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The nao Slack bot brings your analytics agent directly into Slack, allowing your team to ask questions and get insights without leaving their workspace.
nao Slack Bot Interface
When configured, the nao Slack bot:
  • Listens for mentions in Slack channels
  • Can also answer from direct messages in Slack
  • Processes questions using the same agent as the web chat interface
  • Returns answers with SQL queries, data tables, and visualizations
  • Maintains conversation context within Slack threads
  • Streams progress updates and can upload CSV outputs for query results
The Slack bot uses the same agent context, rules, and capabilities as your web chat interface. Any improvements to your agent automatically benefit Slack users.

Setup

Step 1: Create your Slack App

  1. In nao, click on your profile → “Project”“Slack”
  2. Verify your deployment URL
  3. Click “Create Slack App”
This opens Slack with a pre-filled app manifest — scopes, event subscriptions, and interactivity are configured automatically.

Step 2: Install the App to your Workspace

  1. In your Slack app settings, go to “Install App”
  2. Click “Install to Workspace” and allow the permissions

Step 3: Connect your Slack Bot to nao

  1. In “OAuth & Permissions”, copy the Bot User OAuth Token (starts with xoxb-) and paste it as Bot Token in nao
  2. In “Basic Information”, copy the Signing Secret and paste it as Signing Secret in nao
  3. Click “Save”

Step 4: Add Bot to Channels

  1. In Slack, go to any channel where you want the bot
  2. Type /invite @nao (or your bot’s name)
  3. The bot will now listen for mentions in that channel

Usage

Ask Questions Mention the bot in any channel where it’s been added:
@nao What were our top 5 products by revenue last month?
The bot will:
  1. Process your question using the same agent as the web interface
  2. Generate SQL queries based on your context
  3. Execute queries against your connected databases
  4. Return results in a formatted Slack message
  5. Send you the link to the full conversation to open it in browser UI
Thread Conversations Follow-up questions in the thread maintain context:
@nao What were our top 5 products by revenue last month?
# ... bot responds ...

@nao Can you break that down by region?
# ... bot responds with regional breakdown ...
The bot replies in threads to keep conversations organized. Use thread replies for follow-ups.
Direct Messages You can also ask the bot in Slack direct messages (no channel mention required). Stop Conversations While generating, you will see a “stop generation” button appear in the slack conversation. Click on that button if you want to stop the chat from generating more text. What’s Next?

Chat Overview

Learn about the web chat interface

Self-Hosting Guide

Deploy nao with Docker or on your own Cloud Run instance