Sell Slack data and Teams data to AI

Selling Slack data and Teams data – why are there buyers?

AI labs are increasingly buying workplace data such as Slack, email and support tickets to train AI agents – systems meant to carry out real work tasks. Text from the web isn't enough for that. Agents need to see how people collaborate: how a question is asked, how colleagues bounce ideas around, how a problem is debugged and how a decision is finally made.

A workplace chat contains exactly that. In the US, shut-down startups have sold their Slack and email archives to AI companies, as reported by Fast Company, Gizmodo and Forbes, among others. Selling Slack data is no longer a theoretical possibility – but it takes more groundwork than many people think.

What determines the value of chat data?

• History. Several years of channels give complete projects from kickoff to delivery.
• Reasoning. Channels where problems are discussed and solved carry more weight than automated notifications, bot messages and social chit-chat.
• Structure. Threads, channel names and timestamps make the context easier to understand.
• Language. Workplace communication in Nordic and other smaller European languages is rare in training data.
• Personal data. The less personal data, the simpler and more valuable the deal.

Read more about how value is assessed on what is your data worth.

Slack or Teams – does it matter?

For the buyer, the content matters more than the platform. The difference lies more in how the data can be extracted and which terms apply. In Teams, chats are often closely interwoven with email, meetings and documents in the same environment, which can make selection more complex. In Slack the channel structure is often clearer, but the API terms need special review – see below.

Slack's API terms – exporting your own archives

This is one point that sets Slack apart from many other data sources. Salesforce, which owns Slack, has reportedly restricted bulk export and use for AI training through the terms for Slack's API. That means it is not a given that you can freely use the available tools and APIs to export your history for the purpose of licensing it.

We therefore always start from exporting your own archives and treat the question as one that requires legal review before anything is done. The same applies to Teams, where Microsoft's terms and your own contractual situation need to be reviewed. We don't give legal advice – we help you ask the right questions early, so you don't spend time on a deal that then can't go ahead.

Employees, privacy and consultation

Slack and Teams history is fundamentally communication between employees. That creates requirements that don't exist for, say, published content:

• Workplace privacy. Rules on employee privacy may apply when an employer uses employees' messages for something new.
• Employee consultation. Depending on your country and any collective agreements, the decision to license chat data may require informing or consulting employee representatives or a works council before it is made.
• GDPR. Data protection authorities stress that reusing data for AI training must be compatible with the original purpose. Legitimate interest is not automatically a basis, and the European Data Protection Board requires a documented balancing test.
• Direct messages. Private conversations are often more sensitive and may need to be excluded entirely.

That is why we assess rights and personal data first and plan de-identification before any delivery. Read more about GDPR and anonymization.

Would you rather start with email?

Many companies have both chat and email. An email archive is not affected by Slack's API terms and can sometimes be a simpler first step. Read more about how to sell email archives.

How it works

1. You describe the data in our form – platform, number of years, approximate number of channels and whether there are direct messages. No files needed.
2. We assess terms, rights, personal data and demand, and get back to you within 48 hours on business days.
3. You approve a concrete offer. Nothing is shared until a non-disclosure agreement is in place.
4. Delivery and payment take place after de-identification.

By default the license is non-exclusive and limited in scope, time and use, and you keep ownership. The assessment costs nothing – we only get paid when a deal goes through.