# Slack Get each new support conversation as a card in a Slack channel, answer the customer by replying in the card's thread, and see every answer your team sends from Reception in the same thread. An organization Admin connects Slack separately for each app in **Settings → your app → Slack**. ## What Slack receives {#overview} Each conversation gets one card in your channel, posted when the customer's first message arrives. The card shows: - **App · User** in bold, with ✓ for a [verified identity](/docs/accounts#verified-users). You can [choose what the card shows](#layout). - The customer's message. - Any further fields you added to the card, such as plan or app version. - A status line: **Open**, **Closed**, **AI is answering** or **Taken over by** a teammate, followed by **Open in Inbox**. - Buttons: **Close** or **Reopen**, **Take over from AI** while the AI assistant answers the conversation, and **Open in Inbox**. The card's status and buttons update when the conversation is closed, reopened or taken over, in Slack or in the inbox.  The customer's later messages appear in the card's thread, and also in the channel until someone has answered in the thread. After that, Slack notifies the people in the thread, and the channel stays quiet. Answers sent from the inbox, the AI assistant, automations or Telegram don't count. The inbox always shows everything. Images the customer sends appear in the thread as images; an image sent without text is announced as "📷 The customer sent an image", which follows the same rule. Very long messages are shortened in Slack; the inbox always has the full text. Links in customer messages don't expand into previews, and a customer writing "@here" or "@channel" doesn't notify the channel. Answers sent from Reception also appear in the thread, with who sent them: **Alex replied on the web**, **Alex replied via ChatGPT** for an answer sent from a [connected app](/docs/mcp), **AI assistant replied**, **Automation sent**, or **Alex replied in Telegram**. Images, review requests, offers and link cards are included, so the thread shows what the customer saw. Conversations that don't have a card in the channel are skipped. Customer messages still reach the inbox if Slack can't be reached. Missed cards and thread messages, including messages received while paused or disconnected, are not posted later. ## Connect Slack {#connect} Connecting takes three steps: add Reception to your Slack workspace, choose a channel, and answer in threads. You can also connect during onboarding; app settings provide testing, pause and disconnect controls afterward. ### Add Reception to your workspace 1. Open **Settings → your app → Slack** and choose **Add to Slack**. 2. Slack asks which workspace to add Reception to and shows what Reception may do. Choose **Allow**. 3. Slack sends you back to Reception, where you [choose a channel](#channel).  Reception is added to one Slack workspace at a time. Org-wide installs for an Enterprise Grid organization are not supported; add Reception to the single workspace your team uses. Your Slack workspace may require an administrator's approval before apps can be added. Reception asks for these permissions: | Permission | Why Reception needs it | | --- | --- | | Send messages as Reception | Post cards, follow-ups, answers from the inbox and notes to you. | | View basic channel information | List public channels and the private channels Reception was invited to, so you can choose one. | | Join public channels | Join the public channel you choose, without an invitation. | | View messages in channels Reception is in | Receive your replies in the card's threads. Other messages are ignored. | | View and upload files | Bring images from your replies to the customer, and show the customer's images in the thread. | | View people and their email addresses | Show who replied, and recognize teammates who have a Reception account. | | Add reactions | Confirm a saved reply with ✅. | ### Choose a channel {#channel} After **Add to Slack**, Reception lists the workspace's channels. Choose the one where new support messages should appear, like #support.  - **Public channels:** Reception joins the channel automatically. - **Private channels:** invite Reception first. In the channel, type `/invite @Reception`, then choose the channel again. Private channels appear in the list once Reception is a member. - **Shared channels** (Slack Connect channels with another organization) are not supported. Choose a channel of your own workspace. - **Archived channels** can't be chosen. Reception posts a short confirmation in the channel: your app is connected, and answering in a thread replies to the customer. Everyone in the channel can see the customer messages posted there, and [can reply](#who-can-reply) unless you change that. Choose a channel for your support team. ### Several apps in one workspace Once Reception is in your Slack workspace, your organization's other apps can use it too. Choose **Add to Slack** in each app's settings; Slack recognizes the workspace and you choose that app's channel. Apps can share a channel or each have their own. Each card names its app, and each app keeps its own pause switch and card layout. ## Verify cards and replies ### Check outgoing cards with Send test Choose **Send test** in the app's Slack settings and confirm a sample card appears in the intended channel. The test card is filled with your newest customer's details. It checks posting only: replies and buttons on a test card don't reach anyone.  ### Check the complete conversation path 1. Send a new support message from your app and confirm it appears in Inbox. 2. In Slack, open the new card's thread and send a short answer. 3. Look for Reception's ✅ on your answer, then verify the answer in Inbox and your app. 4. If you use [push notifications](/docs/push-notifications), separately verify background delivery on a real iPhone. The ✅ means Reception saved the answer. It doesn't confirm device delivery, reading or push. If the ✅ is missing, check Inbox before sending again, because the reply may already be saved. Previews and simulations do not test a real connection. ## Reply from Slack {#reply} Write in the card's thread, as you would to a colleague. No mention or command is needed. Messages posted in the channel outside a card's thread stay in Slack and never reach a customer. If you also choose **Also send to #channel**, the reply is still sent to the customer once.  ### Confirmation and notes When your reply is saved, Reception adds ✅ to it. When a reply can't be sent, Reception explains why in a note only you can see, in the same thread. Nothing is sent to the customer in that case. ### Text Send up to 4,000 characters. The customer reads plain text: - Bold, italic and strikethrough are removed; text in code formatting keeps its content without the backticks; quotes become ordinary lines. - Mentions appear as text, like "@Maya", and channel mentions like "#billing". Nobody is notified in the customer's chat. - Links with a label become "label (link)". Slack edits and deletions don't change a reply Reception already saved. To correct an answer, send another one. ### Images {#images} Attach images to your reply, with or without text. Reception sends JPEG, PNG, WebP and GIF images (a GIF as its first frame), up to 5 per reply and 20 MB each. Convert other image formats, such as HEIC, to JPEG first. Large images are scaled down to fit the chat, and photo metadata such as location is removed. Files that aren't images, such as PDFs or videos, are not sent. The note names them; the reply's text and images are still sent. Voice clips and other Slack media are not sent either. ### Closed conversations A reply to a closed conversation isn't sent. The note offers **Reopen**; choose it, or **Reopen** on the card, then send your reply again. When the customer writes again, the conversation reopens by itself. ### Old cards If a card is deleted in Slack or removed by your workspace's message retention, the customer's next message starts a new card, which says that earlier messages are in the inbox. Answer in the new card's thread. ## Who can reply {#who-can-reply} By default, everyone in the channel who is a member of your Slack workspace can answer customers in a card's thread and use its buttons, even without a Reception account. Limit channel membership to your support team. ### Replies under your name A reply appears under a teammate's name when their Slack email address is the same as the email of their Reception account in your organization. Otherwise the reply appears as a team message without a personal name or profile photo. How names and photos look in the customer's chat follows your app's [team reply settings](/docs/remote-appearance#team-photos-and-names). ### Only workspace members can reply Turn on **Only workspace members can reply** to accept replies and button presses only from people whose Slack email belongs to a member of your Reception organization. Everyone else gets a note asking them to ask an admin for an invitation. Removing someone from your Reception organization stops their replies at once. ### Who can never reply - Guests of your Slack workspace and people from other organizations. - Apps, bots and workflows, including Reception itself. They get a note, and nothing reaches the customer. ### Card buttons - **Close** and **Reopen** change the conversation's status, as in the inbox. - **Take over from AI** stops the AI assistant from answering this conversation. A reply from Slack takes over too. Resume the AI assistant in the inbox. - **Open in Inbox** opens the conversation in Reception, where you need to be signed in. The same people who can reply can use the buttons. ## Choose what the card shows {#layout} In **Settings → your app → Slack → Message**, choose **Edit**. Each line of the card lists its fields, with the value of your newest customer and a Slack preview below. Choose **+** to add a field, such as user ID, plan, app version, local time or any [custom field](/docs/accounts#metadata) your app sends, **×** to remove one, and drag fields to reorder them or move them to another line. The fields are the same as for [Telegram](/docs/telegram#message-layout), and each integration keeps its own layout. The first line is the card's bold title, with ✓ for a verified identity, and the customer's message follows it. Later lines appear below the message, each field with its name, like **Plan: Pro**. IDs and emails appear in code formatting, so they are easy to copy. Fields without a value for a customer are left out. **Send test** shows the result in your channel; **Reset to default** brings back **App · User**.  ## Pause, change channel or disconnect {#disconnect} ### Pause Turn off **Enable Slack**, or **Notifications & replies** in the connection dialog, to pause the app while keeping the workspace and channel. While paused, no cards or thread messages are posted, replies in threads aren't sent and get a note that Slack is paused for the app, and buttons explain that the app doesn't take actions from Slack right now. Messages missed during the pause are not posted when you resume; existing threads continue with the customer's next message. ### Change channel Choose **Change channel** in the connection dialog. New conversations get their card in the new channel. Existing threads in the old channel still accept replies, and a conversation's next customer message starts a new card in the new channel. ### Disconnect Choose **Disconnect…** and confirm to stop this app posting to Slack. Reception stays in your Slack workspace for your other apps, and reconnecting needs only **Add to Slack** and a channel. Replies in the app's old threads are not sent; Reception tells the writer to answer in the inbox. Slack messages are not deleted. To remove Reception from your Slack workspace entirely, remove the app in Slack's own app management. Your apps then show **Needs attention** until you [add Reception again](#needs-attention) or disconnect them. Slack messages are not deleted. ## When Slack needs attention {#needs-attention} The Slack settings show **Needs attention** with what to fix: | Message | What to do | | --- | --- | | Reception is no longer in #channel | Someone removed Reception from the channel. Invite `@Reception` back with `/invite @Reception`, or choose another channel. | | #channel was archived | Unarchive the channel in Slack, or choose another channel. | | #channel no longer exists | Choose another channel. | | Reception was removed from your workspace | Choose **Add to Slack again**. Reception joins a public channel again; for a private channel, the settings then ask you to invite `@Reception` back. Use **Send test** to check that Reception can post in the channel. | While Slack needs attention, no cards are posted and replies in threads are not sent. Messages in between are not posted later; check Inbox. ## Privacy notes {#privacy} Connecting Slack shares the app name, the customer's display name and any fields you add to the card, their messages and images, and your team's answers with Slack and everyone in the channel. There is no separate redaction setting. Push content settings do not affect Slack. Slack keeps these messages and files under your workspace's own retention settings. Deleting Reception data, pausing, disconnecting or removing Reception does not remove them from Slack; manage those separately. Slack delivers the messages of channels Reception is in; Reception uses only replies in its own cards' threads and doesn't store other channel messages. Images from your replies are stored by Reception as part of the conversation, like images sent from the inbox. To show who replied and check membership, Reception keeps each replying Slack user's name and profile photo link. See [Data & privacy](/docs/privacy-and-data). ## Troubleshooting {#troubleshooting} | Symptom | What to check | | --- | --- | | **Add to Slack** shows an error | Try again and choose **Allow**. Add Reception to a single workspace, not an Enterprise Grid organization. Your workspace may require an administrator's approval. | | A private channel is missing from the list | Type `/invite @Reception` in the channel, then open the channel list again. | | A channel can't be chosen | Shared channels and archived channels are not supported. | | No card arrives | Check Inbox first, then **Enable Slack** and whether the settings show **Needs attention**. Use **Send test**. Missed cards are not posted later. | | A customer's message appears only in the thread | Someone already answered in the thread, so Slack notifies the people in it instead of the channel. The inbox always shows every message. | | A reply gets no ✅ | Reply inside the card's thread, not in the channel. Check the app isn't paused, and look for a note from Reception in the thread. | | A note says you can't answer customers | Guests, people from other organizations and bots can't reply. With **Only workspace members can reply**, your Slack email must match your Reception account. | | A reply appears without your name | Use the same email address in Slack and Reception, and make sure you are a member of the organization. | | An attached file didn't reach the customer | Only images are sent, up to 5 per reply. The note names the files that weren't sent. | | A note says the conversation is closed | Choose **Reopen**, then send your reply again. | Something not working? Write to us in the Support chat. We're happy to help. Briefly describe what happens and any error message you see. Include the affected app, channel and time.