With remote working becoming the predominant way of doing things after the coronavirus pandemic, Slack has become a widely used communication tool. It has become the go-to tool for collaboration between various teams in the company as well as with clients and vendors.
But these communication tools also come with many repetitive and mundane tasks andare still unavoidable. Most employees do it reflexively without putting in too much effort. Automating these actions can help them focus on things that require more of their skills. Slack bots can make life easy and optimize your workspace.
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What Are Slack Bots?
Bots are a great way to automate tasks. Different bots for different channels do the tasks that would otherwise take up too much of a company’s time. Several companies that use Slack have created their own slack bots. These bots cover a wide range of activities, including something as simple as sending a GIF to showing data graphs.
Benefits of Slack Bots
Slack bots can help reduce the number of tasks a team will have to do. They can send reminders to a team through the common channel and through direct messages. Bots can also give custom answers to questions that are asked frequently. Slack bots can also be programmed to respond with phrases and image links for specific words used in the channels and direct messages.
How to Add a Bot to Slack?
Adding a bot to slack is an easy process. One method is to mention the bot in the message field of the channel it’s needed. The @ symbol needs to be put in front of the bot’s name when it’s entered into the channel. A notice saying “not in channel” pops up. The message should still be sent to the channel, which triggers a pop-up dialog box. This box will allow the bot user to be invited to the channel. The “invite to channel” button should be clicked, and it’s set to go.
There is another way to add the bot to the Slack channel. There is a drop-down box at the top of the channel. Under the “Jump To” choice, the option “The very beginning” should be selected. A notice pops up that has the option “Add an app”. You can search for the bot or app and add it to the channel.
Are Slack Bots Free?
Slack bots can be both free and paid. Companies create slack bots that can be used by other users and firms. Some bot developers leave them free. Other, more complex bots can come with subscriptions. Companies can decide if they want to create their own bots or if they want to go for the ones that have already been developed and meet their needs.
How to Enable Slack Bots?
To enable slack bots, a bot user needs to be created. In the settings menu, there is an option for Bot Users where one can be added. When the option “Add a bot user” is clicked, various options are displayed, such asdisplay name, default username, and the option to show the bot as always online. Once these details are filled, and it is figured out what options to enable, the Add Bot User should be clicked and the changes should be saved. The slack bots are ready to go!
How to Create Your Own Slack Bot?
Once a slack app is created or the one already present is selected, the OAuth & permissions tab needs to be selected. This particular tab is present on the left sidebar. There is an option named “bot token scopes”. Under this option, all the scopes required can be selected. Once that’s done, the button “Add an OAuth scope” should be clicked. The slack bot can be found when the App Home tab is clicked. It is usually on the left sidebar along with the bot user and the selected configuration.
Best Slack Bots To Add too Your Workspace
Choosing the right slack bots is important for any workspace. If a company needs a bot for work and project management, the Paymo slack bot is one of the better choices. It offers options for planning and scheduling the work related to the team. It can be used to track the work time and create the necessary tasks and files for the project.
Any.do bot can be used to help manage daily tasks. The bot does not require commands. Instead, relevant questions can be asked to the bot, and the bot will help the user ensure they remain on track with the tasks.
If a team needs to onboard a new member, they don’t have to waste their precious time going through everything. Instead, the Donut bot can provide the new members with all the information they need, including an introduction to the work culture and company policies, etc.
For teams that require regular data updates, Statsbot can be used. The bot provides updates for metrics that the team is working on by taking the information from other tools such as Google Analytics and Mixpanel, among others.
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Conclusion
Slack bots are wonderful options to help teams work efficiently. There are various slack bots that companies can add to their channels to do several tasks. They help free up a lot of time for employees to do more important tasks that require their full attention.
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