Databricks’ Genie AI assistant can now answer data questions in Slack

Databricks has made its Genie app for Slack generally available. Staff can ask it data questions in a channel or direct message, get charts and approve changes in tools such as Jira. Answers use each asker’s permissions, but are visible to the whole channel by default.

Databricks has made its Genie app for Slack generally available, letting staff ask questions about company data without leaving the chat app. The company announced the release on Thursday.

Users can message Genie directly or type @Genie in a channel, and it replies in the same thread. Answers cite their sources, which can include Databricks data as well as Google Drive, Confluence and Jira.

Genie can also make tables and charts, analyse uploaded files and send reports on a schedule. Through connectors, it can update documents, comment on tickets and change records in other tools. It asks the person who made the request to approve each change first.

Each question runs with the permissions of the person who asked it, so Genie only uses data they are allowed to see. But answers in channels are public by default, so other members can read them even if they lack access to the data. Admins can make all answers private.

Databricks says questions are processed inside each customer’s Databricks workspace. The service that passes messages between Slack and Databricks does not store them. The company also warns that Genie can give wrong answers and that users should check them before acting.

The launch puts Databricks, valued at $190B in August, deeper inside a rival’s app. Slack’s owner Salesforce has given its own Slackbot 30 new AI features, and Anthropic’s Claude Tag already works inside Slack channels. Meanwhile, most CIOs say they lack full oversight of the AI agents spreading through their companies.