AI Agents and Assistants
What is an AI agent? A plain-English guide for business owners
What an AI agent is, how it works, where it helps a small business, the risks, and a 7-point check to see if you are ready for one.
AI Features & Bots
AI Slack Bot
Your team asks questions and triggers simple actions right inside Slack, in threads and DMs, without leaving the conversation.
Your team already lives in Slack, so that is where answers should be. This bot replies to an @mention, a slash command or a direct message using only the documents and rules you approve, and it can run simple actions too. When it cannot answer, it hands the question to a person. The code is delivered to your repository and the accounts stay yours.
- Answers by @mention, slash command or direct message in Slack
- Uses only the documents and rules you approve
- Hands unanswered questions to a person instead of guessing
$2,500
20–30 working days
Optional maintenance $249/mo
What it is
AI Slack Bot answers questions and runs simple actions inside Slack, responding to an @mention in a channel, a slash command or a direct message, using the documents and rules you approve. It hands off to a person when it cannot answer.
Why businesses buy it
The same questions get asked in Slack every day, and the people who know the answers spend hours replying. Pinned messages and wikis go stale or get ignored. A bot that answers inside the conversation saves that time and gives everyone a consistent reply, without anyone leaving Slack. The written scope fixes the knowledge, intents, handoff and testing before you order, so your workspace admin knows exactly what is being installed.
Problems this solves
Answers are buried in old Slack threads and shared documents
The bot answers from the documents and rules you approve, right where your team already talks. People @mention it in a channel, use a slash command or send a direct message.
Small repeat tasks mean leaving Slack to open another tool
Alongside answers, the bot can run simple actions within its five configured intents. People stay in the conversation instead of switching apps for small, repeat jobs.
Questions the bot cannot answer get ignored in the channel
When the bot cannot answer, it hands off to a person through the agreed route, such as email or helpdesk. Forty documented test questions with pass/fail results check this before launch.
A good fit if
Your team already lives in Slack and asks the same questions in channels or DMs throughout the day.
You want the bot reachable by @mention, slash command or direct message, not a separate app your team has to open.
Beyond answering questions, you want it to trigger a small number of simple actions, such as looking up a status or logging a request.
You have documents, FAQs or a wiki already written that the bot can be loaded with.
Not the right fit if
Your team works in Microsoft Teams, not Slack. See AI Microsoft Teams Bot, built for that platform's mechanics.
You need this answering customers on your public website, not staff in Slack. See AI Website Chatbot.
You want an assistant reachable outside Slack too, such as an internal web portal. See AI Custom Team Assistant.
You need it to update records in another app with real read and write access, beyond simple lookups. See AI Feature Integration.
How it works
- We load the bot with your documents, FAQs or wiki content, up to 100 documents or 200 pages, so its answers come only from material you approve.
- The bot is installed into your Slack workspace, responding to an @mention in a channel, a slash command, or a direct message, whichever fits how your team already works.
- Up to five intents are built, such as answering a policy question, checking a status or logging a simple request, each mapped to how your team phrases it in Slack.
- Threaded replies keep the bot's answers attached to the original question, so channels stay readable instead of filling with bot noise.
- Where a request needs a person, the bot hands off to the teammate or channel you name, tagging them directly in the thread.
- 40 documented test questions, written from how your team actually talks in Slack, are run and checked pass or fail before launch.
What you provide within 72 hours
Your portal lists these the moment you order. Delivery starts the working day after everything is in and your access is checked.
- The documents, FAQs or wiki pages the bot should learn from.
- Your top 20 questions your team asks in Slack today, with the answers you want used.
- Admin access to install the bot into your Slack workspace.
- The channel, teammate or role the bot should hand off to when a question needs a person.
- Your workspace name and any branding preferences for the bot's profile.
- Admin access and API keys for every connected system, shared by adding our team as a user or creating a key you control, never by email.
- One decision-maker who can approve the answers and the finished bot.
- An API key for your own AI model account (for example OpenAI or Google Gemini), created for this build with a spending limit.
The 72-hour rule. Send everything on your checklist, including access, within 72 hours of ordering so your build starts on time.
Timeline
Start
Intake reviewed and your top questions, intents and handoff rules confirmed.
Weeks 1–2
The bot is loaded with your documents and the five intents built.
Week 3
The bot is installed into your Slack workspace and the handoff routing connected.
Weeks 3–4
40 documented test questions run inside Slack, with pass or fail results sent to you.
Week 4
Your review and two rounds of changes to answers or handoff rules.
Go-live
Live in your workspace, recorded handoff session held, support starts.
| Option | Delivery time | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 20–30 working days | $2,500 |
| Express | 15–25 working days | $2,950 |
| Rush | 10–20 working days | $3,400 |
What you receive at handover
- The AI Slack bot, installed and live in your Slack workspace
- Prompt and guardrail configuration for up to five intents plus human handoff
- One connection for handoff, such as email or your helpdesk
- A test report with forty documented test questions and pass/fail results
- An admin guide and the recorded 60-minute handoff session
- 30 days of post-launch support
Expected benefits and how to measure them
- Can cut repeat questions in busy help channels
- Helps people get answers without leaving Slack
- Makes sure unanswered questions reach a named person
- Repeat questions in help channels
- Sample a help channel for two weeks before launch and count repeats. Sample the same channel a month after launch.
- Bot usage
- Count weekly mentions, slash commands and direct messages from the bot's logs.
- Handoff rate
- Divide handoffs by total bot conversations each week. Watch the trend as content is added.
Before you start: Pick the help channels the bot will cover and count questions per week for two weeks. Note the ones asked most often.
These are things to track, not promised results. Outcomes depend on your data, your team and your market.
Running costs
The build itself is a one-time payment, shown before you buy. Running it typically costs ~$30–150 a month for AI model usage and hosting, billed in your own accounts, on top of whatever Slack plan you already pay. A workspace with a few dozen active users usually sits mid-range.
AI usage during build and testing is billed the same way, so your Slack and AI accounts stay in your name.
Ask about running costsCustom requirements
Need more than 100 documents, a second channel, or more than five intents? Add a note at checkout for a written Change Quote, without affecting your original delivery date. Larger or bespoke projects go through the Custom AI request form instead.
Request a custom versionKeep it running
Monthly maintenance covers monitoring, fixes and change hours for new FAQs, an added intent or a new slash command. The change hours scale with the build. It starts after the included support period and can be cancelled any month.
$249/mo (the minimum fee, includes 2 change hours)
Optional. Starts after the post-launch support period. Cancel any month.
How maintenance worksHow this compares
| Do it yourself with a SaaS tool | Hire a custom agency | Upmark Labs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | A Slack app from the App Directory charges monthly per active user | An agency quotes after discovery calls | Ours is one fixed price, shown before you buy |
| Answers | A generic Slack app answers from a broad, unfiltered knowledge base | An agency build depends on what was agreed | Ours only answers from the documents you approve |
| Delivery | An app installs in minutes but still needs your content loaded and tuned | An agency usually takes several weeks, set per project | Ours has a fixed delivery time shown before you buy, with faster options |
| Mechanics | An app may not support threads, mentions and slash commands together | An agency build depends on what was agreed | Ours responds to mentions, slash commands and DMs, threaded |
| Testing | An app ships untested until your team hits the gaps | An agency build depends on what was agreed | Ours is checked against 40 documented test questions first |
Questions about this product
What does the AI Slack Bot price include?
One fixed price covers the build on the Scope Card: loading your documents, building up to five intents, installing the bot in your Slack workspace, running 40 documented test questions and a recorded 60-minute handoff. The price is shown before you order, and the scope is written down so nothing grows quietly.
What does the Slack bot cost to run each month?
Typically $30 to $150 a month for AI model usage and hosting, billed in your own accounts, separate from your existing Slack subscription. A workspace with a few dozen active users usually lands mid-range. Nothing routes through us, so every charge is on your own bill.
How long until the bot is live in our Slack workspace?
Standard, Express and Rush delivery times are shown in the price panel before you order. Delivery runs from a complete intake, so it depends on receiving Slack admin access, your documents and sample questions within 72 hours of ordering. Late information adds time.
How do people actually talk to the Slack bot?
By @mentioning it in a channel, using a slash command, or sending it a direct message, whichever fits how your team already works. Replies come back threaded to the original question, so busy channels stay readable instead of filling with bot messages.
Can we add new FAQs or a new command after launch?
Yes. Two rounds of changes are included before launch, and later updates, such as new FAQs or an added intent, fit inside the monthly change hours that come with maintenance. A second channel is quoted separately as an add-on. Those hours also cover a new slash command, and maintenance can be cancelled any month.
Can the Slack bot post in every channel automatically?
No. It only responds where it is invited or @mentioned, and only answers questions inside the five intents and documents agreed during intake. It will not post unprompted into channels, which keeps it from becoming noise your team has to mute.
What happens when the Slack bot cannot answer a question?
It says so in the thread and tags the teammate or channel you named during intake for handoff, rather than guessing at an answer. Those unanswered questions are logged, which is a fast way to see what to add to the bot's knowledge next.
Guides on this topic
All guides Answer the same Slack question once, not every day.
Order AI Slack Bot and your team starts getting answers to @mentions, commands and DMs from your own content, without leaving Slack.
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