Qubit in Slack and Teams

Qubit answers questions in Slack and Microsoft Teams, in the place where you already work. You ask by mentioning Qubit or by messaging it directly, and it answers in the same conversation. An Administrator switches Qubit on separately for Slack and for Teams.

Before you start: an Administrator must switch Qubit on for your Slack workspace or Teams tenant on the Channel Assistant page (Channel Assistant settings). While it is off, Slack answers every mention, direct message, /qubit command and Ask Qubit request with The Qubit assistant is not enabled for this workspace. In Teams, while it is off, the bot only runs the older status commands described in Agent status commands.

Ask Qubit a question

Choose the row that matches where you are, then type your question.

In Slack, invite Qubit to a channel before you mention it there. In a channel or group chat, every message meant for Qubit has to mention it, follow-up questions included. A message that does not mention Qubit is not for Qubit, and Qubit does not answer it. In a direct message or personal chat you never need the mention.

Qubit posts a short Thinking… message first and edits it as the answer is written, so you see the answer grow.

To ask privately in Slack, or to ask about one message, see Commands and private answers. To send Qubit a file or a screenshot, see Approvals and files.

Ask follow-up questions

Each Slack thread, each Slack direct message, each Teams chat and each Teams channel post is one conversation, and Qubit remembers it. Reply in the same thread or chat and Qubit keeps the context of your earlier questions.

• In a Slack channel, a new mention outside the thread starts a new conversation.
• In a Teams channel, a new post that mentions Qubit starts a new conversation; replies under the same post continue it.
• In a direct message or a Teams personal chat, the conversation goes on until you reset it with new. See Start a new conversation.
• When a conversation grows too long, Qubit starts a new one by itself and tells you in the first line of its answer.

Read the answer

• Qubit keeps answers short unless you ask for detail.
• A line under the answer lists the tools Qubit used, up to six names. It shows you where the answer came from.
• When Qubit cites sources, they are listed at the end under Sources:, numbered to match the [1], [2] markers in the answer.
• A long answer continues in further messages in the same thread or chat. Nothing is cut off.
• If something went wrong, a warning line says so. If Qubit has nothing to say, the answer reads (no answer).
• In a channel or group chat, everyone there can read the answer. For a question you would rather keep to yourself, use a private answer or your direct message with Qubit.

What Qubit reads and what it ignores

Qubit reads only what is addressed to it:

• your direct message with Qubit in Slack, or your personal chat with the bot in Teams;
• a message that mentions Qubit, together with any file attached to that message;
• in Slack, the question you type after /qubit;
• in Slack, the one message you pick with Ask Qubit: its text and its link, nothing around it.

Qubit never reads channel history. It does not read the earlier messages of a thread either. The only memory it has of a conversation is its own: your questions to Qubit and its answers.

Qubit ignores:

• ordinary messages in channels and group chats that do not mention it. In Teams such messages leave no trace at all; Qubit keeps no record of them;
• direct messages between two people in Slack. Qubit is not part of them; to ask there, use /qubit (Commands and private answers). If Slack does pass Qubit a message in such a conversation that mentions it, Qubit answers only that message, and the answer goes to your own direct message with Qubit, not into the conversation between the two people;
• messages from other bots, and Qubit's own messages;
• edited messages and other changes to a message.

A Slack group direct message that includes Qubit works like a channel: only a mention is answered, in a thread, and the other messages are never read.

Link codes are sent only privately, never into a channel. See Linking your Slack or Teams account.

Answers without tools until you link

Qubit can answer from what it knows without being linked, but it cannot use your tools, your own connections or your routines until you link your QuantumOps account. By default, when you are not linked, Qubit still answers and adds a line under the answer that says it answered without tools and how to link.

To link, send Qubit a direct message with link. The steps are in Linking your Slack or Teams account. Your Administrator can also map you to your agent record so that you are linked on your first message; see Automatic linking from the agent mapping.

See your Slack and Teams conversations in QuantumOps

Your Slack and Teams conversations with Qubit also appear in QuantumOps. Open Chat with Qubit, select Conversations, and look under From your other surfaces. You can read them there. You cannot continue them there: the composer shows Read-only here and a note says the conversation lives in Slack or Teams. Continue it where it started, or start a new thread in QuantumOps. See Chat with Qubit.

Messages from the dispatch board

Qubit's bot also sends direct messages that are not answers to anything you asked, for example a reminder from the dispatch board about a waiting ticket. Those arrive whether or not Qubit is switched on. See Nudges and escalations in Slack and Teams.

Related pages

Using Qubit in Slack and Teams

• Linking your Slack or Teams account: give Qubit your tools.
• Commands and private answers: status, model, new and /qubit.
• Approvals and files: the Approve and Deny cards, and sending files.
• Routines: questions Qubit answers on a schedule.
• Chat with Qubit: the chat pane inside QuantumOps.

Classic commands and messages

• Agent status commands: set your status from Slack or Teams.
• Summary, client and Q-Notice commands: team status, summaries, client monitoring, research and Q-Notices.
• Nudges and escalations in Slack and Teams: the direct messages the dispatch board sends.

For administrators

• Channel Assistant settings: switch Qubit on, choose its model and sources, and review routines and linked users.
• Q-Director: Slack, Teams and agent mapping: the credentials, alert webhooks and agent mapping.
• Setting up the Slack app: point your Slack app at QuantumOps.
• Setting up the Teams bot: grant admin consent and install the Teams app.