How to Add OpenClaw to Slack: Complete Setup Guide

Your Slack Workspace + AI Assistant = Productivity Upgrade

Slack is where your team already communicates. Adding an AI assistant that lives natively inside your workspace — available in channels, threads, and DMs — is one of the fastest ways to upgrade team productivity in 2026.

ClawMates added Slack integration in v2026.3. This guide walks you through the complete setup process, from creating your Slack app to having a working AI bot in your workspace.

Time to complete: ~15 minutes Technical level: Beginner-friendly Requirements: A ClawMates Pro or Power plan, a Slack workspace where you have admin access

Step 1: Create a Slack App

1. Go to api.slack.com/apps and sign in
2. Click Create New App
3. Choose From scratch
4. Name your app (e.g., "ClawMates AI" or your assistant's name)
5. Select your Slack workspace from the dropdown
6. Click Create App

Step 2: Configure Bot Permissions

In your new app's settings:

1. Go to OAuth & Permissions in the left sidebar

2. Scroll to Bot Token Scopes and add these permissions:

   • app_mentions:read — respond when @mentioned
   • channels:history — read message history in channels
   • chat:write — post messages
   • im:history — read DM history
   • im:write — send DMs
   • groups:history — read private channel history (optional, for private channels)

3. Scroll up and click Install to Workspace

4. Authorize the permissions

5. Copy the Bot User OAuth Token (starts with xoxb-)

Step 3: Enable Socket Mode (Recommended)

Socket Mode lets your bot receive events without a public URL — simpler and more secure:

1. Go to Settings → Basic Information
2. Scroll to App-Level Tokens, click Generate Token and Scopes
3. Name it "socket-mode", add scope connections:write
4. Copy the App-Level Token (starts with xapp-)

Then go to Socket Mode in the left sidebar and toggle it On.

Step 4: Connect to ClawMates

1. Log in to your ClawMates dashboard
2. Go to Integrations → Slack
3. Paste your Bot User OAuth Token (xoxb-...)
4. Paste your App-Level Token (xapp-...)
5. Select your AI model (Claude, GPT-4o, or Gemini)
6. Enter your system prompt — define the assistant's personality and expertise
7. Click Deploy Slack Integration

ClawMates will verify both tokens and start the Slack connection within 30 seconds.

Step 5: Invite the Bot to Channels

The bot can only respond in channels it's been invited to:

1. Open the Slack channel where you want the bot
2. Type /invite @YourBotName
3. The bot will confirm it joined

For DMs, users can message the bot directly without any setup.

How to Use Your Slack AI Assistant

@mention in a channel:

@ClawMates summarize this week's product discussion
@ClawMates what are the action items from the last message thread?
@ClawMates draft a response to this client complaint

Direct messages: Send any message directly to the bot for private AI assistance — great for personal tasks, drafting messages, or sensitive queries.

Thread replies: The bot can participate in threads, maintaining context throughout the conversation. Just @mention it in the thread.

Team Configuration Tips

Separate Bots for Different Contexts

Consider deploying multiple ClawMates bots for different Slack channels:

• #engineering-ai: System prompt focused on code review, debugging, and technical documentation
• #marketing-ai: System prompt focused on copywriting, campaign ideas, and brand voice
• #general-ai: General-purpose assistant for the whole team

Shared System Prompts

For team bots, your system prompt should include shared context:

You are the AI assistant for [Company Name]'s engineering team.
Our tech stack: TypeScript, Next.js, PostgreSQL, deployed on Cloudflare.
Our coding standards: [link to docs].
When reviewing code, always check for: security, performance, and test coverage.
Format code in markdown code blocks with the language specified.

Privacy Considerations

• The bot only reads messages in channels it's been invited to
• DMs are private between the user and the bot
• ClawMates never stores conversation content — messages go directly to your AI provider
• Use channel-specific bots to limit access to sensitive discussions

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Bot doesn't respond:

• Check that the bot has been invited to the channel
• Verify the tokens are correctly entered in the ClawMates dashboard
• Ensure Socket Mode is enabled and the App-Level Token has connections:write scope

Bot responds slowly:

• Slack has a 3-second response timeout before showing a "thinking" indicator — this is normal
• Slow responses usually indicate API latency from the AI provider, not ClawMates

Bot responds to wrong messages:

• Make sure app_mentions:read scope is correctly set
• The bot only responds to @mentions in channels; it responds to all DMs

What's Coming Next

ClawMates's Slack integration is currently in beta (v2026.3). Upcoming features:

• Scheduled Slack messages (morning briefings to channels)
• Slash command support (/ask, /summarize, /translate)
• Reaction-triggered actions (react with 📋 to summarize a thread)
• Team analytics dashboard showing AI usage across channels

Ready to Add AI to Your Slack?

Start your ClawMates free trial — the Slack integration is included on Pro and Power plans. If you're already a ClawMates user, the Slack option is live in your dashboard under Integrations.

For more integrations, see our full integrations guide. To optimize your AI's performance once it's live, read our guide on getting more from your AI assistant.