Trying to decide between Runbear agents and Slack AI? You’re not alone! Runbear and Slack AI both bring intelligent automation to Slack, but they approach it differently. This article explores how each tool works in Slack, its unique capabilities, and which one best fits your team's collaboration style.
Slackbot vs. a shared AI agent in Slack
Slackbot is Slack's built-in AI agent and comes with the Business+ and Enterprise+ plans, while Runbear gives a team a shared AI agent in Slack or Microsoft Teams that answers from the knowledge sources and tools the team connects.
Slack calls the AI features in its paid plans Slack AI, and Slackbot is the agent among them. Slack lists Slackbot as a personal AI agent: it works from each person's own Slack context, shows only what that person has access to, and keeps conversations with it private. Slack also presents it as a teammate for the whole team: you can tag it into a channel, turn a workflow into a skill the whole team runs, and have it take action in connected apps such as Jira, Figma, Salesforce and Docusign.
Business+ has a weekly Slackbot message limit, Enterprise+ has unlimited access, and Free and Pro users can try a limited sample. Pro includes basic AI such as conversation summaries. Enterprise+ also adds enterprise search across connected apps, databases and systems.
A Runbear agent has its own name, such as @HR or @Ops, and one set of instructions, knowledge and tools that everyone in the channel uses.
| Slackbot (Slack AI) | A shared Runbear agent | |
| Who it works for | Each person, from their own Slack context and access | The whole channel, from one set of instructions the team writes |
| What it answers from | Your Slack history and files, connected apps, and the web | The knowledge sources the team connects: Notion, Google Drive, Confluence, SharePoint, a website or past Slack conversations |
| Actions in other tools | Apps such as Jira, Figma, Salesforce and Docusign, and more through MCP | 2,000+ tools such as HubSpot, Linear, Zendesk and Salesforce |
| In a channel | Tag it in to share its work with the team | Anyone can @mention the agent by name, and it can also reply to keywords or to every new message |
| Whose access | Only what the person asking can view | Tools connected per user act with the asker's own account, and shared tools use one account |
| Setup | None, it is part of your Slack plan | Install the Runbear app from the Slack Marketplace, then set the agent's instructions, knowledge and tools |
| Where it runs | Slack | Slack, Microsoft Teams and Discord |
| How it is billed | Part of your Slack plan, priced per active user | Usage-based credits, not seats |
Slackbot is enough when most of the AI work is personal: summarizing a long thread, finding a decision in old messages, or drafting a reply from your own context. If your company already pays for Business+ or Enterprise+, there is no new vendor to review.
Add a shared agent when many people ask the same questions in one channel and the answers should come from documents the team picked, with the same instructions every time. It also fits when one team should own those answers, such as HR for @HR, or when part of the company works in Microsoft Teams.
What Slack changed in October 2026
As of October 2026, Slack is moving Slackbot from answering questions toward doing work on its own, and it is giving other agents more room in the Slack interface. Slack announced four changes that matter for this comparison in its October 2026 feature drop and its Slack Code API post:
- Event-triggered tasks: Slackbot can act when something happens, such as a Salesforce deal changing stages or a win posted in a channel, without a prompt. You set how much it does on its own, from "ask me first" to "always for this task."
- Workflow Builder steps: two new steps start a conversation with Slackbot or with an agent. You write the prompt once, and the conversation opens in the user's sidebar with the prompt already sent.
- Agents in the DM sidebar: apps marked as agents, plus Slackbot, now appear in the DM sidebar and the DM section of Home. People can opt out in Preferences.
- Slack Code API: since October 28, 2026, any custom agent can open a code channel for a task, invite people, post progress and artifacts such as code diffs, and archive the channel when the work is done. Slack says the API is generally available on all Slack plans and that the agent inherits the permissions and admin controls of the channel it works in.
Slack notes that the feature drop items may not reach every workspace right away, depending on the rollout and your Slack plan.
These changes make Slackbot more capable, but the choice in the table above stays the same. Slack's Slackbot page still titles it a personal AI agent, and Slackbot only surfaces what each person has access to. A shared AI agent is one teammate with one set of instructions, knowledge and tools that answers everyone in a channel the same way. A Runbear agent always responds to @mentions and DMs, and each channel can also turn on Reply without @mention or Trigger by keyword when the team wants the agent to step in without being tagged.
Now let’s dive into each company in more detail.
Slack AI
Slack AI is the set of AI features built into Slack, including Slackbot, conversation summaries, AI search and daily recaps. It’s designed to save time and reduce noise without needing any setup or coding.
Pros
- Built directly into the Slack interface
- Message translation and multilingual support
- Quick, on-demand conversation summaries of threads
Cons
- Slackbot needs Business+ or Enterprise+, and Free and Pro users get only a limited sample
- Business+ has a weekly Slackbot message limit, and unlimited access needs Enterprise+
- Works only in Slack, so teams that also use Microsoft Teams need another tool there
Runbear
Runbear enables teams to create intelligent, context-aware AI agents that live directly in Slack and Microsoft Teams, making automation fast, intuitive, and native in daily work tools. With deep integrations and auto-sync capabilities, Runbear agents exist where work actually happens, reducing friction and boosting productivity.
Pros
- Contextual awareness from chat history, documents, integrations, etc.
- AI agents that live inside Slack and act on conversations in real time
- Seamless integrations with 2,000+ tools like Linear, Zendesk, and more
Cons
- Best suited for teams that work in Slack or Microsoft Teams every day
- May require fine-tuning the agents for niche workflows and use cases
What each option costs
Slack AI and Runbear bill on different units, so a price-per-month comparison hides the real difference.
Slack's AI features come with your Slack plan, which is billed per active user. As of October 2026, slack.com lists Pro at $7.25 and Business+ at $15 per user per month when billed annually, and Enterprise+ is priced through Slack's sales team. Pro includes basic AI such as thread summaries and huddle notes, and Business+ adds Slackbot, AI search, and recaps. Slack no longer sells a separate AI add-on.
Runbear bills by credits, with no seat charge for the people who ask the agent questions. Plans include a set number of builders, the members of your Runbear organization who create and manage agents.
| Billing unit | Listed price | |
| Slack Pro | per active user | $7.25 / user / month, billed annually |
| Slack Business+ | per active user | $15 / user / month, billed annually |
| Slack Enterprise+ | per active user | Contact Slack sales |
| Runbear Team | credits | $99 / month, 20,000 credits, 5 builders |
| Runbear Business | credits | $399 / month, 100,000 credits, 10 builders |
Credits track the work, priced by the model each agent uses. A knowledge-base answer costs a small number of credits, and a long research task with many tool calls costs far more. If most of your company asks a few questions a week, credits scale with those questions. If everyone uses Slack AI daily, per-seat pricing can be the simpler bill.
Prices change often. Check slack.com/pricing and runbear.io/pricing before you decide.
Final Takeaways
Runbear is the most accessible option for teams looking to embed AI agents directly into communication platforms without coding or intensive setup. Consider Runbear if your team wants
- Natural, context driven AI agents
- Access or contribute to third-party tools (Linear, Zendesk, Notion, etc.) without leaving Slack
- Cost-effective pricing for AI workflow automations
- Highly customizable agents for all teams from customer support to executive teams
Runbear will boost your team’s productivity through AI-powered insights and analytics within your existing collaboration environments.
