# Using Slack as a customer conversation channel > Source: https://help.kustomer.com/en_us/using-slack-as-a-customer-conversation-channel-rkp6LB_9fe Last updated: 2026-10-19T18:35:04.100Z This article walks through setup and first-time usage of the Slack channel in Kustomer. You will install the app, enable the Slack channel within Kustomer, connect to your Slack Workspace, and learn how to work with conversations in both Slack and Kustomer. ### In this article * [Who can access this feature](#who-can-access-this-feature) * [Prerequisites](#prerequisites) * [Turning on the channel](#turning-on-the-channel) * [Connecting your Slack workspace](#connecting-your-slack-workspace) * [Adding the Kustomer app to a Slack channel](#adding-the-kustomer-app-to-a-slack-channel) * [Linking a Slack channel to a Company](#linking-a-slack-channel-to-a-company) * [Testing your setup](#testing-your-setup) * [Turning off the channel](#turning-off-the-channel) * [Starting a conversation from Slack](#starting-a-conversation-from-slack) * [Working a conversation](#working-a-conversation) * [Finishing a conversation](#finishing-a-conversation) ### Who can access this feature Action Who Turn on the channel for the organization A Kustomer admin. Connect the Slack workspace A user who is both a Kustomer admin and a Slack workspace admin. Add or remove linked Slack channels A Kustomer admin. View the list of linked Slack channels Any agent. Start a Kustomer conversation from Slack Any Kustomer user, including collaborator seats, whose Slack profile email matches their Kustomer login email. #### Prerequisites * Kustomer enables this feature for your organization. Your Kustomer contact confirms when it's ready. * You need one person who is both a Kustomer admin and a Slack workspace admin to connect the workspace. #### Turning on the channel The Slack channel must be enabled from your organization's settings menu. To turn on Slack as a customer channel: 1. In the left navigation panel, click **Settings**. 2. Under **Administration**, click **Organization**. 3. Toggle on **Slack as a channel**. #### Connecting your Slack workspace With your Slack channel toggled on, you need to connect Kustomer to your Slack workspace. You must [install the Slack application](https://kustomer.kustomer.help/en_us/install-and-manage-apps-B1hQO3D5u) from the Kustomer application store before you can proceed. To connect your Slack workspace: 1. In the left navigation panel, click **Settings**. 2. Click **Apps**, then click _Slack_. 3. Click **Connect** and sign in to Slack to approve the connection. Once connected, the page shows "Connected" along with your workspace name. Only one Kustomer organization can be connected to a given Slack workspace at a time. If you connect the same workspace from another Kustomer organization — for example, a sandbox — it will disconnect from the primary Kustomer org. #### Adding the Kustomer app to a Slack channel Before a Slack Connect channel can be linked to a Company in Kustomer, the Kustomer app must be added to that channel. > 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. In Slack, open each Slack Connect channel you want to use and type `/invite @Kustomer`. Channels don't appear in Kustomer until the app has been added, and it can take a few minutes to show up in the **Add channel** list afterward. #### Linking a Slack channel to a Company To link a Slack channel to a Company: 1. In the left navigation panel, click **Settings**. 2. Click **Channels**, then click _Slack_. 3. Click **Add channel**. 4. Select the Slack channel and the client's Company, then click **Save**. Repeat these steps for each client channel. Only admins can add or remove channels; agents can view the list. #### Testing your setup To confirm a linked channel is working: 1. In the linked channel, have someone on the client side post a message. 2. As a rep, react to that message with your organization's trigger emoji. The default is ✅ (`white_check_mark`). The default trigger emoji can be changed. See [Changing your Slack trigger emoji](#changing-your-slack-trigger-emoji). You should see: * A private "Open in Kustomer" note visible only to you. * A short confirmation card in the thread. * A new conversation in Kustomer, under the client's Company. Reply from Kustomer and confirm it appears in the thread. Then reply in the thread as the client and confirm it appears in Kustomer. #### Changing your Slack trigger emoji The trigger emoji is the reaction a rep adds to a client's first message to open a conversation in Kustomer. Every linked Slack channel in the organization uses the same list. Until you change it, the trigger emoji is ✅ (`white_check_mark`). To change the trigger emoji: 1. In the left navigation panel, click **Settings**. 2. Under **Channels**, click **Slack**. 3. In the _Conversation trigger_ section, enter one or more Slack emoji short names in the _Trigger emoji_ field. 1. Leave out colons. 2. To allow more than one emoji, separate the names with commas. For example: `white_check_mark, kusty`. 4. Click **Save**. A standard Slack emoji works in every workspace. A preview under the field shows that emoji and its short name. A custom emoji, such as `kusty`, must already be uploaded in your Slack workspace. When a name is not a standard emoji, the page includes a link to [Slack's custom emoji settings](https://slack.com/help/articles/206870177-Add-custom-emoji-and-aliases-to-your-workspace). Limits on the names you can save: * Enter the short name, such as `white_check_mark`, not the emoji character itself. * Use lowercase letters, numbers, and these characters: `_`, `+`, `-`, and `'`. * Enter at least one name. If you enter the same name twice, it is saved once. * A name with spaces, a raw emoji character, or other punctuation cannot be saved. * Uppercase letters are saved as lowercase. Colons typed around a name are removed. * A skin-tone name that contains `::`, such as `raised_hand::skin-tone-2`, cannot be saved. #### Using Concierge with Slack Concierge can work a Slack conversation after an agent opens it, but a client message does not reach Concierge on its own. A rep still reacts with the trigger emoji, or mentions @kustomer, to create the conversation. That conversation is not assigned to the rep who opened it by default, so your [routing rules](https://help.kustomer.com/en_us/reroute-conversations-from-default-queue-HylmeAAHi) can send it to Concierge. To leave new Slack conversations available to Concierge: 1. In the left navigation panel, click **Settings**. 2. Under **Workspace**, click **Organization**. 3. Next to _Slack as a channel_, leave _Assign Slack conversations to the reacting agent_ turned off. When _Assign Slack conversations to the reacting agent_ is turned on, the conversation is assigned to the agent who reacted. Routing rules and AI agents, including Concierge, do not take that conversation. Route the unassigned conversation to Concierge the same way you route conversations from other channels. See [Use workflows to hand off a conversation to an AI Agent](https://help.kustomer.com/workflow-to-ai-team-By2nMANskx). Replies Concierge sends on the Slack conversation post into the Slack thread, the same as a reply an agent sends from Kustomer. #### Turning off the channel To turn off Slack as a customer channel: 1. In the left navigation panel, click **Settings**. 2. Under **Administration**, click **Organization**. 3. Turn off Slack as a customer channel. New Slack activity stops flowing into Kustomer. Existing conversations remain in Kustomer. #### Starting a conversation from Slack A rep can create conversations from Slack only if the email address on their Slack profile matches their Kustomer login email. Any Kustomer user type qualifies, including collaborator seats. Your customer/client cannot initiate a Slack conversation in Kustomer, only your agents can. To start a conversation: * React ✅ (white check mark is default) on the client's first message in a thread — the message that started it. Reacting to a later reply in the thread does nothing. * Or mention @kustomer anywhere in the thread. When you do, the thread so far is copied into a new conversation for that client under their Company, and the conversation is assigned to whoever triggered it. Reassign it, or let your routing rules pick it up, as you normally would. New client messages aren't captured automatically — an agent must react ✅ or mention @kustomer to bring a message into Kustomer. #### Assigning an agent to a Slack conversation Incoming Slack conversations can be assigned to the rep who initially reacted in Slack to open the conversation. You can toggle the option to automatically assign a Slack conversation as needed. 1. In the **Settings** page, click **Channels>Slack**. 2. Scroll to **Assign Slack Conversation**, then toggle on or off. ![](https://cdn.kustomerhostedcontent.com/media/570fad9d9001bc1000163b28/28710113ba9a11fb25c3791d5705a7e0.png) #### Working a conversation * Client replies in the Slack thread appear in Kustomer as customer messages, including attachments. If the conversation was marked Done, a new client reply reopens it. * Replies you send from Kustomer post into the Slack thread under your name. Bold text, links, and attachments come through correctly. * If you reply directly in the Slack thread, that reply also appears in Kustomer as an agent reply. * Emoji reactions, edits, and deletions in the thread are reflected in Kustomer. To reply by email instead of Slack for a given message, use the channel selector in the reply box to choose the client's email (shown when we have their email on file) instead of the Slack thread. The conversation stays the same; an email reply isn't copied into Slack. #### Finishing a conversation Mark the conversation Done in Kustomer as usual. If the client replies in the thread later, the conversation reopens automatically.