Using Airtable AI in Slack

Airtable's AI assistant is available directly in Slack. You can @ mention the bot in any Slack channel or direct message to ask questions about your Airtable data, create or update records, and get summaries — all without leaving Slack. Your Airtable permissions apply, so you'll only see and modify data you have access to.

How Airtable AI works in Slack

The Airtable app in Slack uses the same AI that powers the assistant inside Airtable. When you mention @Airtable, it can answer questions or take actions based on the base you’ve chosen. Conversations happen in Slack threads, and the app maintains context throughout the thread so you can ask follow-up questions naturally.

Installing the Airtable app in your Slack workspace

Installing the Airtable app uses Slack's standard app-authorization flow. In workspaces that require admin approval for apps, an admin must approve or perform the install; in unrestricted workspaces, any member can install it themselves. Once it's installed, each person signs in with their own Airtable account to use the assistant.

1. Find Airtable in the Slack App Directory.

2. Click Add to Slack.

3. Review the permissions the app is requesting and click Allow.

4. Sign in to your Airtable account if prompted.

If your workspace already has the Airtable app installed, a workspace admin will need to reinstall it to grant the additional permissions required by the AI assistant.

Once the app is installed, individual team members will need to connect their own Airtable accounts before they can start using the assistant (see below).

Connecting your Airtable account to Slack

Before you can use the app, each person needs to link their own Airtable account. This ensures the app matches your Airtable permissions — you'll only see data you have access to.

1. @ mention the Airtable bot in any Slack channel, or open the bot's Home tab.

2. You'll receive a prompt to connect your Airtable account.

3. Click Connect your Airtable account and log in to Airtable.

4. Authorize the app to access your data.

5. You'll receive a welcome direct message as confirmation.

Choosing an Airtable base

After connecting your account, you'll need to choose which base the bot should access when answering your questions.

1. Open the Airtable app's Home tab in Slack.

2. Under Configuration, find the base selection dropdown.

3. Select a base from your recently opened bases.

4. Your selection is saved automatically.

Note

If you don't have any recently opened bases listed, open a base in Airtable first, then return to the dropdown and try again.

Switching bases

You can change your default base at any time from the Home tab. You can also switch bases within a conversation:

• If you @ mention the bot without a base selected, a dropdown appears in the thread so you can pick one before continuing.

• Switching bases mid-thread clears the conversation context, so the bot starts fresh with the new base on your next message.

• Your default base selection in the Home tab applies to all new conversations. Per-thread base changes only affect that thread.

Using the assistant

There are two ways to interact with the Airtable AI assistant in Slack: through the assistant panel or by @ mentioning the bot in a channel.

1. Assistant panel - The assistant panel is a private, dedicated space for chatting with the Airtable AI assistant in Slack's sidebar.

   1. Click on the Airtable app in Slack's sidebar or app navigation.

   2. A panel opens with the prompt "How can I help?" and a few suggested questions to get started.

   3. Type your question or click a suggestion.

   4. The assistant panel is private — only you can see the conversation. It's ideal for quick lookups, exploring your data, or making updates without leaving Slack.

2. @ mention in a channel - You can also @ mention the app in any Slack channel to start a conversation visible to the channel.

   1. In any channel, type @Airtable followed by your question or request.

   2. The app will show a loading indicator while it processes your request.

   3. Your response appears as a threaded reply.

   4. You can ask follow-up questions in the same thread without @ mentioning the app again (depending on your listening mode — see below).

What you or other end users can do

No matter which method you use, you can:

• Ask questions about data in your selected base ("How many open tasks are assigned to me?")

• Request summaries of records or tables

• Create new records ("Add a task called 'Review Q3 report' to the Tasks table")

• Update existing records

• Get counts, filters, and aggregations of your data

Each response may include:

• A text answer

• A table of records (when relevant)

• Links to view records in Airtable

• Feedback buttons (thumbs up/down) to rate the response

Configuring the listening mode

You can control when the app responds to messages in a thread.

1. Open the Airtable app's Home tab in Slack.

2. Find the When to respond section.

3. Choose your preferred mode:

   1. Reply to mentions only - The app only responds when your message includes @Airtable .

   2. Reply to relevant messages (Default) - After you @ mention the app in a thread, it uses AI to decide when to respond to follow-up messages.

Limitations

Only the person who started a thread can continue that conversation. If someone else tries to respond in the same thread, the app won't process their message.

• Attachment and button field values appear as links rather than inline content.

• Responses longer than five messages are truncated.

• Edited messages aren't reprocessed by the app.

Display limits

When the assistant returns data from your base, these limits apply:

• Records per response: Up to 50

• Fields per record: Up to 10

• Characters per cell value: Up to 250

• Messages per response: Up to 5

If a response is too long for Slack, the assistant trims it and notes how many more records or rows there are. You can open any record in Airtable using the links in the reply.

Some field types don't display directly in Slack. Attachment and button fields appear as "View in Airtable" links instead.

Enterprise admin controls

• Admin controls

  • Omni in Slack is governed at two levels: your organization (managed by enterprise admins) and each base (managed by base owners). Both have to allow it for the assistant to work.

• Organization controls - Enterprise admins manage Omni in Slack from the admin panel, under AI settings. Three settings work together, each nested under the one above it:

  • Enable Airtable AI: The primary setting for all Airtable AI. When it's off, no AI features are available and the settings below are hidden.

  • Enable Omni: Controls whether Omni is available in your organization's bases and interfaces.

  • Enable Omni in Slack: Controls whether Omni works in Slack.

  • If the integration has been disabled by your admin, you'll see a message from the app explaining that it's unavailable.

• Base controls - Even when your organization allows Omni in Slack, each base has its own AI settings. Anyone with Creator permission on a base can manage them from the base's Omni panel under Settings:

  • Enable Omni: Turns Omni on or off for that base. When it's off, the assistant won't answer questions about that base in Slack.

  • Enable Omni in interfaces: Controls whether people who access the base only through an interface can use Omni. When it's off, interface-only collaborators receive a message that the assistant isn't available through an interface.

FAQs