GitHub Copilot in Slack: turn a chat thread into a pull request

What @GitHub does in Slack and Teams

• Investigates, plans, writes code and opens issues and pull requests from a chat thread, using the whole thread as context.
• Works asynchronously in a cloud sandbox and posts a summary with links to what it created.
• Creates one issue, several, or parent and child issues; works across up to 11 repositories owned by the same organization or account.
• Supports choosing a model, MCP servers set up by repository admins, and Copilot Memory (in preview).
• Since the November 6 release it picks the repository from your message, notes in each issue and PR which conversation and user it came from, and in Teams shows plans, diffs and previews in a Canvas next to the chat.

How to set up GitHub Copilot in Slack

1. Check you can use it

   You need a paid Copilot plan and write access to the repositories you want changed. In organizations and enterprises the "Copilot in the cloud" policy is on by default, but an owner can turn it off; for enterprise-owned repositories an admin installs the app and chooses which repositories it can reach.

2. Install the GitHub app for Slack

   Add the GitHub integration to your workspace from slack.github.com (for Teams, teams.github.com).

3. Connect your account

   Open a direct message with the GitHub app, or type @GitHub in a thread, and follow the prompts to link your GitHub account. @GitHub help lists the commands.

4. Set default repositories for a channel

   Run @GitHub settings in a channel to pick an owner and repositories; the first becomes the primary one. Direct messages have no default, so name the repository and branch in the prompt.

5. Ask for work in plain language

   Mention @GitHub with the task, or reply to a GitHub notification with one. Copilot reads the thread, works in the cloud and replies with links to the issue or pull request.

   @GitHub Add "Hello World" to the README in octo-org/octo-repo on the develop branch
   
   @GitHub settings      # choose default repositories for this channel
   @GitHub help          # list commands

Source: GitHub Docs, Integrate Copilot cloud agent with Slack

Permissions and limits

• Only people with write access to every selected repository can start or steer a session; anyone in the thread can add input.
• Guests and outside collaborators can't start or steer sessions.
• In a direct message Copilot acts with your linked account's permissions; in a shared channel it creates issues and PRs under its app identity.
• The whole thread is captured as context and stored in the resulting pull request, so keep secrets out of the conversation.
• GitHub's announcement doesn't spell out billing for Slack sessions; check your plan's Copilot usage before rolling it out widely.

GitHub Copilot in Slack vs Claude Code in Slack vs an AI employee

When a chat bot is enough, and when it isn't

Copilot in Slack is great for the moment a bug report lands in a thread: one mention and a pull request follows. It's still reactive: nothing happens until someone asks, and each mention is one task. If you want an agent that works through a backlog on its own, with a role and goals, look at AI employees and how to make Claude Code proactive. For more ways to run several agents, see Claude Code orchestration tools.

From "@ the bot" to an employee that picks up the next task

Crewmark turns a Claude Code, Codex, DeepSeek Harness or OpenCode session into an AI employee with a role, a goal and working hours. It wakes on a heartbeat, takes the next issue from a shared board, comments as it works, and messages you when it needs a decision.

1. Assign work like you would in chat

   Create an issue and assign it, from any browser or your phone; the employee hears about it right away.

2. Let it keep going

   Between your messages it works through its issues on a 15, 30 or 60-minute heartbeat.

3. Keep Copilot for quick fixes

   They don't conflict: use @GitHub for one-off requests in a thread and an employee for the ongoing backlog.

GitHub Copilot in Slack FAQ