Slack Code brings AI agents into group chats for collaborative coding

Slack is launching collaborative vibe coding channels

Slack is introducing dedicated channels where teams can vibe code together with AI agents instead of jumping between different tools and conversations. The Slack Code launch includes open, project-specific code channels with dedicated user tabs, alongside features that compare coding changes and preview HTML output before the project is shipped. "With Slack Code, when you have an idea or need to build a new feature, update a web page, or fix a bug, you simply tag in a coding agent like Anthropic's Claude or Cognition's Devin, and that agent then spins up a code channel to tackle the task," Slack said in its press release. "There, everyone has full visibility to the conversation, can audit code diffs, get live previews of the agent's output, give feedback, and approve the work before it ships." The coding channels are designed to archive themselves automatically upon completion of their dedicated assignments, and provide an audit log for record keeping. Slack is pitching this feature as an easy way to work collaboratively with AI agents "like teammates" -- a mentality that SpaceXAI is also trying to sell people on with its new Grok Bot agents. Slack Code is available starting today on any Slack plan. It'll work with the AI agents available on Slack's marketplace, and Slack says that agents from its founding partners -- including Claude Code, Devin, Vercel Agent, and GitHub Copilot -- will "integrate seamlessly" with code channels.

Slack Code taps into collective vibe, puts AI agents into the group chat

Developers can now invite the whole team along for their quality time with the coding bot Slack has decided that AI coding agents have spent quite enough time alone with developers and would be better off doing their work where everyone can watch: on Slack. The Salesforce-owned chat factory has introduced Slack Code, which gives coding agents their own project channels where they can work alongside the humans supposedly keeping an eye on them. Slack calls this "multiplayer AI," which is another way of saying the coding bot is leaving the developer's terminal and joining the group chat. Tag an agent from a Slack conversation, and it can create a code channel for the job. From there, people can follow what it's doing, review its proposed changes, view live HTML previews, and tell it to change course when needed. Once the work is finished, the channel can archive itself, leaving behind a searchable record of what happened. Slack says each channel maps to a particular project, presumably sparing the main company chat from several hundred lines of an agent enthusiastically explaining why it has rewritten the authentication layer. The pitch isn't aimed solely at developers. Slack reckons product managers, designers and other non-engineering staff can participate because they don't need to open a terminal or learn another specialist tool to see what the agent is doing. Its example has a product manager spotting a bug report, asking an agent to work out a fix, and then bringing in an engineer to review the resulting diff before the agent opens a pull request and merges the change. Slack summarizes the process as: "No ticket, no meeting, no waiting -- just a fix, shipped." Slack insists humans remain in charge. Anyone in a code channel can pause, redirect or stop an agent, while higher-stakes actions such as pushing code to production are supposed to be packaged up for an expert to approve. The company also says agents inherit Slack's existing permissions, security policies and administrative controls rather than requiring organizations to build a separate management layer around them. Slack isn't planning to have the playground to itself. Anthropic, Cognition, GitHub, OpenAI's ChatGPT, and Vercel are among those developing integrations for Slack Code, with Claude, Devin, Copilot and ChatGPT among the agents destined for its code channels. Slack says the APIs will eventually open to the broader developer community, with code channels potentially hosting agents doing jobs beyond software development, from marketing work to legal document review. Alongside Slack Code, the company is giving agents more conventional places to lurk. Agent DMs provide direct conversations with AI workers, while a new Agents tab lets users find agents, revisit sessions, check their status, or stop one that's gone wandering. An "Add to Slack" feature is also intended to make deploying agents built using third-party platforms a matter of a few clicks. Slack's argument is that much of this AI-assisted coding currently happens out of sight. A developer works with an agent in a terminal or browser, then brings the result back to everyone else when it's time for a review. Code channels put that process in Slack from the start, giving colleagues a chance to see what the agent is doing - and object before it gets too carried away. Slack says users can "get started with Slack Code today," although its announcement doesn't spell out which Slack plans have access, how broadly the feature is being rolled out, or which of the named coding-agent integrations are available at launch. The Register has asked Slack for clarification. Whether watching a bot write software alongside your coworkers marks the future of collaborative development or simply gives everyone another Slack channel to monitor remains to be seen. Either way, the coding agent is joining the group chat. ®

Slack Has (of Course) Launched a Vibe Coding Tool

Slack -- like seemingly every other software company in Silicon Valley these days -- is staking its claim in the so-called vibe coding business. The workplace communication platform has debuted a new feature called Slack Code, which lets teams collaborate with software-building AI agents directly within group chats. According to a demo video posted to X on Wednesday evening by Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce (which acquired Slack in 2020), users can simply tag an agent when they need a little automated assistance. It will then start a new chat, automatically including all the relevant team members and the context it needs to complete the task. A project manager who's notified about a software bug by a colleague, for example, can tag Claude Code, Devin, GitHub Copilot, or a similar coding agent to build and ship the fixed product without having to wait for a (human) engineer, who may be busy with other tasks. Available now for all Slack plans, Slack Code also requires "human sign-off on high-stakes actions like merging code to production, all governed by Slack's built-in enterprise security model," according to company spokesperson Gianna Dimick. (Assuming it works, it's a good design choice, considering how prone agents are to misinterpreting instructions and occasionally deleting codebases.) As is the case with almost all workplace-facing AI products, Slack is promoting its new collaborative coding tool as a way for employees to boost productivity -- specifically by summoning agents directly within Slack rather than opening a whole other browser window, and looping in colleagues rather than having to keep multiple chats going at once. "This isn't your traditional coding experience, with one person and one agent working in a silo on their own," Slack VP of product Katie Steigman said in the demo video. "In the Code channel, the whole team and the agent work together on the build. There's no specialized tools needed, and it's all right here in Slack...Nobody's out of the loop, nobody needs an extra meeting. Work just feels more efficient." Users can follow the agents' progress in the channel as they build, then review an HTML preview when it's ready. Once the team approves the finished product, the agent automatically archives the channel. It's the latest chapter in Slack's ongoing strategy, and by now a familiar playbook among tech companies desperately trying to sell AI to businesses, to sell agents as digital, almost completely autonomous coworkers. Slack introduced Slackbot earlier this year, framing it as an in-platform AI assistant with a deep, constantly updating awareness of each user's particular work style. Salesforce's awkwardly titled Agentforce Coworker is described by the company in similar terms: "an experienced coworker from day one."