Parker Harris, Salesforce’s co-founder and Slack CTO, recently hinted at the sunset of Salesforce’s collaboration tool, Chatter. In his own words: “I built Chatter, I’m going to kill Chatter.”
He also emphasized the company’s shift to Slack and advanced AI integrations as the new standard for collaboration within the Salesforce ecosystem. So what does this mean for Chatter users, and what’s next for Salesforce collaboration tools? Let’s dive into the details.
Is Salesforce Retiring Chatter?
Salesforce Chatter, introduced in 2010, was initially groundbreaking, enabling teams to share updates, discuss projects, and collaborate directly within Salesforce. Since then, the world of digital collaboration tools has evolved significantly, and it’s been evident for a while that Chatter no longer cuts the mustard.
Slack, acquired by Salesforce in 2021 for $27.7B, offers a more modern, flexible, and user-friendly alternative. We’ve long anticipated Slack replacing Chatter but this shift became a reality at Dreamforce, where Harris stated the he was going to “kill Chatter”, thus suggesting the product will be sunset soon and Slack’s full integration into the Salesforce platform as the default collaboration interface.
Harris explained that this move aligns with Salesforce’s strategy of streamlining tools and harnessing the power of AI. He stated that Chatter’s purpose as a collaboration hub within Salesforce can now be achieved more effectively through Slack.
Slack’s functionality integrates seamlessly with Salesforce, providing a more interactive, real-time platform for communications, document sharing, and project management.
The integration of Slack brings more than just messaging capabilities. It creates a “conversational interface” to Salesforce’s Customer 360 applications, allowing users to work directly from Slack without switching applications. This shift is about creating a unified environment where collaboration, data, and AI-driven insights coexist seamlessly.
Slack’s deep integration within Salesforce represents an evolution in the company’s approach to collaboration and customer interaction. Harris indicated that Salesforce users could expect Slack to become the “front end” of the Salesforce experience, making it a hub for not only customer data and interaction but also for project management, AI-driven insights, and automation.
How does this work? The answer lies in Salesforce Channels in Slack.
Salesforce Channels in Slack
Salesforce Channels in Slack are a new integration designed to unify customer relationship data from Salesforce with team conversations in Slack, providing a more seamless way to manage customer interactions.
“We’re excited to be bringing together the world’s #1 AI CRM and the world’s leading work operating system, with Salesforce channels in Slack.” Parker Harris, CTO, Slack
Salesforce Channels eliminates the need for employees to toggle between different applications to access customer information, so they can see all relevant CRM data, like opportunities, cases, and project status – alongside team conversations in Slack channels.
As Salesforce professionals, we know full well how difficult user adoption can be and how easy it is for information to become siloed between separate systems, so this innovation is very welcome!
Each Salesforce Channel is organized with tabs at the top, offering quick access to customer data, files, Slack lists, and other resources.
- Messages: The messages tab in Salesforce Channels lets teams discuss specific records, like deals or opportunities, directly within Slack, combining team conversations, app messages, and Sales Elevate notifications in one place.
- Record Details: The record details tab in Salesforce Channels provides a quick view of key Salesforce data for the specific record linked to the channel, allowing users to view and update information directly in Slack. The tab name matches the record type, like “Account details” for channels linked to account records.
- Summary: The summary tab, only available with the Slack AI add-on, provides an AI-generated overview of conversations in Salesforce channels for a specific record, with options to review sources and access full discussions in Slack.
- Related records: The related records tab in Salesforce Channels displays a default record type chosen by an admin and any updates made in Slack by authorized users will sync directly with Salesforce.
Built with an AI-ready framework, Salesforce Channels support real-time collaboration across various team functions like sales, service, and marketing. With this integration, users can update and edit Salesforce records directly in Slack, maintaining secure data management without duplicating information across systems.
Additionally, AI capabilities, like Slack AI, allow users to get quick summaries of key discussions and insights on customer decisions, helping teams stay aligned on the customer journey. This AI-driven approach supports functions like team selling by providing everyone involved with up-to-date information and insights into each customer’s needs, making it easier to collaborate efficiently and make informed decisions.
In the future, Salesforce Channels will also be integrated into the Salesforce interface, allowing seamless transitions between Slack and Salesforce without losing context. This cross-platform functionality will enable users to stay connected whether they are in Salesforce or Slack, improving accessibility and collaboration.
The inclusion of Salesforce Channels in Salesforce Starter Suite in the coming months will further empower smaller organizations to streamline customer management with built-in templates and guides, creating a more efficient, unified customer service experience for businesses of all sizes.
So what’s the catch? Currently, Salesforce Channels are generally available to Slack Sales Elevate customers only. This has caused some significant frustration in the Slack and Salesforce communities. In particular, Matt Pieper boldly announced that “Salesforce channels for Slack is by far the best product I’ve seen post-acquisition…But, you’ll likely never get to use it. Why? It’s only available with Slack Sales Elevate at $65 PUPM list price.”
From my perspective, all may not be lost. Based on a social post by a community thought leader, Salesforce has made Agentforce free to all users, so perhaps the same community pressure will see Salesforce make Salesforce Channels more easily available to other customers in the future.
What Chatter Users Can Expect Next
Harris reassured Chatter users that they can continue using the platform for now; no official retirement timeline has been announced.
In the future, customers should consider adding Slack to their technology stack (if they haven’t already done so) to benefit from Slack’s superior features, particularly its deeper integration with Salesforce and its AI-enhanced capabilities.
What Does This Mean for Developers and Salesforce Partners?
Salesforce sees Slack as a platform that will foster new opportunities for developers and Salesforce partners. The AppExchange will soon feature templates and workflows specifically for Slack, allowing partners to create unique solutions that add value to their clients.
The company is also seeking partners to expand Slack’s use cases, pushing toward creating a single, powerful workspace that integrates collaboration, customer management, and AI capabilities.
Final Thoughts
The potential retirement of Chatter will mark the end of an era, but it’s clear that Salesforce’s focus on AI and advanced integration with Slack is setting the stage for a new generation of digital collaboration.
Some bold announcements have been made, such as the “killing off” of Chatter and the capabilities of Salesforce Channels, but how many Salesforce customers will choose Slack as their collaboration tool remains to be seen. For now, it appears that the price point to get features such as Salesforce Channels is too high or limited to SKUs many customers don’t want. Let’s also not forget the recent Slack data security breach that has meant that Disney, a long-time customer, has announced that they will no longer be using Slack.
If you currently use Chatter, we’d love to hear your thoughts! Let us know in the comments.
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