Slack Bot

Kapa can be deployed as a bot to your Slack to answer questions either in channels or by direct messaging the bot 1-to-1. This helps with two main use cases:

• Externally to end-users: Deploy kapa to your Slack customer community to automatically answer questions and reduce the load on your support team.
• Internally within your company: Use kapa as a technical product co-pilot for your internal teams because Slack is where they already spend most their time.

Example External Deployments

Check out the example deployments to see examples of how companies like Airbyte, Mixpanel, and Mage AI use the kapa Slack bot to automatically answer questions in their customer communities.

Setup

The following steps are required to deploy kapa to your Slack workspace:

1. Create a dedicated Slack channel for kapa (Optional)
2. Create a Slack integration in the kapa platforn
3. Configure your Slack integration
4. Install the kapa slack bot to your Slack
5. Invite the kapa slack bot to your desired channels
6. Enable kapa from your Slack workspace with a bot command

1. Create a new Slack channel (Optional)

This step is optional but in case you are deploying kapa to your community we recommend you create a new dedicated channel for it. We advise against adding kapa to an existing help channel. You should clearly seperate the Slack channel where users can expect to get answers from a human vs answers from kapa. We further recommend that you name this dedicated channel #Ask-AI because this helps users understand what it is.

If you are deploying kapa internally for your teams, this is less relevant. However, we still recommend that the channel where kapa is deployed is easily discoverable.

See here for some real communities where kapa is installed in a dedicated channel.

2. Create a Slack integration

Navigate to the Integrations tab in the kapa platform and create a new integration. You can choose between two types of integration when deploying to Slack:

• Slack (Single Channel): This integration lets you deploy kapa to a single channel in your Slack workspace. If you want to deploy kapa to a single channel in your community you should use this. This integration type is also the right choice if you want to deploy kapa to multiple channels but they should all be configured differently.

• Slack (Global Workspace): This integration lets you deploy kapa to all channels in your Slack Workspace at once, as well as enable direct messaging with the bot. You should use this integration type if you want to deploy kapa to multiple channels in your workspace which should all be configured the same way, and if you want users to be able to DM the bot directly. This option is necessary if you want to enable one-on-one conversations between users and the kapa bot.

3. Configure your integration

The Slack integrations have various configuration options, some of them are mandatory and some are optional.

• Team ID: The unique identifier of your Slack workspace. You can find this in the URL when you are logged into Slack in your browser. The team ID is the string of characters that comes after /client/ in the URL. For example, if your Slack URL is https://yourteam.slack.com/client/T1A2B3CDF, then your team ID is T1A2B3CDF. If you are using the Slack desktop app, you will need to open Slack in your browser to find the team ID. The Team ID is required by both Slack (Single Channel) and Slack (Global Workspace).

• Channel ID: The unique identifier of the Slack channel where you want to deploy kapa. You can find it by right-clicking on the channel name in Slack and selecting Copy link. The channel ID is the string of characters that comes after /archives/ in the URL. For example, if the channel URL is https://yourteam.slack.com/archives/C1A2B3CDF, then the channel ID is C1A2B3CDF. The Channel ID is only required by Slack (Single Channel).

• Enable forum auto-reply mode: You can configure kapa to automatically respond to new posts in a Slack channel or whether it needs to be mentioned with @kapa first. We recommend to have kapa reply to every new message because users will not have to learn to tag the bot. See below for examples of both:

Option 1 (Forum Auto-Reply Mode) - Recommended

Kapa automatically replies to all new posts in a channel when auto-reply mode is enabled

Option 2 (Explicit Mention Mode)

Kapa needs to be tagged when auto-reply is disabled

There are various other configuration options that can be selected in the UI. Click on the Advanced Configuration button to reveal them. Most of these options allow you to costumize the bot's default texts and responses. You can use Slack formatting to make the responses more engaging. Consult the Formatting Tips displayed on the configuration screen for more information.

Make sure to click the Save to save your changes.

4. Install kapa Slack bot to your workspace

Install the kapa Slack bot from this link to your server: Slack Bot Install Link

Note that on some browsers, you may get the following error. If so, please just click the "here" button to get redirected to the correct page.

5. Invite kapa Slack bot to channels

You need to invite the kapa Slack bot to all channels where you want it to be able to respond to user questions. The easiest way to do this is to type @kapa.ai to mention the bot, then click the Add to Channel button. Be sure to only invite kapa to channels that you have also configured in Step 3. If you are useing Slack (Global Workspace) you can of course invite it to any channels or start direct messages with the bot.

6. Enable kapa Slack bot via command

At this stage you have added the kapa Slack bot to the channels where you want it to respond and you have configured how it should behave in these channels via the kapa platform. The final step is to enable your Integration via bot command from your Slack workspace. This proves to the kapa platform that you in fact have authority over the Slack channels where you want kapa to respond.

To do this, open the Slack channel where you want the bot to respond. If you want to enable a Single Channel integration, you will need to run this command:

/kapa-enable-channel <integration_id>

If you are using the Global Workspace mode, you need to run the following command once from any channel where the bot has been invited to enable the bot across the entire workspace:

/kapa-enable-workspace <integration_id>

The integration_id is the ID of the integration you just created in the kapa.ai app. You can obtain it by clicking on the Copy integration ID button of your integration in the integrations table. You run the command by typing it into the message box and hitting Enter. The bot will respond with a confirmation message.

When you see the confirmation message and "Enabled" status on the kapa platform, you know that the bot is now enabled and ready to help in the channel.

Troubleshooting Bot Commands

• If you don't see the bot commands in your workspace, you may need to update the bot. To do this, reinstall the bot by following the steps outlined in Section 2.
• To enable the bot, you must have the correct permissions. This usually requires you to be an admin or workspace owner. If you're having trouble enabling the bot, contact your Slack workspace administrator for assistance.

7. Start Using kapa.ai

Kapa bot is now ready to help! You can interact with kapa in two ways:

1. Direct Messages: DM kapa for one-on-one assistance. It will respond in a thread to keep conversations organized. This requires a global workspace installation.
2. Channels: In channels where kapa is installed, you can ask kapa a question by either mentioning it with @kapa or simply typing your question, depending on the configuration you set up in the kapa platform.

For the best experience:

• Start a new thread if switching topics, as kapa is optimized for staying on-topic.
• Ask follow-up questions or provide more context if you need clarification.

FAQ

Can I control which kapa project I DM directly?

No, if you have multiple projects, kapa can only be directly messaged with a global workspace installation. If you have multiple kapa bots installed in your workspace, you won't be able to choose which one to DM - it will always be the global workspace bot. To request this feature, please reach out to the kapa team.