How to use Claude AI in Slack

How to use Claude AI in Slack depends on your Claude plan. On Team or Enterprise, a Claude Owner sets up Claude Tag, Anthropic's Slack app in beta, and anyone in an added channel can mention @Claude. On Pro or Max, you can search Slack from Claude with the Slack connector, or use the earlier Claude Code in Slack. Developers can also connect Claude to Slack's MCP server.

If you remember an older Claude app in Slack, it is gone in its old form. Anthropic's help center says: "Claude in Slack switched over to the new Claude Tag experience on August 3, 2026. To integrate Claude and Slack, use Claude Tag instead." So pick by where the work starts. If your team asks in Slack threads, set up Claude Tag. If you work in Claude and want Slack as a source, connect Slack there.

Which Claude and Slack route do you need?

How do I set up Claude Tag in Slack?

Claude Tag is a one-time setup. Anthropic's admin guide lists what you need first:

• A Claude organization on the Team or Enterprise plan, on Anthropic's own service. It is not available on Free, Pro or Max, or for third-party deployments.
• The Owner role in that Claude organization. The help center adds: "Only a Primary Owner or Owner can set up Claude Tag's access and channels. The Admin role can't."
• A Slack workspace admin. "Running @Claude connect requires a Slack workspace admin; installing the app usually does too."
• Routines turned on for your Claude organization. Until they are, Claude answers every mention and DM with a reply that it is unavailable and does no work.
• No Zero Data Retention (ZDR), no customer-managed encryption (CMEK), and no HIPAA configuration on the organization.
• On a Team plan, usage credits. "On a Team plan nothing runs until credits are loaded."
• A public channel for Claude to join.

Then the Owner goes to claude.ai/admin-settings/claude-tag and clicks Start setup. The steps, from Anthropic's setup guide:

1. Pair your Slack workspace. Install the Claude app from the Slack Marketplace (claude.com/claude-for-slack), click Add to Slack and approve the permissions. Invite it to a channel with /invite @Claude, then send @Claude connect with no other text. Enter the pairing code on the setup page. "The code works once and expires in 15 minutes."
2. Connect GitHub. This step appears only if your organization has not installed the Claude GitHub App, and you can skip it.
3. Buy usage credits. This step appears only if your organization pays by card in US dollars and has no credits.
4. Launch Claude Tag. Add Claude to channels, set a monthly spend limit, and turn Claude Tag on. The limit picker offers "$500, $1,000, $2,500, $5,000, Unlimited, or Custom (a US-dollar amount up to $1,000,000). $2,500 is preselected."

"Claude doesn't answer mentions in Slack until you finish Launch Claude Tag." On Slack Enterprise Grid, installing takes two Slack actions. Anthropic's launch post suggests testing Claude in a private channel to confirm it works.

How does the team use it?

There are three ways in, per Anthropic's help center: mention @Claude in a channel or thread, send Claude a direct message, or click the Claude icon in Slack's AI assistant header. Anthropic's docs say to "Mention @Claude in a channel to guarantee it picks the message up." Replies land in the thread, and "Anyone in the channel can steer a running session by replying in its thread."

Channels and DMs work differently. In a channel, Claude acts under your organization's identity with the tools an admin set up for that channel. In a DM or the assistant panel, Claude uses the capabilities and connectors in your own Claude account.

By default, anyone in the connected Slack workspace can use Claude in channels, even without a Claude account. Admins can turn on Restrict to your organization. Restricting by role needs Enterprise; Team plans only have that one toggle.

What does Claude Tag cost?

"Slack users don't each need a Claude seat to work with Claude in channels." Channel work is billed by usage to your organization's usage balance, under a spend limit an Owner sets. The help center calls it "consumption-based, so spend is based on usage rather than the number of people." We found no published per-task or per-token rate for Claude Tag itself.

The spend controls:

• An organization-wide limit, which the help center describes as "a hard cap on total Claude Tag spend across every channel."
• Per-channel limits.
• Alerts to admins at 75% and 95% of any limit.
• "Work that would go over a limit is declined, never silently cut short."

DMs are billed differently. A DM from a member who has connected a Claude account runs on that account and bills to that person's seat. Anthropic's docs add: "The seat must include Claude Code, or, on the Enterprise plan, be a Standard or Usage-Based Chat seat held by someone who also has Cowork."

You still need the Team or Enterprise plan underneath. Anthropic's pricing page lists these prices in US dollars, before tax:

• Team, standard seat: $20 per seat per month billed yearly, or $25 billed monthly.
• Team, premium seat: $100 per seat per month billed yearly, or $125 billed monthly.
• Enterprise: $20 per seat per month billed yearly, plus usage at API rates. Anthropic notes the usage cost varies by model and task.

Pro ($17 a month billed yearly, or $20 monthly) and Max (from $100 a month) do not include Claude Tag.

What can Claude Tag do in Slack?

Anthropic's docs list jobs such as watching monitors and alerts, triaging requests, finding answers in docs, answering data questions with a warehouse query and a chart, tracking projects and chasing approvals, turning threads into docs and tickets, and fixing bugs by drafting a pull request (that one needs GitHub). Its product page gives prompts like "@Claude What got decided here and what's still open?"

It can also work without a fresh mention. You can give it standing instructions, such as watching a channel or running a weekly digest, and Anthropic's launch post says "It can also schedule tasks for itself, pursuing a project autonomously over hours or days." Proactive "ambient" updates have to be turned on, and it does not report from private channels.

How it runs:

• One Claude per channel. "Within a given Slack channel, there's one Claude that interacts with everyone."
• No tools by default. "Claude Tag starts with no access of its own to your external systems." It can read and post in channels it was added to and search public channels by keyword. An Owner or Claude Tag admin adds connectors for anything else.
• A sandbox per thread. Each thread runs in its own temporary sandbox. Files that existed only in the sandbox do not persist.
• Memory per channel. Claude keeps notes for each channel. Notes it saves from public channels are read in every channel in the workspace. In a private channel it reads those notes but cannot add to them.
• An activity log. Admins can see everything @Claude has done and who asked for each task.

What are Claude Tag's limits?

All of these come from Anthropic's own docs:

• Shared credentials. In channels, Claude acts under its own service accounts. When an admin connects an account to a channel, "whatever the connected account can read or write is available to every member of those channels."
• No Slack Connect. "Claude can't post into a Slack Connect channel or a channel shared across workspaces, wherever you ask from."
• Guest channels. The default setting blocks Claude from channels with guests entirely. Workspace search is not available there, and Claude can post in a guest channel only when the guest setting allows full access.
• Thread window. Mentioning @Claude partway into a thread gives it "a window of the thread's messages, not the whole thread." Anthropic's advice: "In long threads, restate anything critical."
• Some organizations can't use it. Claude Tag keeps channel memory and session transcripts, so it is not available to organizations with ZDR, a CMEK policy or the HIPAA configuration.
• Deletes don't reach the transcript. "Deleting messages or the thread in Slack doesn't remove them from that transcript." Uninstalling the app removes Claude from the workspace and deletes the workspace's Claude data.
• Separate history. Conversations started in Slack do not show up in your Claude chat history, and the other way round.
• Slack only. Microsoft Teams has a waitlist.

What happened to the old Claude app for Slack?

The earlier app was per user: each person connected their own Claude account from the app's Home tab. Anthropic's migration guide says Claude Tag "replaces the earlier per-user Claude in Slack app in place." Your existing Slack app and @Claude handle stay, "and no data migrates." The new version starts with no access of its own, and connections such as GitHub repositories do not carry over from people's linked accounts. Admin settings show the earlier app as Legacy, and Anthropic says it "is being deprecated; check with your account team for the cutover date."

How do I search Slack from Claude?

This route brings Slack into Claude, not Claude into Slack. Anthropic says the Slack connector lets Claude search "your workspace's channels, direct messages, and shared files," and "Claude only searches public and private Slack channels you have access to."

It has been on Pro and Max since January 26, 2026, and is also on Team and Enterprise. For Team and Enterprise, Anthropic's announcement says the connector is for customers "who have installed Claude in the Slack app," and that "Admins must first enable the connector for their organization before users can set it up in the 'Connectors' tab of their Claude settings."

Can I use Claude Code in Slack on Pro or Max?

Yes, with the earlier version. Claude Code's docs say it "answers channel mentions only from Pro and Max accounts in workspaces not connected to Claude Tag." You need:

• A Pro or Max plan.
• A Slack workspace that is not connected to Claude Tag.
• Cloud sessions turned on.
• GitHub connected at claude.ai/code, with a repository.
• Your Slack account linked through the Claude app.

"Each session runs under your own Claude account, using your connected repositories and your plan limits." Anthropic announced it in December 2025 as a beta research preview.

How does Slack's MCP server work with Claude?

Slack runs an MCP server at https://mcp.slack.com/mcp. Slack's developer docs say it lets approved apps search messages, files, users and channels, read channels and threads, send, schedule and draft messages, and work with canvases, lists, files and reactions. Workspace admins approve and manage every MCP client.

Slack's docs give two ways to connect Claude:

• Claude Code: run /plugin install slack or claude plugin install slack, then sign in with OAuth.
• Claude Desktop: go to Customize > Connectors > + > Slack, then sign in with OAuth.

One rule matters if you build your own client: "Only apps published in the Slack Marketplace and internal apps can use MCP at this time; unlisted apps are prohibited from using MCP."

Which route should you pick?

If your company is on Claude Team or Enterprise and wants a shared assistant in Slack threads, Claude Tag is the official choice, and it does things a plain chat bot cannot, such as drafting pull requests and running long, scheduled tasks. Budget for usage on top of seats. On Pro or Max, the Slack connector is the way to find old Slack answers from Claude, and Claude Code in Slack covers coding from a channel. A do-it-yourself route also exists: your own Slack app calling the Anthropic API, which independent tutorials describe.

How Glad does this

Glad is an AI teammate that lives in Slack, and nobody needs a Claude 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. It is priced per Slack workspace: a flat monthly price with a hard cap instead of usage billing, no seats and no credits, from $49 a month for 250 tasks. Where Claude Tag 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 Claude app for Slack?

Yes. Claude Tag is Anthropic's Slack app, in beta for Claude Team and Enterprise. You install it from the Slack Marketplace and pair it with your Claude organization.

Can I use Claude in Slack with a Pro or Max plan?

Not Claude Tag; it is not available on individual plans. On Pro or Max you can search Slack from Claude with the Slack connector, or use the earlier Claude Code in Slack in a workspace not connected to Claude Tag.

Does everyone in Slack need a Claude seat?

No. Slack users don't each need a Claude seat to work with Claude in channels; that work bills to the organization's usage balance. DMs run on and bill to the sender's own seat.

How much does Claude Tag cost?

It is billed by usage, on top of a Team or Enterprise plan, under spend limits an Owner sets. We found no separate per-task rate for Claude Tag in Anthropic's docs.

Can Claude Tag work in Slack Connect channels?

No. Anthropic's docs say Claude can't post into a Slack Connect channel or a channel shared across workspaces.

Do I need a paid Slack plan?

The Claude Tag docs we read do not name a Slack plan. For the earlier Claude app, Slack's help center says it is available on all Slack plans with a paid Claude account.

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Sources

Checked on 2026-10-08.

• Introducing Claude Tag, Anthropic, 2026-06-23. Launch, beta on Team and Enterprise, one Claude per channel, scheduled tasks, activity log, test in a private channel, ambient updates and private channels.
• Work with Claude Tag, Anthropic docs. Plan availability, no seat needed for channels, usage billing, DM seat rules, mention guidance, sandbox, no access by default, use cases.
• Set up Claude Tag, Anthropic docs. Prerequisites, setup steps, pairing code, spend limit options, launch requirement, Enterprise Grid.
• Tag Claude in Slack, Anthropic. Beta availability, Microsoft Teams waitlist, standing instructions, example prompt.
• What is Claude Tag?, Claude Help Center. Switchover on August 3, 2026, three surfaces, channel versus DM identity, consumption billing, spend limits and alerts, Owner-only setup, guest channel default, separate chat history.
• Restrict where Claude Tag operates, Anthropic docs. Default access, Restrict to your organization, role restriction on Enterprise only, uninstall deletes data.
• How Claude Tag works, Anthropic docs. Slack Connect rule, thread window, deleted messages stay in the transcript, channel memory, steering a session, guest channel search and posting.
• Security and data handling, Anthropic docs. Service accounts, default access, sandbox per thread, shared credentials, ZDR, CMEK and HIPAA exclusions, sandbox files.
• Migrate from the earlier Claude in Slack, Anthropic docs. In-place replacement, no data migration, connections do not carry over, Legacy app deprecation.
• Use Claude in Slack, Slack Help Center. The earlier per-user app, its Home tab connection and its Slack plan availability.
• Claude and Slack, Anthropic, 2025-10-01, updated 2026-01-26. Slack connector: what it searches, plan availability, admin enablement and Connectors tab.
• Connect the Slack MCP server to Claude and Slack MCP server overview, Slack Developer Docs. Endpoint, tools, admin approval, Marketplace and internal apps only, Claude Code and Claude Desktop steps.
• Claude Code in Slack, Anthropic docs, with the announcement of 2025-12-08. Pro and Max only, workspace not connected to Claude Tag, prerequisites, own account and plan limits, research preview.
• Claude pricing, Anthropic. Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise prices in US dollars, before tax.
• Independent tutorials (not official): claudeguide.io, how2.sh, tool1.app. Only that a do-it-yourself route with the Anthropic API exists.