3 min lesson
Max channels: where you talk to Max
Talk to Max in Slack and WhatsApp. Auto vs ask first, @mentions, threads, and task notifications. Teams coming soon.
A Max channel is a place you message Max. Slack today. WhatsApp as your personal number. Microsoft Teams is coming soon.
A connector is an app Max acts in. A channel is where the conversation lives. Gmail as a connector lets Max draft mail. Slack as a channel lets you type to Max from a DM or a channel.
You manage Max channels next to Max connectors, under Integrations. Connecting Slack installs Max in the workspace. Connecting WhatsApp links your personal number so Max can reach you there.
How does Slack work with Max?
In a DM, you talk to Max the way you talk in Frontline chat. In a channel or group, Max joins when someone @mentions it.
On that mention, Max pulls the recent messages from that channel into context, so it has the thread of the discussion, not only the one line that tagged it. It then replies in a thread, which keeps the channel clean.
If you mention Max inside an existing thread, it reads that thread instead of the whole channel.
Harrington’s #mandates channel debates a $12M structure. Someone writes “@Max summarize the open questions and draft a note on the Deal.” Max reads the last stretch of the channel, answers in a thread, and can update the record if the tools allow it.
What are Auto and Ask first?
Each Max channel has a reply mode.
Auto is the default. Max answers when you write or mention it.
Ask first is the tighter mode. Max checks with you before it acts on that channel. Use it on a busy shared Slack channel where a wrong reply is public. Keep Auto on your DM and on WhatsApp if you want Max to move at conversation speed.
Set the mode per channel. Your Slack DM can stay Auto while #clients is Ask first.
What else are Max channels for?
Notifications. When a Max task finishes, the output can land on Slack or WhatsApp. “Pipeline review is done” appears where you already work. You do not have to open Frontline to see that James’s household brief is ready.
Proactive nudges use the same channels. Max can write you on WhatsApp or Slack when a meeting ends with open follow-ups, inside the window you set.
Teams is coming soon
Microsoft Teams will be another Max channel, with the same idea: talk to Max where the team already sits, with a reply mode you choose.
Until then, Slack and WhatsApp cover DMs, groups, and notifications.