What Updates Can Be Published
From ellocharlie tickets, you can publish the following information back to connected Slack channels:
Ticket status changes — Open, in progress, resolved, closed
Responses and replies — Customer-facing answers to support questions
Internal notes and comments — Optionally shared with customers
Ticket assignment changes — When a ticket is reassigned to a team member
Priority or urgency escalations — When ticket severity is increased
Resolution summaries and closure messages — Final updates when tickets are closed
The integration is designed to keep customers informed of ticket progress in real-time within their connected Slack workspace.
How to Connect and Configure
Initial Setup: Workspace Authorization
Navigate to the help desk section of ellocharlie.
Go to Slack integration settings.
Click Connect Workspace.
Complete the Slack OAuth flow to grant ellocharlie permission to post messages to your Slack workspace.
ellocharlie will request permissions including
chat:writeandchannels:readto publish messages and access channel information.
Once authorized, your Slack workspace is connected to ellocharlie.
Mapping Channels and Configuring Publishing
In the Slack integration settings, map ellocharlie customer channels (or customer entities) to specific Slack channels where you want ticket updates published.
Set your publishing preferences:
Choose between auto-publish on status change (updates post automatically when ticket status changes) or manual-only publishing (your team decides when to publish each update).
Decide whether internal notes are shared with customers in Slack or kept internal only.
Select which ticket types or customers should publish to Slack (optional filtering).
Choose your message formatting preferences and whether updates appear as threaded replies (grouped under an initial message) or flat messages.
Configure team member permissions — decide who on your team has permission to manually publish updates to Slack.
Optionally set up message templates to standardize how updates appear in Slack.
Save your configuration.
Publishing Updates from Tickets
Once configured, ticket detail views in ellocharlie include affordances (action buttons or a publish modal) to publish updates to connected Slack channels. When you take an action on a ticket (change status, add a response, assign it), you can choose to publish that update to Slack immediately, or rely on auto-publish if enabled.
Options & Features
Publishing Modes
Auto-publish on status change — Ticket status updates automatically post to the mapped Slack channel without manual intervention.
Manual-only publishing — Your team reviews each update and decides whether to publish to Slack, giving you full control over what customers see.
Channel Mapping
Single dedicated support channel — All ticket updates post to one Slack channel.
Customer-type routing — Map different customer types or segments to different Slack channels for more targeted communication.
Message Delivery
Threaded replies — Updates group under an initial message, keeping conversations organized.
Flat messages — Each update posts as a standalone message in the channel.
Preview & Audit
Preview mode — Review how your update will appear in Slack before publishing.
Audit log — View a record of what was sent to Slack and when, for compliance and troubleshooting.
FAQ
What happens if a customer's Slack channel is disconnected?
Updates will fail silently or queue until the channel is reconnected. Admins receive a notification when a channel disconnection occurs, so you can troubleshoot and restore the connection.
Can we publish without sending to Slack?
Yes. Publishing to Slack is optional per update. Your team can leave a ticket unpublished if no customer notification is needed — for example, if you're only updating internal notes or handling an internal escalation.
How are incoming Slack messages from customers handled?
Incoming Slack messages from customers can be automatically ingested as new tickets in ellocharlie, or attached to existing ticket threads, depending on your configuration. This allows customer questions posted in Slack to flow directly into your help desk workflow.
What permissions does ellocharlie need in Slack?
ellocharlie requires permissions to write messages (chat:write) and read channel information (channels:read) in your Slack workspace. These are requested during the OAuth authorization step.
Can only pre-connected Slack workspaces receive updates?
Yes. Only Slack workspaces that have completed OAuth setup and been authorized by an administrator can receive published updates from ellocharlie. This ensures security and prevents accidental messages to unauthorized workspaces.
Is there a delay between an ellocharlie action and the Slack message appearing?
Updates are asynchronous, so there may be a short delay between when you publish an update in ellocharlie and when it appears in Slack. This delay is typically minimal but depends on Slack's API availability.
Best Practices
Use auto-publish for status changes. Enable auto-publish for routine status updates (e.g., "in progress," "resolved") to keep customers informed without extra manual steps. Reserve manual publishing for sensitive or complex updates that need review first.
Keep internal notes internal. Configure your integration to exclude internal notes from Slack by default. Only share notes with customers when they directly address the customer's question or provide important context.
Map channels by customer type. If you serve multiple customer segments or product lines, map different Slack channels to different customer types. This keeps updates organized and ensures the right customers see relevant information.
Use threaded replies for clarity. Enable threaded message delivery so all updates on a single ticket stay grouped together in Slack. This prevents your customer channels from becoming cluttered with scattered messages.
Review the audit log regularly. Check your Slack integration audit log weekly or monthly to confirm updates are being published as expected and to catch any connection issues early.
Test your configuration with a pilot channel. Before rolling out the integration to all customer channels, test it with one or two pilot channels. Verify that messages format correctly, permissions work as expected, and your team understands the workflow.
Communicate the new workflow to your team. Make sure all help desk agents understand when and how to publish updates to Slack, and clarify which updates should be manual vs. auto-published in your specific setup.