# Slack

With ako in Slack, your team can:

- ask questions by mentioning **@Ako** in a channel, or in a direct message, and get answers from your brains
- get a card in one channel when a proposal is waiting or a routine finishes, and approve or reject from there

ako answers as the person asking, using their own ako account. What you see in Slack is what your account can see, and nothing more. It can't change anything in a brain on its own: a proposal still needs a person to approve it.

## Add ako to your Slack workspace

An admin does this once.

1. In ako, go to **Settings**, then **Connections**, and open **Slack**.
2. Select **Add to Slack**.
3. Approve what ako asks for in Slack. You're brought back with your workspace connected.
4. Under **Channel for updates**, choose where proposals and finished routines are posted, then select **Save**.

To post to a private channel, invite ako to it in Slack first.

## Connect your own Slack account

Each person connects their account once.

1. Mention **@Ako** in a channel, or send it a direct message.
2. ako replies with a link. Open it and sign in to ako.
3. You see **Your Slack account is connected.**

Until you've done this, ako sends you the link instead of an answer.

## Ask a question

Mention **@Ako** with your question, or message it directly. It reads the thread it's asked in, and nothing else in the channel. Its answer says which brain it came from.

If your question belongs to another brain, ako asks before switching. Choose **Switch** or **Stay here**.

## Set up channels

Invite ako to a channel in Slack with `/invite`. Then, under **Channels** on the Slack connection page, an admin can set for each channel:

- **Brain**: which brain ako answers from there. **Org-wide** is the default.
- **Follow-ups**: when on, ako answers replies in threads it has already answered, without being mentioned. It's off unless an admin turns it on.

## Approve in Slack

Proposal cards in your updates channel have **Approve** and **Reject** buttons. They work exactly like the ones in the app, so you need the Approve role to use them. Proposals for [restricted brains](/team/restrict-a-brain) aren't posted to Slack.

## Disconnect

To disconnect your own account, select **Disconnect mine** on the Slack connection page. An admin can disconnect the whole workspace with **Disconnect**. ako stops answering and posting in Slack straight away.