Use Slack AI to Catch Up Before Client Calls

What This Does

Slack AI generates instant summaries of channel activity and thread discussions, so you can walk into any client call fully informed without spending 20-30 minutes scrolling through Slack history.

Before You Start

• Your workspace has Slack AI enabled (requires a Slack Pro, Business+, or Enterprise plan)
• You have at least one active client project channel
• You're signed into Slack

Steps

1. Find the AI summary feature

Open any Slack channel. At the top of the channel, look for a "Summarize" button or a sparkle icon (✨). If you don't see it, your workspace may not have Slack AI enabled — check with your Slack admin. On mobile, tap the (i) info icon and look for "Summarize channel."

2. Request the summary

Click the Summarize button or type /summarize in the message box. Slack AI will immediately generate a summary of recent activity in that channel. You can also ask it questions in the channel by typing directly: "What decisions were made in this channel this week?" or "What are the open action items from the last week of messages?"

3. Review and act

The summary appears as a block message visible only to you (not posted publicly). It includes key topics discussed, decisions made, and any files or links shared. Use it to identify what needs your attention before the call. For long threads within a channel, hover over any thread → click the three dots menu → select "Summarize thread" for a thread-specific summary.

Real Example

Scenario: You have a call with your healthcare client in 10 minutes and haven't checked their Slack channel since Monday. There are 47 unread messages.

What you do: Open the #client-healthcare-system channel → click Summarize

What you get: "This week, the creative team shared 3 banner ad concepts (see thread). The client's feedback (shared by Jake on Tuesday) requested more lifestyle imagery and less product-forward. Outstanding: final approval on the revised assets is due by Friday. The media team flagged a question about Q2 ad spend that hasn't been addressed yet."

Tips

• Summarize your 3-4 most active client channels every morning — it takes under 5 minutes and keeps you across everything without reading every message
• Use "Ask Slack AI" to search across channels: "What did the creative team say about the [Client] brand guidelines?" — it searches and synthesizes across your whole workspace
• If your workspace doesn't have Slack AI yet, make the business case: the time savings for your team alone typically justifies the plan upgrade

Tool interfaces change — if a button has moved, look for similar AI/magic/smart options in the same menu area.