Use this article to connect a Slack channel to Intercom, configure which conversations trigger a notification, and choose which conversation attributes appear in each message. For two-way customer conversations in Slack, see Connect your Slack channel instead.

Go beyond simple alerts by combining the flexibility of Workflows with the Notify Slack action step. You can build a targeted notification system that gives your team visibility into the conversations that need their attention — new messages from VIPs, negative sentiment, feature requests, and more.

Note: This article covers sending one-way notifications to Slack. If you want to learn how to have two-way conversations with customers in Slack, see Connect your Slack channel instead.

Plan your notification strategy

Before building anything, it's best to decide what events are truly important for your team to see in Slack. A good notification should be both timely and actionable.

Identify high-signal events

Think about the key moments in the customer journey where immediate team awareness can make a difference. These are perfect triggers for a Slack notification.

Consider creating notifications for:

A new conversation from a VIP or enterprise-level customer.
A conversation that receives a negative CSAT score.
A ticket that is assigned to a specific escalation team.
A new lead from a user on your pricing page.
A conversation that contains keywords like "urgent," "cancellation," or "complaint."

Choose the right channel

To avoid overwhelming your main channels, send targeted notifications to dedicated ones. This ensures that the alerts are seen by the teammates who need them without creating noise for everyone else.

For example, you could set up:

#support-escalations for urgent tickets and negative sentiment.
#sales-leads for new conversations from high-value prospects.
#product-feedback for conversations tagged with feature requests.
#vip-accounts for all activity from your most important customers.

Getting started

Before you can set up a Slack notification workflow, you need to connect your Slack workspace and add the Intercom app to the channels you want to send notifications to.

If you haven't done this yet, a teammate with permission to manage integrations can set it up by going to Settings > Channel > Slack and clicking Connect Slack workspace.

The Intercom Settings page open on Channels > Slack, showing the 'Connect Slack workspace' button under Connected Slack Workspace. An OAuth authorization dialog overlays the screen, showing Intercom requesting permission to access a Slack workspace, with Cancel and Allow buttons.

Tip: Learn how to connect your Slack workspace and channels to Intercom.

Step 1: Add the channel to Intercom

First, make sure the channel you want to use is connected to your Intercom workspace.

For public channels

Go to Settings > Channel > Slack.
Click the three-dot menu (···) beside a connected Slack workspace, then select the Add channels tab.
In the window that appears, search for and select the channel(s) you want to add.
Click Add channels to save.

The Add Slack channels modal in Intercom settings, showing a searchable list of Slack channels with checkboxes. Five channels are selected, including #public-support and #channeled-support. A note at the top states that results include public channels only.

The channel will now appear in your Connected Slack channels list.

For private channels

Open your private channel in Slack.
Type @intercomapp and send the message.
Slackbot will show you a prompt that the app isn't in the channel. Click Add them. Once added, the channel will automatically appear in your Connected Slack channels list in Intercom — you don't need to add it manually.

Step 2: Set the channel's purpose for notifications

To make a channel available for notifications in workflows, you must first define its purpose in your Slack settings.

Go to Settings > Channel > Slack.
Under the Connected Slack channels list, find the channel you want to use and click the three-dot menu (···) on the right.
Select Channel settings.
Under "Channel Purpose", select Post Slack notifications only. This ensures the channel is used for posting notifications without triggering new Intercom conversations.
Click Save. The channel's purpose will update immediately in the Connected Slack channels list.

This tells Intercom that the channel should be used for one-way notifications from Intercom, not for creating new conversations from Slack messages.

Note: Only channels with their purpose set to Post Slack notifications only will appear in the channel selector when you add a "Notify Slack" step in a Workflow.

Add a notification step to a workflow

Once you've connected a Slack channel and set its purpose to Post Slack notifications only (see Getting started above), you can add a Notify Slack step to a workflow in Fin AI Agent > Workflows.

Navigate to Fin AI Agent > Workflows.
Create a new workflow or edit an existing one.
Click + Add step and select the Notify Slack action.
From the Select channel dropdown, choose the channel you want to post the notification to. Channels will be grouped by their Slack workspace name.
Optionally, use the Conversation attributes picker to select which attributes to include in the notification (see Include conversation attributes in notifications below). Then click Done. Publish or save your workflow for the changes to take effect.

Now, when a conversation or ticket matches the entry rules for your workflow, a notification will automatically be posted to the selected Slack channel.

An example Slack notification posted by the Intercom app, showing a conversation notification with the conversation ID, a customer reply preview reading 'I need human agent', and a 'Go to conversation to respond' link.

Note: You can also use the Notify Slack action in legacy Inbox Rules (found under Settings > Inbox > Rules). Inbox Rules is an older automation feature; new automations should use Workflows instead.

Note: The Slack notification template is fixed, but you can control which conversation attributes appear in each message using the Conversation attributes picker in the step settings.

How to include conversation attributes in Slack notifications

You can choose which custom conversation attributes the Notify Slack action includes in the message it posts. This makes it easy to surface the data your team needs — like payment method, plan type, or account tier — without anyone having to copy values across by hand.

How to add conversation attributes

Within the Notify Slack step settings in a workflow (Fin AI Agent > Workflows):

Select your channel from the Select channel dropdown.
Use the searchable Conversation attributes multi-select picker — shown next to the channel picker — to add or remove the attributes you want to include.
Click Done. Publish or save your workflow for the changes to take effect.

How attributes appear in Slack

Selected attributes are rendered as their own section in the Slack message, using the same formatting Intercom uses everywhere else. Attributes with no value show (not set) rather than being hidden.

Note: The picker shows custom conversation attributes only. Standard attributes (such as assignee, team, or channel) are included in the notification automatically and cannot be added or removed. Attribute rendering works across all workflow trigger types — whether the workflow triggers on a customer reply or on a conversation event (such as a tag being applied or sentiment changing).

Tip: Workflows with no attributes selected post exactly as they did before — nothing changes for existing notifications.

Example notification workflows

Here are a few practical examples. Each shows the Entry rules (the conditions a conversation must meet to trigger the workflow) and the Action step to configure in Fin AI Agent > Workflows.

Notify account managers about their key accounts

Give your account managers immediate visibility when their customers need help. This allows them to proactively engage and provide a white-glove experience.

Goal: Alert an account manager when one of their customers starts a conversation.
Trigger (Entry rules): New conversation from users where Company > Account owner is [Teammate's name].
Action: Notify Slack to the #account-managers channel.

Escalate conversations with negative sentiment

Quickly bring difficult conversations to the attention of a support lead or manager. This allows them to step in and help turn a negative experience into a positive one.

Goal: Alert leadership to conversations that are at risk.
Trigger (Entry rules): A conversation's sentiment is updated where Conversation data > Sentiment is Negative.
Action: Notify Slack to the #support-leads channel.

Announce new feature requests for the product team

Keep your product team connected to the voice of the customer by piping new feature requests directly into their Slack workspace.

Goal: Inform the product team about new ideas and feedback.
Trigger (Entry rules): A conversation is tagged where Conversation tag is feature-request.
Action: Notify Slack to the #product-feedback channel.

FAQs

What will the notification look like?

Notifications are posted by the Intercom app and use the Intercom logo as the avatar. The message follows a standard template to show key information about the conversation or ticket. Any follow-up notifications for the same conversation will be posted in a thread under the original message to keep the channel tidy.

For ticketed workflows, the notification looks like this:

An example Slack notification for a ticketed workflow from Intercom Notifications, showing a ticket title, ticket ID, a list of ticket attributes including title and description fields, and a 'Go to ticket to respond' link.

For outbound workflows, notifications look like this:

An example Slack notification for an outbound workflow from Intercom, showing a conversation ID and a message indicating that a customer engaged with an Outbound Workflow.

The Slack notification template is fixed — the message format, avatar, and subject line are set by Intercom and can't be changed. You can, however, control which custom conversation attributes appear in the message using the Conversation attributes picker in the step settings.

What happens if a teammate replies to a notification?

Channels configured for Post Slack notifications only are designed for one-way communication. Replies made in the thread of a notification will not be sent back to the Intercom conversation.

Note: A channel configured for two-way customer conversations (Conversational Slack) cannot also be used as a notification-only channel — each channel can serve only one purpose. To set up two-way conversations in Slack, see Connect your Slack channel.

Can I send notifications to private channels?

Yes, you can send notifications to private channels. As long as the Intercom app has been invited into the private channel and you have configured its purpose as "Post Slack notifications only" in your settings, it will be available to select when adding a Notify Slack step in Fin AI Agent > Workflows.

Why are Slack notifications missing for certain events?

If Slack notifications aren't firing for all desired events, check the following: ensure every branch or path in your workflow includes a Notify Slack step; confirm the Slack channel is still connected under Settings > Channel > Slack; and verify the Fin app hasn't been removed from the channel in Slack. Additionally, ensure that every workflow branch — including the Else path — includes a Notify Slack step to avoid missing notifications.

Why have Slack notifications stopped after migrating to a new Slack workspace?

If notifications stopped working after a migration, open the affected workflow, remove the existing Slack notification action, and add it again before saving and publishing the workflow. This refreshes the connection.

How do I fix the Slack channel not appearing in Intercom?

If a Slack channel isn’t listed in Intercom, ensure the Fin app has been properly added to the channel in Slack and that its purpose is set to "Post Slack notifications only."

Can a single Slack workspace connect to multiple Intercom workspaces?

No, a single Slack workspace cannot connect to multiple Intercom workspaces. However, multiple Slack workspaces can connect to one Intercom workspace.

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