Slackbot

As your team grows, the number of Slack channels for employee questions also increases (like #sales-questions, #technical-support, and #ask-product). The volume of weekly questions can be overwhelming for channel managers, leading to long wait times for employees seeking help. The Dashworks Slackbot can automatically address up to 87% of questions asked in Slack. This allows channel managers to concentrate on more important matters, while providing instant answers to unblock the rest of the team.

1. Slackbot in Channels

Once you've set up the Bot Account, you can invite the Dashworks Slackbot to a Slack channel:

  1. First, invite the Bot Account email to the Slack channel by typing "/invite @[bot-account-name]". The Bot Account will be automatically added to the default channels for new members, and you'll need to invite it to other public or private channels. Adding the Bot Account to the channel will allow the Slackbot to search the conversations and files in this channel for its answers.

  2. Next, invite the Slackbot "APP" to the channel by typing "/invite @Dashworks." This will allow the Slackbot to respond to questions asked in the channel. Once the Slackbot has been added, the Dashworks Slackbot will automatically detect and respond to questions asked in new threads.

How can I customize the Slackbot?

You can customize the Slackbot from the Bots page. Create a new Bot and specify the sources to search, AI model to use, and instructions to follow. Then, switch over to the Slack Channels tab on the same page and select the Slack channel to specify the Bot from the dropdown.

How does the Slackbot decide which questions to automatically respond to?

The Slackbot will automatically respond to all messages that contain a question, as long as question isn't directed towards a specific user or group.

Additionally, if you have selected "Reply only if answer found", Dashworks will ignore questions that it can't find an exact answer to.

Can I stop the Slackbot from automatically responding to questions?

By default, the Slackbot will automatically respond to new questions asked in Slack channels. You can disable this by unselecting the Autorespond setting.

If you disable auto-responding, you can still trigger the Slackbot by tagging it in your question with "@Dashworks".

Can I ask follow up questions to the Slackbot in a thread?

Yes, you can ask follow up questions to the Slackbot by tagging it with "@Dashworks" in your question. Note that auto-responding doesn't work inside threads to reduce noise.

What are the "Yes / No" buttons and the "Train Dash AI" buttons for?

Click the "Yes" button to mark the question as resolved. Once resolved, Dashworks will add a emoji to the parent message in the thread to indicate it doesn't require a follow up.

Use the Train Dash AI buttons to give feedback to Dashworks to improve its responses.

2. Slackbot in DMs

If you have questions that you don't want to ask in a public or shared channel, you can use the Slackbot to send a direct message (DM) instead. This way, you can ask questions privately without sharing them with your team. To access your DMs in Slack, go to the 'Apps' section in your individual Slack instance and find the Dashworks app. You don't need to tag anyone in your message to get a response from the Slackbot. All responses will be private, and you can access all the information you have permission to see in your company's knowledge base. To start a DM, open a direct message with the Slackbot, just like you would with a teammate, and ask any work-related question.

3. Other ways to use the Slackbot

If you prefer not to have Dashworks respond automatically to questions in the channel, you can adjust this setting on the Bots tab. Here are some other ways you can also use Dashworks in channels:

Dashworks can be combined with Slack Workflows for powerful customization, such as structured form inputs, or trigger multiple actions after a question is asked in the channel.

Here are the steps to creating a workflow:

  1. Go to the "Integrations" tab on the channel's top and select "Add a Workflow".

  2. Select "Create Workflow' and then "From a link in Slack".

  3. As the first step in this workflow, select "Forms" -> "Collect info in a form" on the right side. You can customize this form per your requirements. Include a "Long Answer" field with a descriptive name, such as "What is your question?". This field will send the user's question to Dashworks. Mark this step as required.

  4. As the second step, select "Messages" -> "Send a message to a channel". Select the channel where you want to add the Slackbot. Under "Add a message," add "@user-who-asked-the-question: @dashworks {user question}", replacing [Variable X] with the appropriate variable by clicking "Insert variable".

  5. Add any additional actions you want to take, then publish the workflow.

  6. Copy the link to the workflow and add it as a bookmark in the Slack channel.

  7. Users will be directed to the form created in Step 3 when they click on the bookmark. After submitting the form, a new thread will be created with the question, and Dashworks will respond.

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