With AI tools now an increasingly common presence in workplaces and organizations across the world, the focus has switched from enjoying the novelty of these systems to making sure they are as productive and effective as possible.
AI agents were a headline discussion at the recent Dreamforce 2024 event, but asides from the new Agentforce platform launch from Salesforce, Slack was also keen to get into the action.
TechRadar Pro got to speak to Slack CEO Denise Dresser to find out exactly how much impact AI is going to have on the platform - and why we should all be grabbing the opportunity with two hands.
"Work is broken"
"Work, fundamentally, is broken," Dresser declares, noting most of us are spending too much time on what she calls "the work of work" - often by switching between unconnected enterprise apps, navigating through data siloes to simply find the basic information we need to do our jobs.
Fortunately, AI can take much of this heavy lifting away from human workers, she says, highlighting the "incredible wave" of AI technology already being utilized by businesses across the world - which includes 13,000 AI apps being built in Slack.
“We’re really investing in making surrey that AI for every worker can work for you and drive more productivity," Dresser adds, "we are at one of the most profound times that we will experience as human workers, that presents so much potential, so much opportunity - and so many questions as well."
With the weight of its parent company behind it, Slack has dived into the world of AI tools head-first, offering a huge range of services for users in a bid to help make them more productive and efficient.
Dresser is keen to highlight the likes of its summarization tools, something she says is invaluable to her working life, combing through channels and conversations to surface the most important items.
Huddles, Slack's version of quick-start spontaneous meetings, have also gotten an AI boost, with a new canvas sidebar automatically generating summaries, notes and action items from a real-time transcript. Slack AI is also coming to Workflow Builder, which will now let workers automate processes using natural language, removing friction and possible resistance to getting on board with AI.
"Slack is the natural place for work," Dresser declares. "The future of work is conversational, it will be searching, surfacing, taking action, collaborating right in the flow of work - that vision has never been more true and never been more real, because this moment is here."
The era of agents
Agents are also the other major AI step forward for Slack, with Dresser noting how offerings from third-parties such as Adobe, Box and Workday will help conversations spread across multiple apps without the friction of having to painfully switch between and start afresh.
“The era of agents is a big idea, and it's happening now," she notes, "but it's important that we make sure that phase goes very well, that we onboard customers effectively…and we fulfil that vision, as we do think that’s the future.”
So it seems like now the tools are in place, the impetus now is with workers and managers alike to ensure they are employing AI to boost their daily routine.
“What we focus on is making sure we build a product that people love," Dresser notes, "there's really no one in the world that can offer the breadth of product that can truly operate across your entire business at the scale we can."
“We’re really excited about this innovation meeting this moment, I don’t think there could be a better time for us, and we’re very optimistic about the future of work."
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