I used Chat GPT in Slack to turn team chats into weekly status reports | Tech Radar

Overview

News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets

Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more

Details

Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards.

Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.

I used Chat GPT in Slack to turn team chats into weekly status reports

Transform Slack team chats into polished weekly reports using Chat GPT automatically

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

How to use Chat GPT to generate weekly status reports in Slack

Things to keep in mind while using Chat GPT in Slack

Slack is one of the best online collaboration tools, streamlining communication for remote teams. However, despite the platform’s simplicity, it’s never easy managing a large team – or one that’s actively growing, continually adding more workspaces, channels, and chats. Luckily, though, Slack has introduced a host of new AI-powered innovations, including native Chat GPT integration.

Chat GPT in Slack can help you draft posts, replies, and updates in virtually no time at all and without having to leave the app. It can also summarize long conversation threads into clear, scannable notes with actionable takeaways.

The AI chatbot can also dig into Slack conversations and generate structured weekly reports, complete with project status, key milestones, and an action plan for the future. In this article, we’ll learn how to use Chat GPT in Slack to cut down clutter and draft weekly reports from everyday team conversations.

First, you’ll need to connect Chat GPT to your Slack account. It’s available as a third-party integration with all Slack plans. Here’s how to connect the two:

Step 1: Open the Slack app or its web browser version and click the workspace where you want to add Chat GPT.

I use the 'assignment' prompt to skip any Chat GPT confusion

Step 2: Click the three-dot icon on the left panel of your Slack interface and select Tools, then Apps.

Click Tools on the Slack interface (Image credit: Future)

Step 3: Search for Chat GPT in the search bar of the window that pops open and click Install.

Install Chat GPT from the list of apps on Slack (Image credit: Future)

Step 4: A new window will open with information about Chat GPT in Slack. Click the Add to Slack button on the left panel.

Step 5: You’ll be redirected to a blog post from Chat GPT about how to install the app for Slack. Scroll down to the Installation section to find the installation link – or you can click this link.

Step 6: You’ll now see the Add Chat GPT to Slack modal, where you can review the provided information. Next, click Continue to Slack.

I used Chat GPT to lighten my weekly mental load and it worked surprisingly well

I gave Chat GPT 7 extra words and the answers instantly got better

Integrating Chat GPT with Slack (Image credit: Future)

Step 7: You’ll now see the Slack authentication flow, where you can check and grant app permissions. Click Allow to continue.

Review Chat GPT app permissions before adding it to Slack (Image credit: Future)

Step 8: Return to your Slack workspace. You’ll find Chat GPT in the Apps section. Before you can get cracking with the app, though, you’ll need to connect Slack to your Chat GPT account.

The Connect Chat GPT button will disappear from the Slack chat, and you can now use the AI to streamline your in-app conversations.

So far, we’ve only added Chat GPT to a workspace, which allows you to chat with the AI assistant within Slack. However, to summarize an entire conversation thread, you’ll have to copy-paste the entire content in a separate Chat GPT conversation.

Of course, this is a lot of legwork, but you can bypass it by inviting Chat GPT to the channels – so it can access the conversations first-hand and generate the necessary reports and insights. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Open the Slack channel you want to invite Chat GPT to and type /invite in the message box. Next, click the Add apps to this channel option that pops up.

Add Chat GPT to a Slack channel in your workspace (Image credit: Future)

Step 2: From the list of apps that pops up, press the Add button next to Chat GPT.

Adding Chat GPT to a Slack channel (Image credit: Future)

You’ve now successfully added Chat GPT to your Slack channel. And yes, you can add the AI assistant to multiple channels within the same workspace.

How to use Chat GPT to generate weekly status reports in Slack

It’s finally time to learn how to use Chat GPT to organize your Slack workflow.

Visit the channel you want to analyze and type the following prompt: “@Chat GPT, summarize the channel’s activity from the past 7 days into a weekly status report.”

Because Chat GPT is a member of the channel, it can access all of the conversations required to build the report. It puts in the work and quickly renders a weekly summary of all key discussions.

While this single prompt is enough to get a quick snapshot of your week, you can further engineer the prompt to make it more precise for better results.

This will ensure Chat GPT doesn’t infest the report with casual conversations or miss out on important project ownership details.

Additionally, you can add a specific format template for Chat GPT to follow, so the outputs are more structured. An example for this could be:

“@Chat GPT, make sure to follow this format while designing the weekly report:

This comes in handy if you’re working on management-facing reports that require a more professional tone. Plus, following a template ensures consistency across different weekly reports, making them easy to review and compare.

The best part? All of this takes only a couple of minutes, so you don’t have to worry about running it manually at the end of every week. Oh, and don’t forget to publish the results in your Slack channels.

If you have the Pro Slack plan (or higher), you can also choose to fully automate the weekly reporting feature by setting up a workflow. This eliminates the need for manual prompts, meaning Chat GPT will automatically render weekly reports every Friday (or on a day and time of your choosing). Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to set it up:

Step 1: Open your Slack workspace and click Tools > Workflows. Tap the New button in the top-right corner and choose Build Workflow to create a custom workflow.

Build a custom workflow in Slack (Image credit: Future)

Step 2: Rename your workflow by pressing Untitled Workflow at the top of your screen. In this case, we’ve named it Weekly Status Report.

Step 3: Click Choose an event to start building your automation. A new window with pre-suggested actions will open. Select On a schedule.

Set a schedule for your workflow in Slack (Image credit: Future)

Step 4: Enter the time you want to run this automation. For this example, we want to get weekly reports every Friday at 16:00. Make sure to choose the appropriate time zone and frequency. Once this is done, click Continue.

Choose workflow repetition frequency on Slack (Image credit: Future)

Step 5: Click Add Steps and choose Send a message to a channel.

Add an action to your Slack workflow (Image credit: Future)

Step 6: Select the channel you want to send this message to. For simplicity, we’ve created a separate #weekly-updates channel for this.

Enter the message prompt for your Slack workflow (Image credit: Future)

Step 7: Enter the prompt. Make sure you reference the right channel here. We want to summarize the conversations in the main channel and send the summary to our #weekly-updates channel. So, you could start your prompt like this: “@Chat GPT, summarize the activity in #main-channel from the last 5 days and generate a weekly report.” Click Save when done.

Step 8: Select Finish Up in the top-right corner of your main workflow interface. In the confirmation window that opens, edit your workflow name and then hit Publish.

Publish your workflow in Slack (Image credit: Future)

Simply put, this automation will automatically send a message to your main channel, asking Chat GPT to summarize the week in the form of a report and then send the result to the #weekly-updates channel.

Things to keep in mind while using Chat GPT in Slack

Here are a few things to keep in mind before you integrate Chat GPT with your Slack:

While the free Slack plan allows you to integrate up to 10 third-party apps, you’ll need a paid plan to actually deploy and use these apps within Slack’s infrastructure. This means while you can connect Chat GPT with Slack on the free plan, you won’t be able to use it unless you upgrade. Slack’s paid subscriptions start at $3.26/user/month, billed annually.

Similarly, you’ll need a premium Chat GPT plan, which starts at $20/month, since Slack integration and automations are only supported on the paid plans.

While it’s important to define exactly what you want Chat GPT to do with your Slack conversations, don’t overwhelm the AI with complicated prompts from the get-go.

You can start with a simple prompt like “Summarize the conversation from the last 7 days” and then add more nuances to fine-tune the results. Complex prompts can confuse the AI assistant, leading to ignored instructions or inaccurate results.

Slack allows you to integrate Chat GPT with only one workspace at a time. This means if you want weekly reports for different workspaces, you’ll need to disconnect Chat GPT from one workspace before reconnecting it to another.

Krishi covers buying guides and how-to's related to software, online tools, and tech products here at Tech Radar. Over at Tom's Guide, he writes exclusively on VPN services. You can also find his work on Techopedia and The Tech Report. As a tech fanatic, Krishi also loves writing about the latest happenings in the world of cybersecurity, AI, and software.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

1 This HP Omen 16 deal with RTX 5050 graphics is a steal for video editing — and I can't find it cheaper anywhere else

2 This early Prime Day mini PC deal is built for serious office multitasking — the GMKtec M5 Ultra is a productivity workhorse for the home office setup

3 Ruark's new music console and slimline speakers are the CD playing, vinyl spinning, hi-res music streaming system your small apartment craves

4 Don't pay silly prices for desktop RAM — this 32GB G. SKILL Flare X5 DDR5-6000 kit is $70 off right now using a special code at Newegg

5'At least they're honest about it?' —Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is the latest game to come with an AI-generated content disclosure

Tech Radar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Key Takeaways

News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards
Unlock instant access to exclusive member features
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards