Slack

Connect your Slack workspace so Scout agents can read conversations, post messages, and work alongside your team.

What You Can Do

Capability	Example
Post to channels	Share summaries, alerts, and updates
Read threads	Understand context before responding
Search history	Find past discussions and decisions
React and reply	Acknowledge messages and continue conversations

Quick Setup

The setup takes about 5 minutes. You’ll switch between Scout and Slack a few times.

Step 1: Connect Slack to Scout

📍 In Scout

Go to studio.scoutos.com/integrations
Find Slack and click Connect

Connect Slack integration

📍 In Slack (you’ll be redirected)

Select the Slack workspace you want to connect
Review the permissions Scout is requesting and click Allow

Authorize Scout in Slack

You’ll be redirected back to Scout when complete.

What permissions does Scout request?

Scout requests these permissions from Slack:

Permission	What it’s for
`channels:history`	Read messages in public channels
`groups:history`	Read messages in private channels
`chat:write`	Post messages to channels
`channels:read`	List available channels
`groups:read`	List private channels
`users:read`	Look up user information
`reactions:write`	Add emoji reactions to messages

Scout only accesses channels you explicitly add it to (see Step 3).

Step 2: Configure Your Agent

There are two options to set up Slack for your agent:

Option A: Tools + Instructions (Flexible)

Use this when you want your agent to interact with Slack as one of many tools to read and write, but not listen and respond.

📍 In Scout

Go to your agent’s Settings
Click the Add Tool button in Tools section
Search for Slack in the available tools
In your agent’s Instructions, specify which channels:


You can access the following Slack channels:
- #general - for team announcements
- #engineering - for technical discussions
- #alerts - for posting incident summaries

Option B: Deployments (Channel-First)

Use this when you want the agent to live in a Slack channel — listening, responding, and staying in the conversation rather than just acting on demand.

📍 In Scout

Go to your agent’s Settings
Click + Add Deployments → Slack
A configuration panel opens on the right. Select your Workspace and then pick the Channel where the agent should operate
Configure the deployment options (see below), then click + Add channel to save

Slack deployment configuration panel

Deployment options

Option	What it does
Workspace	Which Slack workspace to deploy to — must be connected first in Integrations
Channels	The specific channel this deployment monitors and responds in
Threaded context	Passes prior thread messages to the agent so it can give relevant, in-context replies instead of treating every message as a fresh conversation
Respond if	An optional condition that filters when the agent jumps in — e.g. “the user is asking for technical support”. Leave blank and it responds to everything
Additional instructions	Channel-specific instructions appended to the agent’s system prompt — useful for adjusting tone, scope, or behavior per channel

You can add multiple channels to a single agent. Each channel gets its own configuration.

What to watch for: If you leave “Respond if” blank, the agent replies to every message in the channel. That’s fine for a dedicated support bot, but not ideal for a general channel like #general. Set a condition to keep things focused.

What’s the difference between Tools and Deployments?

Tools give your agent access to Slack capabilities. The agent decides when to read or post messages based on your instructions.

Deployments create a persistent presence in specific channels. The agent actively monitors and responds to messages in those channels, similar to a team member.

Most setups use both: enable Slack tools for flexibility, then add a deployment for channels where you want always-on availability.

Step 3: Add Scout to Your Channels (Required)

📍 In Slack

Whether you use Tools, Deployments, or both, you need to add Scout to each channel in Slack.

This is the step most people forget. Even after configuring everything in Scout, the bot can’t see any channels until you invite it.

For each channel where you want Scout to work:

Option A: Slash command (fastest)

Go to the channel in Slack
Type: /invite @Scout
Press Enter

Option B: Channel settings

Click the channel name at the top
Go to Integrations → Add apps
Search for “Scout” and click Add

Adding Scout to a Slack channel

Repeat for each channel your agent needs to access.

Testing Your Integration

Once setup is complete, test it:

In Scout, chat with your agent and ask it to post a test message to a channel
Check that the message appears in Slack
Reply to the message in Slack
Verify your agent sees the response in Scout

For Deployment setups:

Go to one of your configured channels in Slack
Mention the agent or send a message
Verify the agent responds

Example Prompts

Once connected, here’s what you can ask your agent:

“Summarize the discussion in #engineering and post the key points to #general”
“Find messages about the API outage yesterday and create a timeline”
“Post a weekly digest to #general based on activity in engineering channels”
“Read the thread in #support about the login issue and propose solutions”

Troubleshooting

Agent says “I can’t access that channel”

Scout needs to be added to each channel individually. Go to the channel in Slack and invite Scout:


/invite @Scout

If you’re still having trouble, check that:

You’re in the correct Slack workspace (the one you connected)
The channel name in your agent instructions matches exactly
For Deployments: the channel is listed in your deployment settings

Agent can’t read replies to its messages

Scout can only read messages and replies posted after it was added to the channel. Historical messages from before the invitation aren’t accessible.

For new threads, make sure Scout is added to the channel before starting the conversation.

I connected Slack but my agent doesn’t see Slack tools

Go to your agent’s Tools tab
Make sure the Slack tools are toggled on
Check that Slack appears in your integrations list as connected

My Slack workspace isn’t showing up

If you’re signed into multiple Slack workspaces, make sure you select the correct one during authorization. You can disconnect and reconnect if needed:

Go to studio.scoutos.com/integrations
Find Slack and click Disconnect
Click Connect and select the correct workspace

Deployments: My agent isn’t responding in Slack

For Deployment-based setups, check:

Is the deployment saved? Go to Settings → Deployments and verify the Slack deployment exists
Are channels configured? Click the deployment to see which channels are listed
Is Scout in those channels? Run /invite @Scout in each channel
Is the agent active? Check that your agent is published and not in draft mode

Next Steps

Notion: Save decisions to durable documentation
Integrations Overview: Build your full integration stack
Agent Scheduling: Automate regular Slack updates

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