Key takeaways
  • Slack's own AI is already in your plan. If the job is "summarize this channel" or "find that thread," it's the right tool and you don't need to add anything.
  • On Business+, Slack's help site states Slackbot is capped at 15 messages per user per week, resetting Monday. Slack's CTO has said publicly that the limit needs revisiting.
  • A July 2026 update gave Slackbot real code execution and slide/deck generation, but Slack's own announcement scopes those features to Enterprise+ at launch.
  • Slackbot's native reach is Salesforce plus a small, limited-access MCP partner list. Bob connects to 3,200+ apps today, open to any workspace.
  • Bob adds what a chat assistant doesn't do by design: a receipt on every completed run, a hard monthly spend cap, and approvals before writes across whatever it's connected to, not just Salesforce.

What Slack's AI is

Slack AI and Slackbot are built into Slack itself. Slackbot searches across messages, files, and connected apps, summarizes channels and threads, drafts a daily recap, and translates on request. Through Agentforce, it can also read and write Salesforce records from inside a Slack conversation, with a review-and-approve step before anything changes. A July 2026 update added real code execution in a sandbox and the ability to generate a shareable PowerPoint or Google Slides deck from source material, though Slack's own announcement scopes that to Enterprise+ customers at launch. It's a strong, fast-moving product, and it's already something you're paying for if you're on Business+ or Enterprise+.

What Bob is

Bob is a separate AI employee you add to Slack. He works in his own sandboxed cloud computer, reaches 3,200+ connected apps under each person's own access, pauses for an Approve/Deny button before touching a system of record by default, and posts a compact receipt on every completed run: credits, duration, tool-call count, and who approved any sensitive write. He starts from a mention, a schedule described in plain language, an inbound webhook, or a dedicated email address, and workspaces can set a hard monthly spend cap he will not cross.

Where they actually differ

The honest split isn't "Slack's AI is weak." It shipped a genuinely capable set of features in 2026: code execution, file generation, Salesforce actions with approval, and an MCP client for connecting outside tools. The split is what each is built to be the front door for. Slackbot is built to be excellent inside Slack and Salesforce. Bob is built to be the thing you hand a job to and walk away from, across whatever your team actually runs on, with the receipt and the spend cap as the safety rails.

Side by side

What a buyer can verifySlack's AI (Slackbot / Agentforce)Bob
Built for
Search, recaps, summaries, and drafting inside Slack and Salesforce
Finishing an assigned job across whatever apps it needs
How it's priced
Bundled into your per-seat Slack plan; Business+ listed at $18/user/month
Separate workspace subscription from $75/mo for 40,000 shared credits
Bring your own model keys
Agentforce supports Bring Your Own LLM: an admin can connect Agentforce to a model provider under the org's own credentials (Amazon Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, OpenAI, or Vertex AI), which also uses fewer Einstein Requests; Slack's own built-in AI (Slackbot) does not document a customer-key option
$349/mo flat: paste your own Anthropic and OpenAI keys, runs execute on your keys at your rates, runs still use credits at the normal rate so the balance tracks your own AI bill, with 1,000,000 credits/mo included
Usage limit
Business+: 15 messages per user per week to Slackbot, resets Monday, per Slack's help docs
No per-message cap; a hard monthly workspace spend cap you set instead, and a job that hits it still hands over the work done so far
Code execution
Runs real Python in a sandbox and hands back the file; Slack scopes this to Enterprise+ at launch
Every run executes in its own sandboxed cloud computer, on every plan
Files and decks
Builds a shareable PowerPoint or Google Slides deck from source material (Enterprise+ at launch)
Reads images, PDFs, spreadsheets, voice notes, and audio you hand him, makes images, and posts finished files, charts, and decks in your brand straight into the thread
Connected apps
2,600+ apps in the Slack Marketplace; MCP client adds 20+ partner apps, currently limited-access
3,200+ apps, open to any workspace, plus API and browser access and any MCP server an admin signs in to
Whose access a run uses
When a member connects their account via Slack's MCP client, Slackbot gets access to the tools built into that server through that member's connection; Salesforce documents each external MCP call as mapped to the requesting user's identity for permission checks in the external system
Connections are personal: a run uses the connecting person's own access, and a personal connection takes precedence over a shared one; a company account an admin shares reaches only the teammates they pick, is never used by schedules, and asks before every send
API and MCP for outside systems
Yes on both sides: Salesforce's Agent API is a public REST API for starting and reading Agentforce sessions from any external system, and Slack runs its own MCP server so external MCP clients can search, read, and act on Slack content
REST API and MCP server: an admin makes a key in the console, and Claude Code, Cursor, or your own software can start work and read results
Approvals before writes
Salesforce record actions prompt review and approval before any change is made
Approve/Deny gate on external writes by default across connected apps, visible in the thread
Per-task cost visibility
Not listed in public product or pricing docs reviewed August 23
Compact receipt on every completed run, posted with the answer
What can start a job
A message to Slackbot, or a Workflow Builder trigger for scripted automations
A mention or DM in Slack or the HeyBob app, a schedule described in plain words, an incoming webhook, a dedicated inbound email address, or a call to his API or MCP server
Memory
Understands conversations, files, and projects in Slack
Workspace, channel, and per-person memory; each person can see, edit, and delete what Bob remembers about them in Slack or the console, and an admin can switch off what he learns on his own
Free reruns after a bad result
Not listed in public product or pricing docs reviewed August 23
Included
Run it in your own VPC
Hosted only, as part of Slack
Managed service only. Bob does not offer self-hosted or in-your-own-cloud deployment
Meeting notes
AI huddle notes, on paid plans, post a canvas in the huddle thread with attendees, topics, action items, and a transcript, but not in huddles with external people or guests; acting on action items is not documented, and Slackbot notes for Zoom and Google Meet calls, announced March 31, 2026, are not in the help center reviewed October 5, 2026
Records any call or in-person meeting from the HeyBob app on Mac or Windows, with no bot joining. He writes notes, a summary, and action items, does each follow-up after you tap Do it, and searches past meetings. Audio is not kept. How meeting notes work
Pages and forms
Slackbot builds surfaces (reports and dashboards) as a Slack file that anyone who can view it can comment on, shareable in channels and DMs but not Slack Connect; public links, form entries, and version history are not documented in the pages reviewed October 5, 2026
Builds pages from your data. Public sharing stays off until the page’s owner or an admin turns on a link and QR code, which they can revoke. They can see views and restore an earlier version, and a page can carry a form only your members can fill in, with entries stored encrypted and downloadable as CSV
Platforms
Slack, and Salesforce records via Agentforce
Slack, or the HeyBob app on Mac, Windows and Linux for teams not on Slack, with Microsoft Teams coming soon

Looking for the no-code automation comparison instead? See Bob vs Slack Workflow Builder, which covers Slack's visual automation tool, not its AI.

Which one should you use?

Use Slack's AI if…

  • You want a channel summarized or a thread searched, right now, with nothing new to install.
  • Your job is squarely inside Salesforce and Agentforce already owns that data.
  • You're on Enterprise+ and want code execution or deck generation without leaving Slack.

Add Bob if…

  • The job spans more than Salesforce: your CRM and your inbox and a ticket queue and a spreadsheet, in one run.
  • You're on a plan where Slackbot's weekly message cap gets in the way of real work.
  • You want a receipt and a hard spend cap on every AI task, not just Enterprise+ features.
  • You want approvals before writes to any connected system, not only Salesforce.

Most teams end up running both. Slack's AI for the quick lookup in the moment it's needed, Bob for the job that needs to actually get done and reported back.

Fair questions

Is Bob a replacement for Slack AI or Slackbot?

No, and we wouldn't pitch it that way. Slack AI is included in your Slack plan and is the right tool for search, channel recaps, and daily summaries. Bob is a separate AI employee you add to Slack for jobs that need to reach 3,200+ apps, ask before a sensitive write, and post a receipt when the work is done.

What is the message limit on Slack's built-in AI?

On Business+, Slack's help documentation states members can send 15 messages to Slackbot each week, resetting Monday at midnight local time. We checked this on Slack's help site on August 23, 2026; check slack.com/help for the current number before you plan around it.

Does Slack's AI take actions in other apps, or just Salesforce?

Both. Slackbot can create and update Salesforce records directly, with a review-and-approve step before any change is made. Through its MCP client, launched in 2026, it also connects to a smaller, curated set of partner apps such as Atlassian, Linear, Notion, and Box, currently in limited-access rollout. Bob's 3,200+ connections are open to any workspace today.

Can Slack's AI run code or build files?

As of a July 2026 update, Slackbot can run real Python in a sandbox and hand back the output file, and can build a shareable PowerPoint or Google Slides deck from source material. Slack's own announcement scopes this to Enterprise+ customers at launch. Bob's sandboxed computer and file handling are included on every plan.

How is Bob priced differently from Slack AI?

Slack AI is bundled into your per-seat Slack plan; Business+ is listed at $18 per user per month. Bob is a separate workspace subscription starting at $75/month for 40,000 shared credits, with a $100 no-card trial, so you are paying for a second product on top of Slack either way.

Does Bob replace Agentforce?

Not for Salesforce-native work. If your job is squarely inside Salesforce, Agentforce has the deeper native integration. Bob is the better fit when the job spans systems Agentforce does not own: your CRM and your inbox and your ticket queue and your spreadsheet in one run, with a receipt and a spend cap on top.

Slack, Slackbot, Slack AI, Agentforce, and Salesforce are trademarks of Salesforce, Inc. HeyBob and Bob are products of Tiny Cloud Ventures, an independent company that builds Bob to run inside Slack. This page is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Slack or Salesforce, and it is not a criticism of our host platform: Bob depends on Slack working well. Details rechecked August 23, 2026 against Slack's and Salesforce's public product, pricing, and help pages; if something has changed since, let us know.