Salesforce has launched a rebuilt Slackbot that moves beyond reminders and notifications into search, drafting and task execution inside Slack. The product is now generally available for Slack Business+ and Enterprise+ customers, with Salesforce positioning it as a central AI interface for work while it competes with Microsoft Copilot and Google’s Gemini-based workplace tools.

A new MIT Technology Review analysis, centered on research by Boston University professor Emma Wiles, argues that framing AI agents as employees or coworkers is not just marketing language. The evidence cited suggests that human managers become less careful and less accountable when AI is presented as a colleague rather than a tool, a risk that matters as major vendors push agent-based workplace products into enterprise workflows.