Slack’s Future AI feature releases setting is a change-control switch, not a master AI off button. Turn off automatic access when your team wants to review new Slack AI features before members can use them. Then audit existing AI permissions and Slackbot separately, because the switch does not cover either one.
By Remote Work Picks — updated August 20, 2026
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Quick answer: What the Future AI feature releases setting controls
The setting determines whether newly released Slack AI features are turned on automatically. Its checkbox is labeled Always allow access to new AI features.
- Checked: eligible new AI features can become available automatically.
- Unchecked: Slack does not automatically enable eligible new AI features.
- In either state: existing AI permissions remain in place.
- Separately: Slackbot can still receive new functionality automatically when Slackbot is enabled.
That makes the setting useful for organizations that require a security, legal, records-management, or employee-communications review before introducing a new AI capability. It is less consequential for a small team that actively accepts Slack’s default product updates and has no formal release-approval process.
As of August 2026, Slack says its “Future AI feature releases” control is available on paid plans. Workspace Primary Owners manage it on Pro, Business+, and Enterprise Select; Org Primary Owners manage it on Enterprise Grid and Enterprise+. That is five plan families, and only the Primary Owner can change this auto-enable setting. Source: Slack Help Center.
Our practical recommendation is to leave automatic access off whenever a company has formal software change control. The inconvenience is small: someone must review and enable worthwhile features. The tradeoff is that employees may receive useful tools later than teams that accept every release automatically.
Plan-and-role matrix
Slack separates workspace-level plans from organization-level Enterprise plans. That distinction determines both the navigation path and the Primary Owner role required.
| Slack plan | Public US price as of August 2026 | Where the control is managed | Who can change this setting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Not available | Not applicable |
| Pro | $7.25 per active user/month annually; $8.75 monthly | Workspace settings | Workspace Primary Owner |
| Business+ | $15 per active user/month annually; $18 monthly | Workspace settings | Workspace Primary Owner |
| Enterprise Select | Contract pricing | Workspace settings | Workspace Primary Owner |
| Enterprise Grid | Contract pricing | Organization settings | Org Primary Owner |
| Enterprise+ | Contact sales | Organization settings | Org Primary Owner |
Prices are Slack’s published US list prices and exclude promotions, taxes, and negotiated contracts. Slack’s pricing update also says disabling AI features does not reduce the price of a paid plan.
The narrow permission matters. Workspace Owners and Admins or Org Owners and Admins can manage individual AI-feature access where Slack permits, but Slack’s instructions reserve this specific future-release checkbox for the Workspace Primary Owner or Org Primary Owner.
If an admin can edit individual features but cannot find or change the future-release row, check the person’s exact role before treating the problem as a missing feature.
What turning off automatic access blocks
Unchecking Always allow access to new AI features blocks one event: a newly released Slack AI feature being enabled automatically for the workspace or organization.
It is best understood as an intake gate. Slack can still announce and release the product capability, but your organization does not automatically grant access through this setting. The team can review the feature’s data sources, output-sharing options, file access, intended users, and internal policy fit before deciding whether to enable it.
As of August 2026, Slack documents one future-release toggle with two different outcomes: on means newly released AI features can be enabled automatically; off stops that automatic access. The setting does not disable AI features already available, and owners or admins can still manage individual feature access separately. Source: Slack Help Center.
For distributed teams, that pause can prevent an awkward rollout in which employees discover a feature before IT, security, or team leads have agreed on how it should be used. It also creates a natural point for updating internal guidance before access changes.
The tradeoff is administrative lag. If no one owns the review queue, valuable releases may remain unavailable simply because the organization created a gate without a process for opening it.
What it does not block
The future-release control is easy to overestimate. It does not replace Slack’s other AI controls.
Existing AI features
Changing the checkbox does not turn off AI features already available to members. Review the individual rows under Feature access → AI to confirm their current audience.
Depending on the plan, Slack lists controls for capabilities such as conversation summaries, huddle notes, search answers, recaps, translations, file summaries, workflow automation, canvas generation, and Slackbot. The available rows can vary by plan.
Workspace-level controls generally offer Everyone or No one. Enterprise organization controls can provide more granular choices, including specific people and groups.
Slackbot releases
Slackbot is the important exception. Slack says the future-release setting does not apply to future Slackbot releases. If Slackbot remains enabled, new Slackbot functionality can arrive automatically.
As of August 2026, Slack identifies one critical exception: the future-release setting does not apply to new Slackbot functionality. When Slackbot is enabled, new capabilities can arrive automatically. Some capabilities still have separate admin controls; Slack names web search as one example. Source: Slack Help Center.
Slackbot therefore needs its own review. Slack documents separate controls for who can use it and, where available, whether it can create or edit canvases, include files in responses, or search the web. Slack says web search is off by default and can be enabled by owners or admins; its Slackbot settings guide provides the current paths.
Separate feature settings
The release toggle also does not overwrite capability-specific choices. Slack documents additional settings for actions such as:
- Automatically taking huddle notes in channels
- Sharing AI search responses
- Including files in search or Slackbot responses
- Using files or third-party connectors in AI workflow steps
- Letting Slackbot create and edit canvases
- Letting Slackbot search the web
This is why we use a three-layer model for Slack AI change control:
| Control layer | Question it answers | Review separately? |
|---|---|---|
| Future-release gate | Should new non-Slackbot AI features be enabled automatically? | Yes |
| Individual feature access | Who can use each existing AI feature? | Yes |
| Capability settings | What data or actions can that feature use? | Yes |
A team has not fully restricted AI merely because layer one is off.
How to change the setting
Slack’s documented navigation differs by plan structure. Perform the change from the desktop app.
Pro, Business+, and Enterprise Select
The Workspace Primary Owner should:
- Click Admin in the sidebar.
- Select Workspace settings.
- Open Roles & permissions.
- Select Feature access, then AI.
- Find Future AI feature releases and click Edit.
- Check or uncheck Always allow access to new AI features.
- Click Save.
Enterprise Grid and Enterprise+
The Org Primary Owner should:
- Click the organization name from the Home tab.
- Select Tools & settings, then Organization settings.
- Open Roles & permissions and select Feature access.
- Select AI.
- Find Future AI feature releases and click Edit.
- Check or uncheck Always allow access to new AI features.
- Click Save.
Record the date, decision owner, previous state, and new state in the same change log used for other SaaS permissions. A screenshot is useful evidence, but a written record is easier to search and compare during the next review.
Admin audit checklist for Slack AI change control
The following is our recommended procedure, based on Slack’s documented control structure.
- Confirm the plan and scope. Record whether the decision applies to one workspace or an Enterprise organization.
- Verify the Primary Owner. Name the only role that can change the future-release setting and document the ownership-transfer process.
- Record the future-release state. Note whether automatic access is on or off, when it was checked, and who verified it.
- Export or capture current feature access. Review each existing AI row instead of assuming the future-release setting changed it.
- Audit Slackbot independently. Check its audience, canvas permissions, file use, web search, and any Salesforce-related controls that appear.
- Assign a release reviewer. Give one person or team responsibility for assessing new AI releases.
- Set a review deadline. Five business days is a workable internal target for ordinary releases; higher-risk capabilities may need a longer review.
- Check Slack’s release notes monthly. The setting itself debuted in Slack’s August 2026 product updates.
- Document the outcome. Approve, restrict, defer, or reject each material feature, with the reason and next review date.
- Re-audit after plan or ownership changes. A migration, renewal, or Primary Owner transfer is a sensible trigger for checking the matrix again.
For a quick internal health check, award one point for each of these five items: recorded toggle state, named Primary Owner, current-feature inventory, separate Slackbot review, and scheduled release review. A score of 5/5 indicates an operational process; 3–4/5 has gaps; 0–2/5 means the switch is functioning without dependable governance. This scoring system is our framework, not a Slack requirement.
The larger lesson is simple: the future-release checkbox is a useful brake, but it is only one control. Pair it with individual feature permissions, a separate Slackbot review, and an owner who regularly processes new releases.
If you are deciding whether Slack remains the right platform as well as how to govern it, compare Slack and Microsoft Teams for small startups or review our 2026 remote-team software stack costs.