Use case · Slack
AI search for Slack that cites the thread.
Decisions get argued in Slack and then scroll out of sight. KnowWhy indexes the channels you choose, keeps thread replies with their parent message, and answers in plain language with a citation to every message it relied on.
Free plan · Read-only access · You choose what gets indexed
Questions you can ask
Plain-language questions, answered from your own Slack.
- What did #payments agree about retrying failed charges?
- Why did we postpone the mobile release last month?
- Who raised concerns about the database migration, and were they resolved?
- What changed in the on-call process last week?
Example questions. Answers depend on what your connected sources contain.
What gets indexed
You choose what gets indexed.
Index the channels you choose so KnowWhy can find the discussion behind a decision, including thread replies, with links to the original messages.
Indexed
- Public channels you select (KnowWhy joins a public channel when you pick it)
- Private channels, only after someone invites the KnowWhy app to them
- Thread replies, kept together with the message that started the thread
- Edits and deletions, picked up through Slack events
Never indexed
- Direct messages
- Group DMs
- Channels you haven't selected
Slack permissions, and why
- channels:read, groups:read
- List channels so an admin can choose which to index.
- channels:history, groups:history
- Read messages in channels you select.
- channels:join
- Join a public channel when you select it for indexing.
- users:read
- Show message authors by name.
- team:read
- Show the connected workspace's name.
How answers work
Answers you can check, not just trust.
Every claim is cited
Numbered citations open the exact excerpt and link to the original source. Citations that don't map to real evidence are removed before you see them.
No answer beats a guess
Answers use only indexed sources the asker is allowed to see. When they don't contain the answer, KnowWhy says so.
Understands “last week”
Relative dates resolve in your organization's time zone, and the searched range is shown above the answer.
Decisions vs. proposals
KnowWhy is built to separate what was decided from what was only proposed, and to flag sources that disagree.
Better together
One question across Slack and the rest of your tools.
A decision is rarely in one place. Connect more sources and a single answer can cite the discussion, the change and the write-up together.
Good to know
The limits, up front.
- You ask questions in the KnowWhy web app. There is no Slack bot or slash command to ask from inside Slack.
- Decisions made in direct messages can't be found, because direct messages are never accessed.
- Private channels are visible only to workspace owners and admins until an admin grants access to others.
Can KnowWhy read our Slack direct messages?
No. Direct messages and group DMs are never accessed. KnowWhy reads only the channels an admin selects, and private channels only after the KnowWhy app has been invited to them.
Do we ask questions inside Slack?
No. Questions are asked in the KnowWhy web app. Answers link back to the original Slack messages, so one click takes you to the thread in Slack.
Does KnowWhy only search Slack?
No. The same question can draw on GitHub and Notion too, so an answer can cite the Slack thread where a decision was made, the pull request that implemented it and the Notion page that wrote it up.
Is there a free plan?
Yes, there is a free plan with 300 questions a month and up to 10 members, with GitHub, Slack and Notion all included. Team and Enterprise plans are available by contacting us.
Ask your first question in minutes.
Create a workspace, connect a tool and choose what gets indexed. The free plan includes GitHub, Slack and Notion.