GridWonk for Slack
Connect the GridWonk Slack app, link your account, and use Agent View, skill sets, and Deep Research safely.
GridWonk brings the same organization-scoped interconnection assistant used in the console into
Slack. Slack adds its own Agent View experience, /gk commands, optional organization skill sets,
and a managed Deep Research pilot. Microsoft Teams and the internal chat console use the shared
assistant core, but they do not expose those Slack-only controls.
What is available where
| Capability | Internal chat console | Slack | Microsoft Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared assistant answers and authorized tools | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Saved-finding source quotations from Explain this finding | Yes | No | No |
| Native progress, stop, automatic titles, and Agent View transcript | No | Yes, after Agent View activation | No |
| Organization assistant skill sets | Configure only | Yes, when enabled | No |
/gk requirements and context commands | No | Yes | No |
| Start, check, or stop Deep Research | No; completed reports open in the console | Managed pilot | No |
| Reply delivery | Live streaming with tool details | Native processing status; threaded replies can update a progress message into the final reply, while root direct messages post one final message | One completed message |
“Yes” means the capability is implemented. The organization feature control, connected workspace, linked user, active membership, deployment configuration, and pilot approval still have to allow it.
Before you connect Slack
You need:
- An active GridWonk account and organization membership
- Organization administrator or owner access in GridWonk
- Permission to install apps in the target Slack workspace, or help from a Slack administrator
- One Slack workspace that is not already connected to another GridWonk organization
Connect your workspace
- Open your GridWonk workspace and choose Features.
- Make sure Slack assistant is enabled for the organization.
- Under Chat platform connections, choose Connect Slack.
- Review Slack's requested permissions, choose the correct workspace, and approve the install.
- Return to Features and confirm that the workspace shows Active.
- In Slack, open the GridWonk app and send a direct message. If prompted, follow the secure link to connect your Slack identity to your GridWonk account.
Each person links their own Slack identity. A workspace install does not grant every Slack member access to organization data, and a revoked or expired GridWonk membership is denied.
A linked identity acts as you, so it follows your GridWonk acceptance of the current legal terms.
When the terms are updated, GridWonk answers your next message or /gk command with a link to
review and accept them, and runs nothing else until you do. A channel mention gets the link in a
direct message and a /gk command gets it in a reply only you can see; a direct message or group
DM gets it in that conversation. After you accept in the browser, retry the request in Slack.
Microsoft Teams follows the same rule and posts the link in the conversation where you asked.
To use GridWonk in a channel, invite the app when Slack requires it and mention @GridWonk. Use a thread for follow-up questions so the conversation transcript and work context stay together.
Set useful context
Use /gk context to inspect the channel's current defaults. Set a utility and state with:
/gk context <utility> <state>
Example: /gk context duke-energy NC
Then ask a focused question in a direct message or by mentioning GridWonk in a channel. For a single lookup, you can bypass the conversational wording with:
/gk requirements <utility> <state>
Use /gk help in Slack for the current command list. /gk status currently links you back to the
GridWonk console for validation job monitoring; it is not a native Slack job tracker.
Use Agent View effectively
With Agent View active, Slack shows GridWonk as an agent instead of a conventional bot thread. The adapter uses Slack's transcript for follow-up context, publishes native processing status, assigns an automatic title, and honors Slack's stop control. Stop cancels the active assistant turn across serverless instances through the shared Redis state.
Agent View activation is an operator-managed maintenance change because Slack does not allow the app to switch back to the legacy Assistant View. Installing the repository manifest alone does not enable Agent View for an organization.
Choose assistant skill sets
An organization administrator can enable Assistant skill sets from Features and select one or more curated bundles:
- Interconnection research prioritizes utility-published sources, exact citations, and a clear separation between evidence and inference.
- Project coordination keeps answers anchored to the active project, blockers, owners, and next actions.
- Deficiency review applies GridWonk's precision-over-recall standard to evidence-backed findings.
Skill sets change instructions, not authority. They never add tools, widen data access, or bypass a confirmation. They currently apply to Slack turns only.
Run Deep Research
Deep Research is disabled by default. Customer organizations cannot use its paid web-search lane. GridWonk operators with both Deep Research controls enabled can start a cited report with:
/gk research <question> [--sources=web,gridwonk,organization]
The default uses only current, approved procedure documents that support published packet-review
requirements for a utility onboarded for automated review. Set utility and state context first.
Only GridWonk operators can explicitly add --sources=web; web search is never selected by default.
Add organization only when the run needs your organization's private documents.
Organization-private research must start in a one-to-one direct message with the app. It is rejected in public channels, private channels, group direct messages, and Slack Connect. Private sources are never selected by default, every requested lane must return usable evidence, and only the requester can open a report that used private sources. GridWonk records provider usage for cost auditing even when a paid web search returns no usable sources and the run fails.
Check or stop a run with:
/gk research status [run-id]/gk research stop [run-id]
A stop request is durable and takes effect before the workflow's next collection, synthesis, or completion step. Pilot limits are one active run per person, five per organization, three starts per person per hour, and 20 sources per report.
Ask better questions
- Name the utility, state, project, and interconnection track when they matter.
- Ask for the source you need: utility requirements, your uploaded evidence, or public research.
- Keep one topic in one thread and correct the context before asking a follow-up.
- Use a direct message whenever the question may involve organization-private data.
- Treat citations as the evidence boundary. If a requested detail is not in the cited source, GridWonk should say it is not listed instead of filling the gap from general knowledge.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| “Workspace is not connected” | Confirm the Slack connection is Active and Slack assistant is enabled in GridWonk Features. |
| An existing thread went quiet | Disconnecting or uninstalling the Slack app stops replies in threads the assistant had already joined, not just new mentions. Reconnect the workspace, then start a fresh mention. |
| GridWonk asks you to link | Open the secure link while signed in to the GridWonk organization connected to that workspace. |
| No channel reply | Invite the app if required, mention @GridWonk, and continue in the same thread. |
| Private research is refused | Move the command to a one-to-one app direct message, or remove organization from --sources. |
| Web research is refused | Web search is GridWonk-only, disabled by default, and must be explicitly selected by an operator. |
| Agent View is missing | The irreversible Agent View maintenance gate may not yet be active for this Slack app. |
| A completed report will not open | Confirm you still have active organization membership and, for private runs, that you are the requester. |
For the shared runtime and the Teams connection flow, see Chatbot Channels.