How to support customers in Slack with Plain (Video)

This video shows how Plain helps teams manage customer support in Slack. When a customer asks a question in a Slack channel, Plain turns that Slack message into a support thread. Sidekick investigates it and drafts a reply, and your edited reply goes back to the same Slack thread, so the customer never leaves Slack.

How it works in four steps

1. Choose which Slack channels Plain joins automatically. In Plain, go to Settings, then Channels, then Slack, then Customer channels. Add a rule for a channel prefix, like #ext- or #customer-. Plain joins every public Slack channel that matches the rule, now and any created later. Each rule has its own ingestion mode, which decides when a Slack message becomes a new thread:

   • AI-based: Plain reads each message and decides whether it continues the previous thread or starts a new one.

   • Time-based: the thread continues if the same person wrote within 2 hours, or anyone else within 1 hour.

   • One-to-one: every top-level Slack message becomes its own thread.

   • Manual emoji: a thread is only created when someone reacts to a top-level message with the chosen emoji.

   • API-only: a thread is only created when your integration requests one through the API.

2. A customer posts a question in your Slack community channel. In the video, their custom domain is stuck on “Verifying”.

3. In Plain, that Slack message is already a thread, and Sidekick has already investigated it. Sidekick checks your help center, your docs, and the customer’s earlier threads, then writes a draft reply as an internal note that the customer can’t see.

4. Edit Sidekick’s draft in Plain and send it back to the same Slack thread. Copy the draft into the composer and make it yours, for example by adding a greeting with your name and a thank-you. Reply and wait sends it to the customer’s Slack thread and moves the Plain thread to Waiting for customer.

Transcript

[0:00] Customer questions get buried in Slack
Customers ask for help in Slack, and those questions get buried between channels and DMs. This video shows how Plain helps teams manage customer support in Slack.

[0:11] Step 1: Choose which Slack channels Plain joins
Step one. Choose which Slack channels Plain joins automatically. In Plain, open Settings, then Channels, then Slack. On the Customer channels page, a rule picks channels by prefix, like ext- or customer-. Plain joins every public channel that matches, now and any created later.

[0:34] Each rule decides how Slack messages become Plain threads
Then pick how messages in those channels become threads in Plain. Time-based keeps a thread going while people reply within an hour or two. One-to-one makes every top-level message its own thread. Manual emoji waits for someone to react with an emoji. API-only waits for your integration. This rule stays on AI-based, where Plain reads each message and decides whether it starts a new thread. Add a rule for each prefix, and each rule can use its own ingestion mode.

[1:12] Step 2: A customer posts a question in Slack
Step two. A customer posts a question in your Slack community channel. Their custom domain is still stuck on Verifying.

[1:24] Step 3: The Slack message becomes a Plain thread and Sidekick investigates
Step three. In Plain, that Slack message is already a thread, and Sidekick has already investigated it. Sidekick checked your help center, your docs, and the customer’s earlier threads, then wrote a draft reply.

[1:41] Step 4: You edit Sidekick’s draft in Plain and reply
Step four. Copy Sidekick’s draft into the Plain composer, and make it yours. A quick edit is enough: a greeting with your name, and a thank-you at the end. Reply and wait sends it back to the same Slack thread, and the thread in Plain moves to waiting for customer.

[2:07] The reply lands in the customer’s Slack thread
Back in Slack, your reply is in the thread the customer started, and they answer right there in Slack.

[2:23] Plain turns Slack messages into support threads
That’s how Plain turns a Slack message into a support thread, drafts a reply with Sidekick, and sends it back to your customer in Slack. Sourcegraph replaced 3 tools and migrated about 100 Slack channels. Try Plain at plain.com.

FAQ

What’s the best Slack app for customer support?
If your customers already ask for help in Slack, look for a support tool that turns Slack messages into tracked threads and sends replies back to the same Slack thread, so customers never have to leave Slack. Plain does this. You choose which Slack channels Plain joins by channel prefix, decide how messages become threads, and reply from Plain into Slack. For a comparison of options, see the best support tools for Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Is there an AI support tool that works with Slack?
Yes. In Plain, every customer message from Slack becomes a thread, and Sidekick investigates it. It checks your help center, your docs, and the customer’s earlier threads, then drafts a reply as an internal note. You edit the draft and send it back to the customer’s Slack thread, so a person stays in control of what the customer sees.

How do I choose which Slack channels become support threads in Plain?
In Plain, go to Settings, then Channels, then Slack, then Customer channels, and add a rule for a channel prefix such as #customer-. Plain joins every public Slack channel that matches, including ones created later. Each rule has its own ingestion mode: AI-based, time-based, one-to-one, manual emoji, or API-only. To add a private channel, invite Plain from Slack with /invite @Plain.