Slack Bot

Overview

Zortex can connect to your Slack workspace and answer questions like an expert teammate. You can configure ZortexBot to respond to certain types of messages, in specific channels, and with selected data from your index.

Setup

You must be an admin of the Slack workspace to set up the Slack bot.

Create a new Slack App

Navigate to the Slack App Dashboard and click Create New App → From a manifest.Select the workspace you want to connect to Zortex.

Use the YAML manifest

Click the YAML tab and paste the following manifest into the box:

YAML Manifest

display_information:
  name: ZortexBot
  description: I help answer questions in Slack!
features:
  app_home:
    home_tab_enabled: false
    messages_tab_enabled: true
    messages_tab_read_only_enabled: false
  bot_user:
    display_name: ZortexBot
    always_online: true
  slash_commands:
    - command: /zortex
      description: Get back a private answer!
      usage_hint: Put your question here!
      should_escape: false
oauth_config:
  scopes:
    bot:
      - app_mentions:read
      - channels:history
      - channels:join
      - channels:read
      - chat:write
      - commands
      - groups:history
      - groups:read
      - im:history
      - im:read
      - mpim:history
      - reactions:write
      - reactions:read
      - usergroups:read
      - users:read.email
      - users:read
    user:
      - channels:history
      - channels:read
      - groups:read
      - im:read
      - mpim:history
      - mpim:read
      - search:read
settings:
  event_subscriptions:
    bot_events:
      - app_mention
      - message.channels
      - message.groups
      - message.im
      - message.mpim
  interactivity:
    is_enabled: true
  org_deploy_enabled: false
  socket_mode_enabled: true
  token_rotation_enabled: false

Click Create and you will be taken to the app page.

Generate an App Token

Scroll down to the App-Level Tokens section and click Generate Token and Scopes.Give your token a name, add the connections:write scope to the app-level token and click Generate. Save this token for later.

You can customize your Slack bot’s name, description, and icon in the Display Information section.

Install the Slack App

Navigate to the OAuth & Permissions tab, click Install to Workspace, and follow the instructions to install the app.Copy the Bot User OAuth Token and User OAuth Token (Recommended) and save it for later.

Zortex does not currently support token rotation.

Setup Zortex for the Slack Bot

Navigate to the Zortex Admin Panel and select the Slack Bots tab.Enter the Bot Token, App Token, and User Token (Recommended) and click Create!

Configure the Slack Bot's Behavior

Once your Slack bot is created, you can configure it’s universal behavior through the Default Configuration.You can also set channel-specific behavior using Channel Configurations.

How to use the Zortex Slack Bot

There are a few ways to chat with the Zortex Slack bot:

Your admin may enable any or all of these methods in your Slack workspace. Additionally, the configurations may change based on the channel you are in.

Tag the bot with your question

@zortexbot What is the best practice for handling 429 errors in connectors?

ZortexBot will respond in a thread to your message.

Use a slash command

/zortex How many PTO days do I get per year? Do they roll over?

ZortexBot will send an ephemeral message. This means only you will see the response.

Send a message in a channel with the bot added

What were the takeaways from Katie's meeting with our big prospect last week?

ZortexBot may be configured to answer any question in Slack even if you didn’t tag it. In this case, it will respond in a thread to your message.

Direct message the bot

Look for conversations about this stack trace...

You can direct message the ZortexBot app to ask private questions.

ZortexBot may also be configured with none, some, or all of your indexed data. Ask your admin what is available through your ZortexBot.

Advanced Configuration

There are a set of advanced configuration options available via environment variables that control your Slack bot’s behavior. You can find the full list of configuration options in the Zortex GitHub.

These configuration options are rarely needed and should be used with caution.

ZORTEX_BOT_NUM_RETRIES

Number of retry attempts for generating an answer before failing.Default: 5 (int)

ZORTEX_BOT_NUM_DOCS_TO_DISPLAY

Number of documents shown under “Reference Documents”.Default: 5 (int)

ZORTEX_BOT_DISABLE_DOCS_ONLY_ANSWER

Disable responses that only show “Reference Documents” when the LLM cannot answer.Default: false (bool)

ZORTEX_BOT_REACT_EMOJI

Emoji reaction shown while Zortex considers a message.Default: eyes (str)

ZORTEX_BOT_FOLLOWUP_EMOJI

Emoji used to suggest that the user may need more help.Default: sos (str)

ZORTEX_BOT_FEEDBACK_VISIBILITY

Visibility for AI answer feedback submitted to ZortexBot. Options: private (only the clicking user), anonymous (public but anonymous), public (public with username).Default: private (str)

NOTIFY_SLACKBOT_NO_ANSWER

If enabled, ZortexBot sends a brief apology message when it cannot find an answer, so users aren’t left wondering.Default: false (bool)

ZORTEX_BOT_DISPLAY_ERROR_MSGS

Show brief error explanations when something goes wrong answering a question (useful for debugging).Default: false (bool)

ZORTEX_BOT_RESPOND_EVERY_CHANNEL

Respond in all channels by default, instead of only those configured in the UI.Default: false (bool)

ZORTEX_BOT_MAX_QPM

Maximum questions per minute the bot can answer. Set to 0 or leave unset for uncapped.Default: uncapped (int)

ZORTEX_BOT_MAX_WAIT_TIME

Maximum time in seconds a question will wait in the queue before timing out.Default: 180 (seconds; 3 minutes)

ZORTEX_BOT_FEEDBACK_REMINDER

Minutes after which a reminder DM is sent to request feedback on an answer. Set to 0 to disable.Default: 0 (disabled; 0 minutes)

ZORTEX_BOT_REPHRASE_MESSAGE

Rephrase Slack user messages before sending to the LLM (may improve clarity for the model).Default: false (bool)

ZORTEX_BOT_RESPONSE_LIMIT_PER_TIME_PERIOD

Number of responses ZortexBot can send within a time window. Set to 0 to disable the limit.Default: 5000 (int)

ZORTEX_BOT_RESPONSE_LIMIT_TIME_PERIOD_SECONDS

Length of the response limit window in seconds.Default: 86400 (seconds; 24 hours)

Getting Started

Language Models

Connectors

Managing Features

Access Control

Advanced Configs

Auditing

Plans & Billing

Miscellaneous

Overview

Setup

How to use the Zortex Slack Bot

Advanced Configuration

​Overview

​Setup

​How to use the Zortex Slack Bot

​Advanced Configuration

Overview

Setup

How to use the Zortex Slack Bot

Advanced Configuration