# Slack Connect Channels



<Note>
  **Beta.** Shared-channel access is new, and the default is the cautious one.
</Note>

A Slack Connect channel has two companies in it, so SAM treats the two sides
separately:

|                                 | Default |
| ------------------------------- | ------- |
| **Your team asks, SAM answers** | ✅ On    |
| **The other company asks**      | ❌ Off   |

Guests read your answers either way.

<SlackThread channel="#acme-surface">
  <SlackMessage from="Dana" time="16:30">
    @SAM how many leads came through the demo form this month?
  </SlackMessage>

  <SlackMessage from="sam" time="16:30">
    In this channel I only take questions from the Acme team. You'll still see
    my answers to them. Someone there can open it up to everyone here with
    `/surface shared open`.
  </SlackMessage>
</SlackThread>

## Opening a Channel [#opening-a-channel]

Run this **in the shared channel**, from your own workspace:

```text
/surface shared open
```

Anyone in the channel can now ask it things. To take it back:

```text
/surface shared close
```

Run `/surface shared` bare and it tells you which state the channel is in, plus
both commands.

<Info>
  Invite SAM to the channel first with `/invite @Surface Marketing Agent`, or
  `open` will tell you to. Only members of the workspace that installed the app
  can run these commands.
</Info>

## What an Open Channel Does *Not* Grant [#what-an-open-channel-does-not-grant]

Guests can ask questions. Nothing they do outlives the conversation:

* ❌ Approving a change to your Surface data
* ❌ Teaching it anything: no [memory](/platform/sam/memory), workspace or channel
* ❌ Starting a background job
* ❌ Leaving a [schedule](/platform/sam/schedules) behind

Buttons carry the same rule. A click from the other side of a Connect channel
(Approve, Save in Vault, Run in the background, Stop, Disconnect) is checked
against who clicked it, not just against the channel.

## Seeing What You've Opened [#seeing-what-youve-opened]

The **Home** tab lists every shared channel currently open, so you can find and
close one months later.

<Warning>
  An open channel means the other company can put questions to an agent reading
  **your** Surface environment, and the answers post in a channel they can read.
  Only open the channels where that is the point, such as a shared project
  channel.
</Warning>