Slack Interactive Demo
Explore a demo of Slack, a collaboration platform that allows teams to communicate and work together through channels, DMs, and integrations.
What is Slack?
Slack is a business communication platform that replaced email as the primary internal communication tool for millions of teams. Founded in 2013 by Stewart Butterfield (who previously built Flickr) as a pivot from a gaming startup, Slack was acquired by Salesforce in 2021 for $27.7 billion — the largest software acquisition ever at the time.
Slack organizes communication into Channels — persistent topic-based chat rooms — instead of inboxes. Direct Messages handle one-on-one and small group conversations. Threads keep discussions organized within channels. Huddles enable quick audio/video calls without scheduling.
Slack's real power is its integration ecosystem: over 2,600 apps connect Slack to every business tool imaginable, turning channels into a central command center where alerts, notifications, and updates from all your tools flow automatically.
How to get started with Slack
- 1
Create your workspace
Sign up at slack.com — the free plan includes unlimited messages (with 90-day searchable history), 10 integrations, and audio/video calls. Create your workspace and name it after your company or team.
- 2
Create your channel structure
Set up channels for each team, project, and topic. Naming conventions matter: use prefixes like #team-, #proj-, #alerts-, #social-. Create a #general channel for company-wide announcements and #random for off-topic chat.
- 3
Invite your team
Invite teammates by email or share an invite link. Set default channels that new members are added to automatically. Configure your workspace settings including who can create channels and message retention policies.
- 4
Connect your tools
Add integrations for the tools your team already uses: GitHub for code alerts, PagerDuty for incidents, Jira for issue updates, and Google Drive for file sharing. Most integrations are free and take minutes to configure.
- 5
Set up notifications and Huddles
Configure notification preferences to reduce noise: use Do Not Disturb schedules, set specific keywords to always notify you, and mute low-priority channels. Use Huddles for quick audio conversations that don't require scheduling.
Explore more Slack guides
Step-by-step interactive demos and tutorials for Slack.
Who is Slack most useful for?
Engineering and product teams who need real-time communication, GitHub alerts, deployment notifications, and on-call escalations in one place. Use Supademo to create onboarding guides for new team members showing how your Slack workspace is organized — what channels matter, what notifications to configure, and what norms to follow.
Sales and customer success teams coordinating deal updates, customer escalations, and account handoffs. Embed Supademo links in Slack notifications so the team can instantly access an interactive product demo when sharing updates with prospects.
Remote and distributed teams for whom Slack is the virtual office. Create Supademo walkthroughs of your team's Slack conventions — how to use status, when to use threads, and which channels to post in for each type of message.
Executive and operations teams who need to stay informed without attending every meeting. Use Slack channels and Supademo demos together to keep stakeholders updated asynchronously.
Looking for alternatives to Slack?
Here are four tools worth evaluating depending on your needs.
Async video messaging that complements Slack for detailed explanations and demos. Not a replacement for text chat, but a powerful supplement for reducing unnecessary meetings.
View demo →
Deeper Microsoft 365 integration (Word, Excel, SharePoint, Teams meetings). Preferred in enterprise organizations already on Microsoft. Slack has a better UX and more integrations for tech-forward teams.
Better for communities and gaming, with voice channels and a more casual UX. Growing in developer and crypto communities. Slack is better for professional team communication.
Deeply integrated with Gmail, Drive, and Meet. Free with Google Workspace. Less powerful than Slack for integrations and developer workflows.
FAQs on Slack
Commonly asked questions about Slack. Have more? Reach out and our team will be happy to help.
Is Slack free?
Yes. Slack's free plan includes unlimited messaging with 90 days of searchable history, 10 third-party integrations, and 1:1 audio/video calls. Paid plans (Pro at $7.25/user/month) add full message history, unlimited integrations, and group calls.
What is the difference between channels and direct messages?
Channels are shared, persistent, searchable rooms organized by topic or team. Direct Messages are private conversations between individuals or small groups. Channels are where most team communication should happen for transparency and searchability.
How does Slack handle message history?
Free plans retain 90 days of messages. Paid plans retain full history indefinitely. Enterprise Grid adds compliance exports and DLP. Slack's search is powerful — you can find any message, file, or link shared in the workspace.
What are Slack workflows?
Slack Workflow Builder lets you automate sequences of actions without code — for example, a form that collects information and creates a Jira ticket, or a daily standup reminder that asks team members to post their updates.
Can Slack replace email?
For internal communication, many teams have largely replaced internal email with Slack. External communication with clients, vendors, and partners still typically requires email. Slack Connect lets you add external partners to shared channels.
What is Slack Connect?
Slack Connect lets you create shared channels with external organizations — vendors, clients, partners — so you can communicate in Slack instead of email. It's available on paid plans and requires both sides to accept the connection.