How to use ChatGPT in Slack

How to use ChatGPT in Slack depends on where you want to work. @ChatGPT is a shared assistant an admin sets up in Slack, and anyone in an enabled channel can mention it; it needs ChatGPT Business, Edu or Enterprise. The Slack app inside ChatGPT works the other way round: you search and act on Slack from ChatGPT, on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu. OpenAI also lets you deploy workspace agents to Slack channels.

The two main routes are easy to mix up, and OpenAI says so plainly: connecting Slack in ChatGPT "does not, by itself, install or enable @ChatGPT in your organization's Slack or Teams conversations." Pick by where the work starts. If your team asks in a Slack thread, set up @ChatGPT. If you work in ChatGPT and want Slack as a source, connect the Slack app there. You can use both.

Which ChatGPT and Slack route do you need?

If you used the older ChatGPT app in Slack's sidebar with your personal account: OpenAI says @ChatGPT replaces it, and existing installations "do not stop working immediately" when @ChatGPT launches.

How do I set up @ChatGPT in Slack?

OpenAI's admin guide says @ChatGPT is available to Business, Edu and Enterprise accounts, though some OpenAI pages and the Slack listing name only Business and Enterprise. An admin on the ChatGPT side sets it up, and a Slack workspace owner or app manager may need to approve it. The admin guide gives these steps:

1. Open the OpenAI admin console and select the ChatGPT workspace you want to use.
2. Open Agents, click Add in the top right, and follow the Slack setup prompts.
3. Connect the Slack workspace and review the permissions it asks for.
4. Have the Slack workspace owner or an authorized app manager approve the app, if your Slack requires it.
5. In New surface, choose the connected Slack workspace, enter a name people will recognize, and select Create surface.
6. To limit where it works, open the surface, select Selected channels only, add your test channels, and select Save channel restrictions.
7. Add @ChatGPT to an approved test channel and mention it in a fresh thread.

A few admin details worth knowing before you roll it out:

• Company tools. You add each tool as a plugin: open the surface's Plugins section and select Add plugin. OpenAI notes that "Connecting a tool does not grant access to every company resource." The connected account's permissions set the limit.
• Instructions. There is an optional Instructions field, but OpenAI says @ChatGPT "is designed to not require any additional instructions from admins."
• Spend. You can set a default spend limit per surface and override it for each one, under Usage limits → Shared agents in the admin console, then Spend controls → Edit spend cap on the surface.
• Enterprise Grid. Use a separate surface for each Slack workspace in the org.
• Existing installs. On Business or Enterprise, admins must upgrade the Slack app installation to give @ChatGPT the extra scopes it needs.

How do team members use @ChatGPT?

From OpenAI's member guide:

1. Open a channel where your organization has turned on @ChatGPT.
2. Mention @ChatGPT and describe what you want it to do.
3. Read the reply, check the details, and mention @ChatGPT again if you want a change.

@ChatGPT has to be added to the channel first. Replies stay in the thread, so teammates can see them and build on them. You can also message it directly, or include it when you start a new group DM. Slack does not let you add an app to an existing group DM.

Team members do not need their own ChatGPT license to use @ChatGPT in enabled channels, unless the admin requires people to connect their account.

What does @ChatGPT cost?

Slack's Marketplace listing says it is "Included with service subscription", so the cost is your ChatGPT plan. OpenAI's help center lists ChatGPT Business at:

• Standard seat: $25 per user per month on the monthly plan, or $20 per user per month billed yearly.
• Premium seat: $125 per user per month on the monthly plan, or $100 per user per month billed yearly.
• A Business workspace needs at least 2 seats in total.

Enterprise has no public price; you contact OpenAI sales. Usage handled through @ChatGPT's service account counts against that account. When a member approves work that uses their own connections, the usage counts against them.

What can @ChatGPT do in Slack, and what can't it do?

OpenAI's product page lists jobs such as investigating a bug and opening a pull request, turning a long thread into a brief, plan or presentation, recurring work on a schedule, and watching connected tools. It can update a connected tool "when the connected tool supports the action and the configured account has permission", and it asks for your approval before it acts. In Slack, an Allow for a week button can remember that access level for 7 days. Admins can also let members start Codex coding tasks from Slack; those run as the member who asked.

The limits, all from OpenAI's member guide:

• It is not you. @ChatGPT runs through a service account, not your personal ChatGPT account. It "does not automatically inherit your access to files, apps, or private channels." In OpenAI's words: "Your own ability to open the document does not establish that @ChatGPT can open it."
• No memory yet. "At launch, @ChatGPT does not record or access memory." Your personal saved memories, custom instructions, skills and chat history do not carry over.
• Replies are shared. "Replies in shared conversations are visible to their participants." Do not ask it about something the whole channel should not see.
• DMs are open. Admins can choose which channels can start conversations with it, but Slack channel restrictions do not restrict direct messages.

How do I connect Slack inside ChatGPT?

This route brings Slack into ChatGPT. OpenAI describes it as an app that lets you "search messages, threads, and channels you already have permission to access." You use it in chat, deep research and agent mode.

Eligible Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu users connect it like this:

1. In ChatGPT, find Slack in Apps or Plugins, depending on what your account shows.
2. Select Connect.
3. Complete the authorization for the Slack workspace you want.

On Business workspaces the Slack app is on by default. On Enterprise and Edu, an admin has to confirm that Slack is enabled and that the right members have access. Admins manage it in the admin console under Plugins, where they can set role access and turn off any action.

What it does and where it stops:

• Search. Keyword search works on all Slack plans. Search by meaning needs a Slack Business+ or Enterprise+ workspace with Slack AI Search turned on.
• Actions. Where a workspace admin allows it, it can act for you: join a channel, create a reminder, upload a file, or update your Slack profile.
• One workspace. You can connect only one Slack workspace at a time.
• Your access only. It reaches what you can already see in Slack.
• Quota. OpenAI warns that deep research, Pro models or agent mode "may exhaust your per-user Slack API quota" even when workspace limits are fine.
• Triggers. Slack-triggered tasks fire only on new messages in channels the app has joined. Direct messages, reactions, edits and deletions do not trigger them. On Enterprise and Edu, an admin must turn on Allow event-triggered scheduled tasks.
• Data. OpenAI notes that requests and data may go to Slack and are then handled under Slack's terms and its privacy, retention and data-residency policies.

If your Slack requires admin approval for app scopes, a Slack admin may need to approve or reinstall the updated app.

How do ChatGPT agents work in Slack?

Workspace agents are agents you build in ChatGPT and then deploy to Slack channels. Each agent gets its own handle, which is a Slack user group, so the name must be unique among your user groups. You can set it to reply to all relevant messages or only when mentioned, and you can schedule it to post.

You need a paid Slack plan, a Business, Edu or Enterprise ChatGPT account, and Slack permissions that let all members create user groups. OpenAI's admin setup has three steps:

1. Add the Workspace Agents in Slack app in ChatGPT.
2. Add the ChatGPT Agents app in Slack.
3. Turn on user group management for all users in Slack's settings.

Then open your agent and click Add channel. For a private channel, add the app from the channel's Integrations → Add apps. On Enterprise Grid you need approval at the org level and a connection at the workspace level.

Can I connect ChatGPT to Slack's MCP server?

Not in a way we could confirm. Slack's developer docs say its MCP server lets approved MCP clients search channels, read channels and threads, send and schedule messages, and work with canvases, files and lists. Workspace admins approve and manage every MCP client. Slack adds: "Only apps published in the Slack Marketplace and internal apps can use MCP at this time; unlisted apps are prohibited from using MCP." The MCP server has the same rate limits as Slack's Web API.

We found no OpenAI or Slack page that describes pointing ChatGPT at Slack's MCP server, so we do not say it works. For most teams the Slack app inside ChatGPT is the supported path.

Are there other ways to get ChatGPT in Slack?

You can build your own bot with the OpenAI API and your own Slack app. Third-party Marketplace apps such as Plug and AI also bring ChatGPT and other models into Slack; its listing gives $0 a month as the base cost, then pay per use at wholesale API rates plus 10%.

Which route should you pick?

If your company already pays for ChatGPT Business or Enterprise, @ChatGPT is the natural choice for questions in Slack threads, and it does things a plain chat bot cannot, such as Codex tasks and scheduled work. The Slack app inside ChatGPT is the better fit for finding an old Slack answer while you work in ChatGPT, and it is the only official route on Plus or Pro. Workspace agents fit a repeat job you want one named agent to own in a channel. A bot you build yourself gives full control, with the build and upkeep that comes with it.

How Glad does this

Glad is an AI teammate that lives in Slack, and nobody needs a ChatGPT seat to use it. Anyone in a channel mentions @Glad and asks in plain words, for example: "@Glad update the deal in HubSpot and post a summary here." Glad works across 1,500+ tools and reports back in the thread. Each person connects their own accounts, and sharing a connection with the team needs an admin's approval. Glad asks for a yes in the thread before an action that cannot be undone, and every memory it keeps is visible and editable. It is priced per Slack workspace with a hard cap, no seats and no credits, from $49 a month for 250 tasks. Where @ChatGPT does more: Glad does not write and run code yet (a code sandbox is planned), and it has no scheduled jobs yet (they are planned). See pricing or how Glad compares.

FAQ

Is there an official ChatGPT app for Slack?

Yes. @ChatGPT is OpenAI's official assistant in Slack for ChatGPT Business, Edu and Enterprise, listed in the Slack Marketplace with OpenAI as the developer. Separately, the Slack app inside ChatGPT lets Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu users search Slack from ChatGPT.

Can I use ChatGPT in Slack with a Plus or Pro account?

Not as @ChatGPT; that needs Business, Edu or Enterprise. On Plus or Pro you can connect the Slack app inside ChatGPT and search the Slack you already have access to.

Does everyone in Slack need a ChatGPT license?

No. Team members without their own ChatGPT license can use @ChatGPT in enabled channels, unless the admin requires them to connect their account.

Can @ChatGPT read private channels?

Only where it has been given access. It runs through a service account and does not inherit your access to files, apps or private channels.

Do I need a paid Slack plan?

For workspace agents, yes. The OpenAI pages we read do not name a Slack plan requirement for @ChatGPT or the Slack app inside ChatGPT, though search by meaning needs Slack Business+ or Enterprise+ with Slack AI Search.

Does ChatGPT work with the Slack MCP server?

We could not confirm it. Slack allows only Marketplace-published and internal apps to use its MCP server, with admin approval, and no OpenAI page we found describes connecting the two.

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Sources

Checked on 2026-10-08.

• ChatGPT with Slack and Microsoft Teams, OpenAI Help Center. The two Slack experiences, plan availability, @ChatGPT replacing the older sidebar app, existing installs, scope upgrade, connecting Slack in ChatGPT does not install @ChatGPT.
• Using @ChatGPT in Slack and Microsoft Teams, OpenAI Help Center. Member steps, channel and DM rules, service account, no inherited access, no memory at launch, shared replies, Allow for a week.
• Setting up and managing @ChatGPT in Slack and Microsoft Teams, OpenAI Help Center. Business, Edu and Enterprise availability, admin setup steps, surfaces and channel restrictions, Enterprise Grid, plugins, instructions, spend limits, usage attribution, Codex tasks.
• @ChatGPT in Slack and Microsoft Teams, OpenAI. No individual license needed, approval before actions, listed uses, tool updates.
• ChatGPT & Slack Integration, Slack Marketplace. Mentions, DMs, group DM rule, replies in thread, Business and Enterprise availability, "Included with service subscription".
• Using Slack in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center. Slack app inside ChatGPT: eligible plans, connect steps, search and actions, one workspace, admin controls, quota warning, triggers, data handling.
• ChatGPT Agents App in Slack, OpenAI Help Center. Workspace agent prerequisites, Add channel, handles, reply settings, scheduling, private channels, Enterprise Grid.
• Deploy ChatGPT workspace agents to Slack: Admin Setup, OpenAI Help Center. The three admin setup steps and the user group requirement.
• ChatGPT Business, Overview, OpenAI Help Center. Standard and Premium seat prices, 2-seat minimum.
• ChatGPT Plans, OpenAI. Plan list; Enterprise through sales.
• Slack MCP server overview, Slack Developer Docs. MCP capabilities, admin approval, Marketplace and internal apps only, rate limits.
• Plug and AI, Slack Marketplace. Multi-model access in Slack and pricing.