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.

Integration types

You have two options for deploying Kapa in Slack:

• Slack (Single Channel): Use this option to deploy Kapa to a specific channel in your Slack workspace. This is ideal if you want Kapa active in one channel or if you need different configurations per channel.
• Slack (Global Workspace): Use this option to deploy Kapa globally in your Slack Workspace. Choose this if you want Kapa to be available across multiple channels using the same configuration.

Choose Slack (Single Channel) for flexible, per-channel configurations or Slack (Global Workspace) for a unified setup with direct messaging. Pick the option that best fits your needs for deploying Kapa in Slack.

Using both integration types

You can use both integration types in the same workspace. For example, you can have a default configuration for all channels while applying specific settings to a single channel. Specific configurations will always override the default.

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)

We recommend creating a dedicated channel for Kapa. Avoid adding Kapa to an existing help channel to keep interactions clear. Users should be able to distinguish between channels where they can expect human responses and those where Kapa provides answers. We suggest naming this channel #ask-ai to help users easily identify its purpose.

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 Slack integration. Choose whether you want a single-channel or global workspace deployment (see Integration types).

3. Configure your integration

The Slack integrations have various configuration options. The mandatory configuration options are:

• 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).

Forum mode

The option Enable forum auto-reply mode controls whether Kapa automatically responds to new posts in the Slack channels that you've invited the bot to.

If this option is checked, Kapa automatically replies to all new posts.

If left unchecked, users must tag Kapa to generate a reply.

Additional configuration options are available by clicking the Advanced Configuration button. These options allow you to customize Kapa's default texts and responses. You can use Slack formatting to make responses more engaging. For more details, check the Formatting Tips on the configuration screen.

When you're done configuring the integration, click 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, click the "here" link 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

The final step is to enable the bot in your Slack workspace using slash commands. This confirms to the Kapa platform that you have the necessary authority over the Slack channels where you want Kapa to respond.

Prerequisites

To run these commands, you must be a Workspace Owner or Workspace Admin of your Slack workspace.

• To enable a Single Channel integration, open the Slack channel where you want the bot to respond and run the following command:

  /kapa-enable-channel <integration_id>

• To enable a Global Workspace integration, 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 created in the Kapa app. You can find it by clicking the Copy Integration ID button in the integrations table. Enter the command in the message box and press Enter. The bot will confirm once the integration is successfully enabled.

After the confirmation message appears in Slack and the Kapa platform shows the integration status as "Enabled", your bot is ready to receive questions.

7. Start Using Kapa

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.

I can't use the /kapa-enable-channel or /kapa-enable-workspace commands

If the bot commands aren't visible in your workspace, you may need to update the bot. Reinstall the bot by following the steps in Section 2.

If the commands appear but don't function, it's likely that you don't have the necessary permissions. To enable the Slack bot, you must be a Workspace Owner or Workspace Admin.