The 5 major AI apps for Slack
Native Slack feature focused on summarizing your workspace — channels, threads, catch-up digest. No external AI, no image gen.
OpenAI's official Slack app. Summarizes threads and answers questions — but requires everyone to have a ChatGPT Plus subscription.
Anthropic's official Slack integration. Strong reasoning and writing — but requires individual Claude Pro subscriptions for full access.
AI-powered web search in Slack. Excellent for finding real-time information from the web — not for Slack-native features or image generation.
300+ models (GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Llama, Flux…) from a single Slack app. One shared workspace balance — no per-seat pricing. Works on free Slack plans. The only Slack AI app with both image generation AND channel summarization.
Full feature comparison
Every major capability side-by-side. Last updated April 2026.
| Feature | Slack AI | ChatGPT for Slack |
Claude for Slack |
Perplexity for Slack |
Plug and AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works on free Slack | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team pricing (no per-seat) | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Channel summarization | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ free |
| Thread summarization | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Image generation | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Image analysis (vision) | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multiple AI models | Slack's own | GPT only | Claude only | Perplexity only | 300+ models |
| Web search | ✗ | Limited | ✗ | ✓ | Via models |
| DM support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thread context awareness | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cross-channel reading | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ up to 5yrs |
| Zero Data Retention option | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ opt-in |
| Free open-source models | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ Llama, Mistral… |
Pricing for a team of 10
Most apps charge per user — costs multiply fast. Here's what your team actually pays each month.
| App | Pricing model | Cost for 10 people | Requires paid Slack? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slack AI | $7.25–18/user/mo add-on | $72–180/mo | Yes — Pro or Business+ |
| ChatGPT for Slack | $20/user/mo (ChatGPT Plus) | $200/mo | No |
| Claude for Slack | $20/user/mo (Claude Pro) | $200/mo | No |
| Perplexity for Slack | $20/user/mo (Perplexity Pro) | $200/mo | No |
| Plug and AI | Pay-per-use, shared balance | ~$35/mo | No |
* Plug and AI estimate based on moderate usage (~few AI queries/day/person) with mixed free and paid models. ChatGPT/Claude estimates assume team of 10 with individual Plus/Pro subscriptions at $20/user/mo.
App-by-app breakdown
What each app is actually good at — and what's missing.
Slack AI
Built-in Slack feature · Requires paid Slack plan · $7.25–18/user/mo extra
- • Channel catch-up summaries
- • Thread recap ("summarize this thread")
- • Native Slack integration — no setup
- • Searches across your Slack workspace
- • Requires paid Slack plan (Pro or Business+)
- • No image generation or analysis
- • Only Slack's own AI — no GPT, Claude, Gemini
- • Additional cost on top of already-paid Slack seats
- • No free-tier channel summarization
ChatGPT for Slack
Official OpenAI integration · Requires ChatGPT Plus ($20/user/mo)
- • Drafting and editing directly in Slack
- • Thread summarization (with @ChatGPT)
- • Answering complex questions in channels
- • Code review and analysis
- • Every team member needs their own ChatGPT Plus
- • $200+/mo for team of 10
- • No channel summarization
- • No image generation in Slack
- • Locked to GPT — no Claude, Gemini, etc.
Claude for Slack
Official Anthropic integration · Requires Claude Pro ($20/user/mo)
- • Long-form writing and editing
- • Deep reasoning and analysis
- • Document review and feedback
- • Following complex multi-step instructions
- • Every team member needs their own Claude Pro
- • $200+/mo for team of 10
- • No channel summarization
- • No image generation
- • Locked to Claude models only
Perplexity for Slack
AI-powered web search · Requires Perplexity Pro ($20/user/mo)
- • Real-time web search with sources
- • Research and fact-checking
- • News and current events
- • Cited answers (with references)
- • Every user needs their own Perplexity Pro
- • $200+/mo for team of 10
- • No channel summarization
- • No image generation or analysis
- • Limited as a general assistant
Plug and AI
300+ models · Pay-per-use shared balance · Works on free Slack
- • Giving your whole team AI at minimal cost
- • Switching models per message — no config, no new subscriptions
- • Generating and analyzing images in Slack
- • Summarizing channels & threads (free with open-source models)
- • Reading up to 5 years of channel history
- • Works on free Slack plans — no Slack upgrade needed
- • Zero Data Retention option for compliance teams
- • Requires topping up a shared balance
- • Workspace search happens on demand across channels and threads you have access to — no separate pre-built index
- • Some models don't support ZDR when enabled
Which app is right for your team?
Not every team has the same needs. Here's a quick guide.
If your team is already on a paid Slack plan and you just want a quick summary each morning without any extra setup —
If your primary use case is finding and citing information from the web — news, facts, current events —
If you want everyone to have AI access — not just power users — without paying per seat or upgrading Slack —
If your team creates content, visuals, or mockups directly from Slack conversations —
If your team uses Slack's free plan and can't or won't pay for a Slack upgrade, but still wants AI access —
If you specifically need Claude or GPT-5 and your users already have individual subscriptions —
Frequently asked questions
Which AI app for Slack is cheapest for a team of 10? ▼
Plug and AI — approximately $35/month total. Slack AI costs $72–180/month and requires a paid Slack plan. ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity for Slack each require individual subscriptions ($200/month for 10 people).
Does Slack AI work on the free Slack plan? ▼
No. Slack AI is an add-on that requires a paid Slack Pro ($7.25/user/mo extra) or Business+ ($12.50/user/mo extra) plan. It doesn't work on Slack's free plan. Plug and AI works on free Slack plans with no upgrade needed.
Which Slack AI app can summarize channels? ▼
Only Slack AI and Plug and AI support channel summarization. Slack AI requires a paid plan. Plug and AI summarizes any channel it's been invited to — and with free open-source models (Llama, Mistral), channel summarization is essentially free. ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity for Slack don't summarize channels.
Can I use GPT-5, Claude, and Gemini from the same Slack app? ▼
Yes — only with Plug and AI. Every other Slack AI app is locked to a single provider: ChatGPT for Slack gives you OpenAI only, Claude for Slack gives you Anthropic only, Perplexity for Slack gives you Perplexity only. Plug and AI gives you 300+ models from all major providers from a single @ai mention. For a head-to-head look at the underlying models, see our best AI chatbots ranking.
Which Slack AI app generates images? ▼
Only Plug and AI. Type @ai image a minimalist logo for a fintech startup and get a generated image directly in Slack. Supported models include Flux.2 Pro and Google's Nano Banana 2. No other Slack AI app supports image generation.
Is Plug and AI a replacement for Slack AI? ▼
For most teams, yes — Plug and AI covers the workflows they actually use most: channel and thread summaries, cross-channel Q&A across any channel or thread you have access to, 300+ models, image generation, image analysis, and shared billing on free Slack plans. Slack AI still has a native pre-indexed search layer — useful if pre-indexed full-text search across the whole workspace is your primary need. To preview the same models outside Slack before installing, try our no-login AI chat.
Try the AI that covers it all
300+ models · Image generation · Free channel summarization · Works on free Slack · No per-seat pricing.
Add it to your Slack workspace in one click — $1.00 free credit included.
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