# Using Internal Threads with Slack

> Internal threads  are discussion threads inside a  conversation  that your team uses for  collaboration with internal experts  When Slack is connected to your 

Source: https://help.kustomer.com/en_us/using-internal-threads-with-slack-B1G7hWpTbe

Last updated: 2026-06-09T18:20:57.618Z

**Internal threads** are discussion threads inside a **conversation** that your team uses for **collaboration with internal experts**. When Slack is connected to your organization, those threads stay in sync with **Slack** so people can follow or reply where they already work, while keeping internal discussion separate from messages the **customer** sees.

Some use cases for Internal Threads with Slack include:

*   Agents or leads can discuss a live or recent Kustomer conversation in Slack while preserving chronology and ensuring auditability inside the Kustomer platform.
*   Operations or specialty teams add context in an internal thread so the assigned agent sees decisions without needing to check Slack for updates. 

This article summarizes how internal threads relate to Slack, required setup, and items your team should validate in the product UI before publishing customer-facing Help Center copy.

### Enabling Internal Threads

You must first enable Internal Thread functionality within your org to allow Slack to connect with Kustomer. 

1.  From the left navigation panel, click **Settings**. The **Settings** page appears. 
2.  Beneath **Administration,** click **Organization**. 
3.  Locate and then toggle on the option for **Enable Internal Threads**. 

Once you've toggled Internal Threads on, your next step is to [install the **Slack** application to your Kustomer org](https://kustomer.kustomer.help/en_us/install-and-manage-apps-B1hQO3D5u) (if you have not already done so). Click the **Application Store** icon from the left navigation panel, then search for and install the **Slack** application. 

From the navigation bar in the **Application Store** page, click the **Slack** application. Next, click **Connect Workspace**. 

Next, go to Slack. From **Slack**, only after you have installed the Slack app in Kustomer and connected it to your Slack workspace, you can add the Kustomer user into any Slack channels (via `/invite @Kustomer`) you want selectable for your reps. 

Note: Adding or removing the Kustomer Slack user to or from a Slack channel may take up to 5 minutes to reflect in the Kustomer UI.

## Create an internal thread

![](https://cdn.kustomerhostedcontent.com/media/570fad9d9001bc1000163b28/8072011a9ae00b78c3ccf8ef6643201c.png)

1.  Open the customer or conversation where you want to collaborate.
2.  At the top right of the conversation window, click on **Add internal thread** to create a new internal thread.
3.  Choose the channel type to **Share in**:
    *   Select **None** to keep the discussion only in Kustomer. Also add a clear **Name**, such as:
        *   `Billing escalation`
        *   `Refund approval`
        *   `Compliance review`
        *   `Context for agent response`
    *   Select **Slack** to connect the discussion to a Slack channel. If you choose **Slack**, select the Slack channel where the thread should be posted.
4.  Add your first internal message.
5.  Send the message.

After the thread is created, teammates can reply from Kustomer. If the thread is connected to Slack, teammates can also reply from the Slack thread.

## Choose None or Slack

Choose **None** when the discussion only needs people already working in Kustomer, or when you want to keep the collaboration entirely inside the customer timeline.

Choose **Slack** when you need input from teammates who work primarily in Slack, or when the right escalation path is a Slack channel used by a specialist team.

Examples:

Choose

Use when

**None**

An agent and team lead are discussing response wording inside Kustomer.

**None**

You want to leave internal context for the next agent without notifying a Slack channel.

**Slack**

Billing, compliance, legal, engineering, or another specialist group needs to weigh in.

**Slack**

The team already monitors a Slack channel for escalations or approvals.

## Reply to an internal thread

You can reply to an internal thread from Kustomer.

If the thread is connected to Slack, replies can also be added from the connected Slack thread. Slack replies sync back into the Kustomer internal thread, so agents can see the full discussion from the Kustomer timeline.

This helps agents avoid switching tools or searching Slack to understand what was decided.

## Mention teammates

You can mention users in internal thread messages by prepending their user name with an `@` symbol. Mentioning users with `@` is possible in both internal threads, and threads created in your organization's Slack. 

> **Mention formatting note:** When mentioning a user by name, replace spaces with dots. For example, use `@jane.smith` instead of `@jane smith`.

Because this format is not always obvious, double-check the mention before sending your message.

You can also @ groups in Slack. 

1.  Open the **customer** record and select the **conversation** where you need internal coordination over Slack. 
2.  Click **\+ Add internal thread**. From here, you have two options to **Share in**:
    1.  Select **None** to create an internal thread that is local to Kustomer. 
    2.  Select **Slack** to create a threaded conversation within your org's designated Slack channel. 
3.  Enter your message. 
    1.  Messages can accept rich text, emoji, and GIFs. 
    2.  Prepend messages with @ to tag an individual user in Slack.
    3.  Prepend messages with @ and the name of a group to tag all users in that group. 
    4.  Users and groups with a name separated by a space need to replace the space with a "." (like _@user.name_ for _@user name)._
4.  Click **Send** to send your message to the selected Slack channel. 

New messages sent from Kustomer in the internal thread will appear in a threaded Slack conversation, and teammates can participate from **Slack** or from **Kustomer**. 

Kustomer has an **Internal Message Create** [workflow](https://help.kustomer.com/workflows-overview-HJFVTZhzz) trigger that runs each time an internal message event has been created. This trigger can be used to automate status changes to a conversation when a new internal thread is created (such as responding in Slack to a message from Kustomer). 

**Note:** @mentions typed in a Kustomer internal thread trigger Slack notifications for the mentioned user or group. The mentioned user receives a notification alert, and will see their tagged username or group name in the Slack message thread thread.

### Understanding Kustomer conversation attributes visible in Slack

When an internal Slack thread is tied to a **conversation,** a message is sent to the selected thread that can contain these attributes depending on your organization's settings:

**Customer**

*   Name

**Conversation**

*   Conversation Title
*   Channel
*   Assigned to
*   Created
*   Updated

**Note:** Internal thread content may include **customer personally identifiable information (PII)**. I**nternal message redaction** behavior is tied to Kustomer only, so message bodies and previews can be redacted in Kustomer while the  metadata can still appear in Slack. Your security team should confirm what appears in **Slack** retention and export policies versus Kustomer retention.

### ****Connecting a different Slack workspace****

Kustomer supports one connected Slack workspace at a time. To switch to a different workspace:

1.  Go to ****Settings > Integrations > Slack****
2.  Click ****Disconnect**** to remove the current workspace connection
    *   ****Note:**** Deactivating the integration does not disconnect the workspace. You must use ****Disconnect**** to release the connection before a new workspace can be added.
3.  Once disconnected, click ****Connect**** and authenticate with the new workspace

All internal thread functionality tied to the previous workspace will stop working until the new workspace is connected.