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Once an admin connects your Slack workspace or Microsoft 365 tenant, you can talk to Omni and your organization’s agents there. One workspace or tenant maps to one organization.

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Who answers a message

Checked in order: In Slack, an agent handle such as @account-research reaches that agent, under its own name and icon. Each person has their own Omni conversation, context and, where systems allow, permissions, even in a shared thread. Replies are labelled per person (“Dana’s Omni”, “Sam’s Omni”), and neither sees the other’s private data. There is no shared Omni.

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Talk to Omni

DM the xpander Slack app, or message xpander from your Teams app list. If your Slack or work email matches your xpander account, you’re linked at once. Otherwise tap Link account. The DM is a real Omni conversation: it shows in xpander Chat’s sidebar, keeps context, uses skills and streams replies. new chat or reset (in Teams also new conversation) starts fresh.
  • Voice notes, images and files are handled automatically.
  • Answers are the message itself. A live surface comes only when you ask for a report, dashboard, scorecard or live view, or when the agent’s instructions say so. Dashboards and visual cards get a View here button that opens them in the browser without sign-in.
  • You can build agents from the DM. Omni asks setup questions with buttons, sends authorization links, and creates the agent when you tap Approve & build. Skills that need MCP setup are finished in xpander Chat, from a link Omni sends.
  • Your xpander profile must belong to the organization the workspace or tenant is connected to. If your profile lives in a different organization, you are asked to link again. This is by design.

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Route a channel to an agent

Any member can let one agent answer untagged messages in a channel. Only one agent can auto-engage per channel. Handle mentions still reach other agents.
1

Let the app read the channel

The app joins public channels when you add them. For a private channel, /invite @xpander first.
2

Add the channel

In the agent’s settings, under Slack channels or Microsoft Teams channels (Add a channel to listen to in the Channels pane, or the channel selector under the composer), pick the channel (in Teams, the team and channel) and click Add.
3

Write engagement rules

Under Rules, describe when the agent should step in. It engages when any rule matches. Rules apply within a minute. Write intents, not keywords: “When someone reports a bug, error, or outage” works. “bug, error, pricing” triggers on most messages.
The agent answers in a thread, attributed to the author, acting with their permissions where systems allow. Only top-level messages engage it, unless Also engage in thread replies is on. An @mention of the app always goes to Omni, and a handle to that agent.
In Teams, without the team install and its receive channel messages consent, the app still answers @mentions in that team but never sees untagged messages. Channel routing silently drops to mention-only. If routing isn’t firing, check this first.
A judge model confirms intent, and messages addressed to a person are left alone. Once engaged, the agent follows the conversation for a few minutes. The thread is shared, the five-minute follow window is per person.
Add up to 10 channels (/invite the app to private ones). A relay is a copy with a Relayed from #channel line, posted under the agent’s name, not a conversation. These channels are also the only ones the agent may post to while it works.Only a completed answer is relayed. Errors and progress updates stay in the original channel. A direct @mention always reaches Omni in the author’s own conversation rather than the routed agent, so it is never relayed.

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Mention an agent by handle (Slack)

A handle lets people pick an agent from Slack’s mention picker in any channel the app is in, with no rule or channel list. It needs a one-time administrator authorization of the workspace. Until then the handle controls read Not active.
1

Create the handle

In the agent’s Channels → Slack settings, under Agent handle, edit the suggested name (for example Account Research → account-research) and select Create handle. It works once its status is Active.
2

Mention the agent

Add the app to the channel if needed, then type the handle and select it from the mention picker. Plain text that looks like a handle selects nothing.
Handles work in any public or private channel the app is in. The agent must be published and shared with the organization. The sender must be a full workspace member in that channel. Guests, Slack Connect channels and DMs are not supported.Mention several handles for separate answers, for example @account-research @sales-assistant prepare a briefing for Acme. Each answers separately. Follow-ups without a mention stay with the same agents while the thread’s context is active.If cleanup is pending, ask the workspace admin to restore authorization, and let it finish before reusing the name.

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Reply to a direct message from an agent

Reply in the message’s thread to answer the agent itself. Its answers come back in the thread, which keeps reaching the agent for 30 days after its last turn. Anything else in the DM goes to Omni.
An agent’s direct message comes from its own Slack app when it has one in your workspace, otherwise from the xpander Slack app under the agent’s name and icon.A reply continues the conversation only if you are the person it reached, from the same linked xpander account, you may use the agent, and your organization still owns the workspace. If you can’t continue the original conversation (it is someone else’s), your reply starts a new one that opens with the message.

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Progress while an agent works

One status line updates while the agent works, then the answer arrives. Show detailed tool activity on the channel row (or for every channel in the bot’s settings) shows readable steps instead.
  • The step list folds repeats and shows at most twelve rows. A channel set to post no progress stays silent until you turn it on. Changes reach a channel within a minute.
  • Images and PDFs are read with OCR, voice notes transcribed and links fetched. Each is switchable under Slack behavior.
  • Held approvals reach approvers in Slack too.
DMs and Teams 1:1 chats appear in your xpander sidebar. Channel conversations don’t, but every run is in the organization’s Session Manager.

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Differences in Teams

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Troubleshooting

Slack: the app must be in the channel (/invite it, always for private channels). Teams: usually the app was added personally or as a tab, not to the team. Re-add it via Team → ••• → Manage team → Apps and accept the receive channel messages consent. Then check that auto-engage is on and a rule matches. Thread replies need Also engage in thread replies or an @mention. Rule edits take up to a minute.
Tighten the rules. “When someone asks a question” matches almost everything. After an engagement, follow-ups may engage for a few minutes without re-checking rules.
Runs stop with a billing notice when credits run out. An organization admin can top up under Settings in xpander Chat. Then send your message again.
Read the note beside the handle. The workspace needs a paid Slack plan with user groups and admin authorization. Wait for Active, then select the handle from the mention picker. If Slack rejects the name, pick another.
Consent doesn’t override Slack permissions. The authorizing account must be allowed to create, edit and deactivate user groups. Ask an admin with those rights to reauthorize. Allowing everyone is not required.
Check whether cleanup is pending in xpander, and restore authorization if needed. Slack may still show a deactivated entry or old messages. Removing an admin-managed mapping leaves the group unchanged on purpose.
Check that Microsoft Teams is on under Platform > Agents > Channels. If it is, confirm the app is Allowed in the Teams admin center and in your setup policy.
They appear only after an admin connects your tenant. Admins see a connect prompt. Other members see nothing.
The picker lists only teams the app was added to. Add it to the team and reopen the picker. Still empty: the tenant may predate this permission, so an admin clicks Reconnect under Platform > Agents > Channels.
Teams sometimes refuses a stream, and the reply arrives as one message updated in place. Nothing is lost. Channel replies never stream.

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Next steps

See every way work reaches an agent

All channels.

Connect the Slack workspace

For administrators.

Connect the Microsoft Teams tenant

For administrators.