Simple team chat for serious work
Put your typing to good use. Efficient, organized team chat helps you and your team work better together.
Choose the communication style that works for you
Collaboration isn't limited to just text. Use voice, video and more to help get your team's chat messages across.
Connect with people wherever they're working
Bring everyone in your organization together with a place to communicate and collaborate. From one-on-ones to team chats, you'll get the in-office feeling from anywhere you work.
Chat securely with open or private communication
Most chat in Slack happens in channels — open, organized spaces for messages, files, tools, and people — but you can always find a place to communicate with private channels and team chat direct messages.
Organize conversations
You name and organize your channels for projects, clients, or whatever makes sense for you and your company. Every conversation has a home and a place to move forward.
Put your work history to work
Work smarter by referencing your private messages or open conversations in channels across your company, all of which are automatically saved and searchable.
Always at your fingertips
Stay up to date on all your conversations and keep them going from anywhere with dedicated Slack apps for desktop or mobile.
Take a closer look at team chat in Slack
Frequently asked questions
Slack offers an easier, more organized way to work. Instead of endless email chains, in Slack work happens in channels: flexible spaces for all the people, tools and files you need to get work done. Unlike email, where messages can quickly get lost, you can grab a specific person’s attention with a notification in Slack when you need a rapid response. Slack also connects with your most-used work tools, which email just can’t do. Allow us to offer a few more reasons to make the switch.
Direct messages between one or several members are private by default. These chats will be listed in a separate group under Direct Messages below the list of private and public channels on the left of your Slack window.
With Slack Connect, you can send invitations to start direct message conversations with people outside your company, just like regular DMs in Slack! Once an invitation has been sent and accepted, you can start exchanging messages with someone from another organization.
If you’re initiating a direct message, your company must be using Slack on a paid plan. People on the free plan can still accept your invitation to start a DM.
A team chat app is workplace messaging software that allows teams to send messages, share files, and collaborate in real time. Team chat apps organize conversations in channels or direct messages so discussions stay structured and searchable. Most team chat apps also integrate with other work tools so teams can share updates and collaborate without switching platforms.
In many cases, yes. Team chat platforms allow teams to communicate instantly, organize conversations by topic, and integrate work tools — reducing the need for internal email.
Most team chat platforms include a set of core features designed to support workplace communication and collaboration. These typically include channels for organized conversations, direct messaging for one-on-one communication, file sharing within conversations, searchable message history, and integrations with other work tools. Together, these features help teams keep discussions organized, quickly find information, and collaborate more efficiently.
To use team chat effectively, teams should organize conversations into channels based on projects, departments, or topics. This keeps discussions structured and makes information easier to find later. Teams should also use clear channel names, share relevant files and updates within the conversation, and integrate important tools so updates appear directly in the team chat. Following these practices helps reduce unnecessary messages, improve visibility across teams, and keep work moving forward.
Team chat reduces the need for long email chains and keeps conversations organized in channels. This allows teams to collaborate faster and access information more easily.