Productive connects to Slack in several different ways: personal integration, organization-wide integration, the Slack Connector, Automations, and Agent triggers, and it's not always obvious which one a given feature depends on. This article maps it out by goal.
đ New to this? Start with Slack Integration: General Overview for what each connection actually does.
Talking to Productive AI (the Assistant, @Productive) in Slack
This is the same AI Assistant you'd talk to inside Productive, just reached from Slack instead of the app.
To... | You need |
Mention @Productive in a channel | Org-wide integration + your own personal integration connected |
DM @Productive (Apps > Productive) | Same as above |
Talking to an Agent in Slack
Same idea as above: talking to an Agent you set up in Productive, just from Slack instead of Productive. Extra gates apply around who it'll respond to.
To... | You need |
Mention an Agent (e.g. @Budget Monitor) | Org-wide integration + your personal integration connected + the Agent has a Slack trigger set up + you're shared with that Agent in Productive + Slack admin has granted "manage user groups" to the relevant access type(s) + paid Slack plan |
đ If you mention an Agent you're not shared with, it replies once, visible only to you, telling you to ask its manager to share it with you.
Sending Info From Productive to Slack
Something happens in Productive, and Slack reflects it.
To... | You need |
Get notified in Slack when something happens in Productive | Personal integration |
Request absence in Productive and have your Slack status reflect it | Personal integration |
Send a saved Pulse report from Productive to a channel | Org-wide integration |
Show task previews to the whole channel, not just you | Org-wide integration (personal alone shows previews only to you) |
Post automation messages to Slack, visible to the whole channel | Org-wide integration |
Triggering Productive From Slack
Something happens in Slack, and it creates or starts something in Productive.
To... | You need |
Create a task in Productive from a Slack message | Personal integration |
Trigger a regular automation off a Slack message | Org-wide integration |
Letting AI Reach Into Slack on Its Own
Not triggered by Slack and not reflecting a Productive event â this is Productive's AI actively reaching into Slack whenever it needs to.
To... | You need |
Let the AI Assistant search/read/post in Slack on its own | The Slack Connector, admin-enabled then individually connected â separate from both integrations above |
Let an Agent search/read/post in Slack as part of what it does | Slack Connector added to that specific Agent (separate from its mention trigger) |
Write a Skill that uses Slack | The Skill is just instructions â whatever runs it (Assistant or Agent) still needs the Slack Connector connected separately for the instructions to actually reach Slack |
The three connections, in one line each
Personal integration: ties Slack to you: your notifications, your tasks, your identity when talking to AI.
Organization-wide integration: ties Slack to the team: shared previews, Pulse reports, and it's the gate for @Productive/Agent mentions working at all.
Slack Connector (the reverse direction): lets the Assistant (or an Agent) reach into Slack on its own, using your personal Slack access.