We offer two different Slack integrations for different use cases. This guide will help you choose the right one for your team.
Quick Summary
| BackReply | Slack Community Support |
Direction | Intercom → Slack | Slack → Intercom |
Best for | Replying to Intercom conversations from Slack | Managing Slack Connect or shared channel conversations in Intercom |
Your customers contact you via | Website widget, email, Intercom Messenger | Slack Connect channels, shared Slack channels |
Where agents work | Slack | Intercom Inbox |
Source of record | Intercom (stays your system of record) | Intercom (becomes your unified inbox) |
BackReply: Reply to Intercom from Slack
Direction: Intercom → Slack
BackReply is for teams whose customers reach out through Intercom (via your website widget, email, or Messenger), but whose support agents prefer to work in Slack.
How it works
A customer messages you through your Intercom widget or email
The conversation appears in a Slack channel as a notification
Your agent replies directly in the Slack thread
BackReply syncs the reply back to Intercom automatically
The customer sees the response in their original channel
Best for
Support teams who live in Slack but want to keep Intercom as the source of record
Teams that want to avoid context-switching between Slack and Intercom
Companies looking to let non-Intercom users (like engineers or founders) collaborate on tickets without needing extra Intercom seats
Key features
Reply from Slack threads, synced to Intercom
Route conversations to specific channels based on tags, team, or assignee
Assign, close, and add notes without leaving Slack
Smart notifications to surface buried thread activity
👉 Get started: backreply.com
Slack Community Support: Bring Slack Conversations to Intercom
Direction: Slack → Intercom
Slack Community Support is for teams whose customers reach out directly in Slack—through Slack Connect channels or shared channels—and who want to manage those conversations in their Intercom inbox.
How it works
A customer messages you in a Slack Connect or shared channel
You select the thread and sync it to Intercom
Octopods creates a new Intercom conversation for that thread
Your agent replies from Intercom
Replies sync back to the Slack thread automatically
Best for
Teams using Slack Connect or shared channels with customers
Companies that want all customer conversations—regardless of source—unified in one Intercom inbox
Organizations where Intercom is the primary support tool and source of truth
Key features
Manual sync from Slack threads to Intercom (you choose which conversations to sync)
Bidirectional sync once connected
Agent names and avatars appear in Slack replies
Works alongside Octopods' other channels (WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, etc.)
👉 Get started: Connect via Octopods dashboard
Still Not Sure?
Ask yourself these questions:
Where do your customers contact you?
Intercom widget, email, or Messenger → You need BackReply
Slack Connect or shared Slack channels → You need Slack Community Support
Where do your agents prefer to work?
Slack → BackReply lets them reply from Slack
Intercom → Slack Community Support brings conversations to Intercom
What's your source of record?
Both integrations keep Intercom as the source of record—they just solve different workflow problems.
Need Help?
If you're unsure which integration fits your workflow, schedule a call with our team and we'll help you get set up.