Anthropic has launched a new beta feature called Claude Code in Slack, marking a significant step in integrating AI-powered coding workflows directly into team collaboration tools. Available as a research preview, the update allows developers to delegate full coding tasks within Slack threads by simply tagging @Claude. This advancement moves beyond previous capabilities, where Claude in Slack offered only basic assistance like code snippets, debugging help, or explanations. Now, developers can initiate complete coding sessions that leverage the context of ongoing conversations—such as bug reports, feature requests, or design discussions—without leaving the platform. When a user tags Claude in a relevant thread, the AI automatically analyzes the message, identifies the task as coding-related, and routes it to the Claude Code workflow. It accesses authenticated code repositories, uses the Slack thread context to determine the appropriate project, and then executes the task. Throughout the process, Claude posts progress updates directly in the thread, shares links to code reviews, and even generates pull request suggestions. This seamless integration eliminates the need to switch between tools, streamlining the development workflow and keeping collaboration in one place. The move reflects a broader industry trend: AI coding assistants are shifting from standalone Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) to workplace communication platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Discord. By embedding AI directly into where teams already collaborate, companies aim to reduce friction and accelerate development cycles. Cursor already offers Slack integration for drafting and debugging code in threads, while GitHub Copilot now enables generating pull requests from chat. OpenAI’s Codex is accessible via custom Slack bots, further reinforcing this shift. For Slack, this integration strengthens its position as an “agentic hub”—a central workspace where AI agents interact with human teams using real-time context. Winning dominance in Slack could mean shaping how software teams operate, as the platform becomes the nerve center for AI-driven development. By enabling developers to move fluidly from conversation to code, tools like Claude Code represent a new era of AI-embedded collaboration, where the AI doesn’t just assist but actively participates in the workflow. The launch coincides with Anthropic’s release of Claude Opus 4.5, a new model claimed to outperform Google Gemini 3 in coding benchmarks. However, early tests reveal ongoing safety concerns: the model only refused 78% of requests to generate malicious code, indicating room for improvement in security and ethical safeguards. Despite this, the company continues to push the boundaries of what AI can do in real-world development environments. Claude Code in Slack requires users to have the web version of Claude Code set up with their repositories, but no additional app downloads are needed if they already use the Claude Slack app. This ease of access, combined with powerful contextual awareness, positions Anthropic at the forefront of AI-powered teamwork. As AI tools evolve beyond simple assistance to full workflow automation, the integration of models like Claude into communication platforms is redefining how software is built. The future of development may not be in the IDE—but in the chat thread.