HeyBobAn AI coworker for Slack finishes the work.
A chatbot gives you another answer to read. A coworker takes the request, works out which of your tools hold the pieces, does the job, and comes back with the finished thing: the deck, the updated record, the reply sent.
- 3,200+ apps
- Asks before he changes anything
- A receipt on every job
The short answer.
When you evaluate an AI coworker for Slack, judge five things: whether it finishes tasks, remembers the right context, works across your real tools, follows approval controls, and works where your team already is. Bob does all five, with 3,200+ apps, memory that keeps people, channels and the company apart, schedules and triggers, approvals before changes, steering mid-job, and a receipt on every finished job.
The goal isn’t more AI conversation. It’s less work left on your plate. To get started, read the guide to adding an AI search coworker to Slack.
Chatbot or coworker.
The difference is less about how human it feels and more about what happens after you send the message.
A chatbot
- Answers when someone mentions it.
- Sums up a conversation or drafts text.
- Searches one narrow source.
- Needs a new prompt for every step.
- Forgets the context when the conversation moves on.
Helpful. But every important step comes back to you.
A coworker
- Reads the thread to understand the ask.
- Pulls what it needs from your connected apps.
- Builds the doc, the deck or the update.
- Changes a system after you say yes.
- Runs the job again on a schedule.
- Asks when the request is unclear, then reports what it did.
It doesn’t stop at “here is a suggested email” when the job is to send it.
“Works in Slack” only tells you the location. For the wider category, see what an AI employee is.
Five things to demand before you buy.
It finishes tasks
Judged by what it completes, not how many suggestions it makes.
It remembers your team
No rebuilding the background every time you start.
It works across your tools
Email, calendars, docs, spreadsheets, CRM and more.
It asks, and keeps a record
Approvals before changes, and a trail of what happened.
It works where you do
In Slack, or in its own app when you would rather.
Give it a job with several steps.
Look for a tool that can take a clear assignment and finish the useful parts: pull the data, build the deck, update the system, run the job on a schedule, and hand back the result.
In a trial, skip prompts that only test writing. Try this one, which tests understanding, tool use, doing the work, handling doubt and reporting, all at once.
“Review the information in this thread, pull the relevant data from the connected source, prepare the requested deliverable, and tell me what you completed. Ask before making any sensitive changes.”
If it stops after writing instructions, it is an assistant, not a coworker.
2. It remembers your team and past work.
A coworker shouldn’t make you repeat the background every time: who does what, ongoing projects, past decisions, recurring tasks, preferred formats, and where work stands. Bob remembers across threads while keeping person, channel and company facts apart; see memory of people and the org.
Memory should be useful, not mysterious. Bob shows who taught him each fact and when, lets people list, edit and delete memory in the HeyBob app or Slack, and replaces a stale fact when a correction conflicts instead of keeping both. The test: give it a task that depends on a decision from last week. Does it find and use the right context, or do you rebuild the situation from scratch?
3. It works across your real tools.
The request starts in chat, but the job rarely ends there. Bob reaches 3,200+ apps, and personal tools connect per person. Breadth only counts when the action you need is supported, so test the exact workflow.
Which tools, which actions
Can it read, change, or both? Is “integrations available” the same as the action you need?
Whose access
Are permissions the same as the person asking? Can access be limited by person, team, task or action?
What if one is missing
What happens when a tool is unavailable, and can it say which tools it used?
“The AI handled it” is not an audit trail.
Reading, drafting and organizing can run on their own. Sending an outside message or changing a record should wait for a yes.
Bob’s Needs a go-ahead card names the app and the action, with Approve, Always allow and Deny. Slack cards add Edit for a one-time change, and an edited card never offers Always allow. Standing access is bound to the exact action or automation, and /bob grants in Slack lists it and takes it back.
Read more on approval workflows and what a good audit trail should hold. A trail also makes a wrong result easy to review instead of a guess.
5. It works where your team already is.
If your team spends the day in Slack, the coworker should be there, so nobody opens another app, copies context between tools or explains the ask twice. For teammates who aren’t in Slack, or anyone who wants Bob in his own window, the same Bob works in the HeyBob app on Mac, Windows and Linux, with to-dos, reminders, team channels and a catch-up on what happened while you were away.
Not every task stays in chat. The request, the questions, the approvals and the result should be easy to follow in one place.
Questions to ask in a trial.
Can it complete a multi-step task end to end?
Give it a job that needs more than one action, such as gathering information, making a deliverable and reporting what it did. Watch whether it understands the goal, picks sensible steps, uses the right tools, finishes, and names blockers instead of handing routine steps back to you.
Does it remember relevant work from last week?
Test with a task that depends on earlier context, without repeating every detail. Check that it can tell relevant from unrelated, and that memory never shows information to people who shouldn't see it.
What happens when it's unsure?
Try unclear instructions, missing data, conflicting information and sensitive actions. A trustworthy coworker asks a focused question and pauses before a consequential change. Confident guessing is not a productivity feature.
Who can see what it did?
Ask who sees the request, the result and the connected data, who gets approval requests, and where the action history is kept. Get clear answers before you connect important systems.
Why we built Bob this way.
The assignment is the starting point. The finished work is the point. A follow-up while a job runs steers it or stops it, instead of starting a second, disconnected job.
Slack or the HeyBob app
Same Bob either way, on Mac, Windows and Linux. Or let a schedule, an email or an event in another app start the job.
Decks, workbooks, updates
He pulls data, reads attachments and images, builds decks and workbooks, updates systems and watches an inbox.
Only the sensitive changes
Reads and routine work run across the right person’s connections. You approve the changes when the card appears.
Notes, no bot
Record any call on Mac or Windows. Action items come with Have Bob do it, so the follow-up gets done, not just written down.
Pages and apps
A live page of your numbers from your connected tools, or a small app your team works in, hosted by HeyBob.
Redone free
A rerun is free when he misses the mark, and a job that stops so you can connect an app is refunded.
The receipt. Every finished job shows its cost, time and steps.
The limit. One cap for the team, one per person. He stops there.
What Bob can do for your team still depends on the apps and permissions you connect, so test a real workflow, not a writing prompt.
Common questions.
What is an AI coworker?
An AI coworker is software that receives a request, understands the relevant context, uses connected tools, completes useful work, and reports back. Unlike a basic chatbot, it's built for delegation and getting tasks done, not just conversation.
What is the difference between an AI coworker and a chatbot?
A chatbot typically responds one turn at a time. An AI coworker should handle multi-step tasks, use connected tools, keep relevant context, ask for approval when needed, and return completed work with a record of what it did.
Can an AI coworker access tools outside Slack?
Yes, when the product supports those connections and has the right permissions. This matters because most business tasks involve email, calendars, documents or data beyond chat. Check the specific tools and actions before buying.
Is it safe to give an AI coworker access to company tools?
It can be, with the right permissions, approvals, visibility and records. Start with limited access and lower-risk tasks, require approval before sensitive changes, and make sure your team can review what the AI touched and changed before you widen its access.
What should an AI coworker return after completing a task?
The finished work and a clear receipt: what was done, which actions were taken, whether any approval was needed, and what is left. A result without visibility is hard to review or trust.
Do I need Slack to use Bob?
No. The HeyBob app on Mac, Windows and Linux works on its own, and it is the same Bob as in Slack. iPhone and Android are on the way.
Judge the coworker by the finished work.
Give Bob a real task with several steps and read the receipt. $100 of work, on us.