Claude Tag lets any Slack channel member tag @Claude in a thread the same way they would tag a teammate. Claude works in an Anthropic-hosted cloud sandbox tied to that thread, posts a short progress checklist as it runs, and returns the finished result in the same thread, where anyone can steer it by replying. It is currently in public beta and requires a Claude Team or Enterprise plan, Slack admin approval, and funded usage credits.
This guide walks through what Claude Tag actually does, what teams need before installing, a step-by-step setup, and how to test, control costs, and roll out safely.
What Claude Tag Actually Does
Claude Tag is the current Anthropic product for Slack. An earlier, more limited "Claude in Slack" app existed before it; Claude Tag is what teams should install today. It is currently in public beta.
In plain terms, Claude Tag connects Claude to your Slack workspace. Team members mention @Claude in a channel or thread, and Claude works on the request in an ephemeral cloud sandbox hosted by Anthropic, one sandbox per Slack thread. Depending on the access bundle an admin has configured, Claude can read and search Slack channel history, search the web, run code in a sandboxed environment, and use connected tools such as Google Drive, Notion, GitHub, or Salesforce.
When the work is done, Claude posts the result back into the same thread. Because Claude works in the cloud rather than in the chat itself, it can handle multi-step tasks that involve reading from one system, transforming the data, and writing to another.
Claude carries out instructions well but does not make decisions on its own.
What Do You Need Before Installing Claude Tag?
Skipping any one of them usually means a stalled setup later.
- A Claude Team or Enterprise plan. Claude Tag is not available on the Free, Pro, or Max individual plans.
- Slack workspace admin permissions, or a workspace admin who can approve apps on your behalf.
- Permission to install apps from the Slack Marketplace.
- Access to the Claude Tag admin pages at
claude.ai/admin-settings/claude-tag, which requires being a Claude organization Owner or Admin. - A dedicated test channel that is not used for sensitive discussions.
- Decide in advance which tools Claude may use on the first day.
- Funded usage credits on the Claude Team plan, since Claude Tag will not run without them.
- A short internal policy on what employees may and may not delegate to Claude.
How Do You Set Up Claude Tag Step by Step?
Step 1: Install Claude in Slack
Go to claude.com/claude-for-slack and click Add to Slack. You will be redirected to the Slack Marketplace. Confirm the correct workspace, review the permissions Claude is requesting, and approve the install. Most workspaces require a Slack workspace admin to approve new apps, so be ready to involve one.
Step 2: Connect Your Claude Account and Tools
Open the Claude app inside Slack so it recognizes your account. Then open the Claude Tag admin settings in your browser at claude.ai/admin-settings/claude-tag. You will see 20+ pre-built connectors, including Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, Confluence, GitHub, GitLab, BigQuery, Snowflake, Linear, Asana, Jira, HubSpot, Salesforce, Datadog, and Sentry. Slack channel history, web search, and sandboxed code execution work without any extra credentials.
Connect only the tools Claude actually needs for the work you plan to delegate. A useful pattern is to attach different access bundles to different channel scopes. For example, an engineering channel can have GitHub access while a marketing channel only gets document and calendar access. There is also a Connect another tool option for custom tools and custom MCP servers.
Warning: do not hand Claude access to sensitive systems or client data during initial testing. You can always expand the bundle later.
Step 3: Pair Claude Tag With Slack
Pairing is what links a specific Slack workspace to your Claude organization. A Slack workspace admin posts @Claude connect as a new top-level message in any channel. Claude replies with a pairing code that is single-use and expires in 15 minutes. The pairing step must be done by a workspace admin.
Have a Claude organization Owner open claude.ai/admin-settings/claude-tag, click Set up, and paste the code into the wizard. The wizard then asks for:
- A channel scope: Whole workspace or Specific channels.
- An access bundle of tools for that scope.
- A spend limit for the scope.
- A launch action to activate the connection.
Strong recommendation: choose Specific channels and start with one test channel, not the whole workspace. You can always widen the scope later, and starting narrow keeps surprises contained.
Step 4: Lower Costs by Setting the Default Model
Under Customize at claude.ai/admin-settings/claude-tag, set the default model for the scope. Anthropic publishes its pricing publicly, and Sonnet costs meaningfully less per token than Opus while being strong enough for most business work such as summaries, drafts, research, and internal documentation. Reserve Opus for high-stakes or genuinely complex tasks.
Users can still switch models for a single thread just by asking. Typing @Claude use Sonnet for this in a thread changes the model for that conversation. The reply footer shows which model actually answered, which makes cost reviews straightforward.
Step 5: Run a Test in a Dedicated Channel
Tag Claude with a simple, real task. A good first test prompt is:
@Claude please summarize this thread, identify the open questions, and create a short action list for the team.
Confirm four things before you expand access:
- Claude responded and used the right context from the thread.
- Claude touched only the tools you expected.
- The output is usable without heavy editing.
- The reply footer shows the model you intended.
What Should You Review After the First Run?
After the first few tasks, go back into the Claude Tag admin pages and check three things.
Spend. The usage page at claude.ai/admin-settings/usage/claude-tag shows token spend per channel and a per-channel breakdown. The spend limit you set during pairing resets each billing period.
Tools. Confirm which connected tools Claude actually used. If it never touched GitHub in a week, that connector is dead weight in the access bundle.
Memory. Claude Tag keeps persistent, channel-scoped memory. Memory from public channels is shared across the workspace, while memory from private channels stays in that channel. Anyone in the channel can ask @Claude what do you remember about this channel? and can correct or remove entries by talking to Claude. In admin settings, organization Owners can edit or delete a scope’s memory, and Admins can view it.
If multiple teams use Claude Tag, build a regular memory review into your admin routine. Persistent memory is genuinely useful, but it should be monitored.
One detail worth knowing: configuration changes such as new tools or new settings only apply to new threads. An existing thread keeps the connections it started with, so always test changes in a fresh thread.
How Should You Handle Safety and Permissions?
Claude Tag is powerful enough that guardrails matter. A practical baseline:
- Start with limited channel access and expand slowly.
- Avoid connecting sensitive tools at first, especially anything holding client data.
- Do not give Claude access to private client data without an approved internal policy.
- Write simple internal rules for what employees can delegate.
- Keep a human review step on any output that leaves the company.
- Monitor usage and costs weekly during rollout.
- Document which channels Claude is allowed in.
Two guest-related details are worth flagging. Slack channels shared across multiple workspaces are not supported, so any shared channel will not be a valid scope. In channels that include guests, Claude stays silent unless an admin enables "Allow Claude to respond to guests". Turn that on only if you intend to let guests trigger Claude.
What Are the Best Use Cases for Claude Tag?
Claude Tag works well for tasks that are repetitive, time-consuming, or spread across multiple tools.
- Summarizing long Slack threads.
- Meeting follow-ups and recap notes.
- Drafting client updates from internal discussion.
- Turning discussions into task lists.
- Researching internal questions by pulling from connected docs.
- Creating SOPs from Slack conversations.
- First drafts of blog posts, emails, and reports.
- Project status reviews.
- Preparing sales or support responses.
- Organizing team knowledge in Notion or Confluence.
Example Slack Prompts to Get Started
Adjust them to match your team’s tone.
@Claude summarize this thread and list the decisions made.@Claude create a task list from this conversation and group it by owner.@Claude turn this discussion into a client-friendly update.@Claude review this idea and identify risks or missing details.@Claude draft an SOP based on the process described in this thread.@Claude create a blog outline from the points above.@Claude compare the options discussed here and recommend the best one.@Claude find the open questions we still need to answer.@Claude rewrite this into a professional email.@Claude create a concise executive summary of this thread.
How Do You Troubleshoot Common Issues?
A short list of the issues that come up most often:
- Claude does not respond. The app may not be installed or approved, the channel may not be in the configured scope, Claude may have been switched off for the scope, or the channel may include guests (which silences Claude unless admins allow guest responses).
- Channel shared across multiple workspaces. Not supported.
- Pairing code expired or already used. Codes are single-use and expire in 15 minutes. Re-run
@Claude connectas a Slack admin and paste the new code. - Only Slack workspace admins can run @Claude connect. A regular member’s message will be ignored.
- Usage credits not funded. On Team plans the organization must fund usage credits before Claude Tag will run.
- New tool connections only apply to new threads. Start a fresh thread to test them.
- "Still waiting for available capacity". Transient. Retry in the same thread.
- Costs higher than expected. Check the default model on the scope and the per-channel spend page.
- Claude using more tools than expected. Tighten the access bundle for that scope.
- Memory needs review or deletion. Channel members can correct it by talking to Claude. Owners can edit or delete a scope’s memory in admin settings.
How Do You Keep Claude Tag Costs Under Control?
Three levers keep Claude Tag affordable.
Model choice. Default to Sonnet for everyday work. Sonnet costs meaningfully less per token than Opus on Anthropic’s published pricing and is strong enough for the bulk of business work. Reserve Opus for high-stakes or genuinely complex tasks.
Spend limits. Set a spend limit for each scope before launch, not after the first surprise. Check the per-channel spend breakdown at claude.ai/admin-settings/usage/claude-tag after the first week and again monthly.
Channel discipline. Dedicated test channels prevent accidental overuse. Expand from one channel to more channels slowly, and review which tools each channel actually needs.
One billing detail worth understanding: work done in channels bills to the organization’s shared usage credit balance, not to individual seats. Direct messages with Claude bill to the sender’s own seat instead. That makes it easy to predict team costs, but also means heavy channel use can run up a shared balance quickly.
Conclusion
Claude Tag makes Slack more productive by letting teams delegate work where the conversation already happens. The best setup is careful and controlled. Start with one channel, connect only the tools you actually need, set Sonnet as the default model, set a spend limit before launch, and review spend, tools, and memory after the first few runs. Once configured properly, Claude becomes a useful teammate for summaries, documentation, follow-ups, content, and internal operations.
FAQ
What plan is required to use Claude Tag in Slack?
Claude Tag requires a Claude Team or Enterprise plan. It is not available on the Free, Pro, or Max individual plans, and the organization must have funded usage credits before Claude Tag will run.
Who can run the @Claude connect pairing step?
Only a Slack workspace admin can post @Claude connect. The resulting pairing code is single-use and expires in 15 minutes, and a Claude organization Owner pastes it into the Claude Tag setup wizard at claude.ai/admin-settings/claude-tag.
How does Claude Tag bill usage?
Work done in Slack channels bills to the organization’s shared usage credit balance. Direct messages with Claude bill to the sender’s own seat instead. Admins can track per-channel spend at claude.ai/admin-settings/usage/claude-tag.
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