022336794" target="_blank">configure the AI agent's
channels</a> so that the Slack DM channel is deselected.</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7232810932250" target="_blank">Publish the AI agent</a>.</li>
</ol>
<div class="p">
<div class="note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Adding the AI agent to another channel automatically removes it from the Slack DM
channel.</div>
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