How Slack Rebuilt Notifications 📣

Introduction 🔔

At Slack, notifications are how teams stay in the loop, but they can also become overwhelming when not designed with intention. Our goal was to make staying informed feel effortless. We set out to rebuild one of Slack’s most complicated systems from the ground up by bringing calm, consistency, and clarity to the experience.

Diagnosing the Noise Problem 🔍

We knew perception of noise in Slack was a universal challenge affecting teams everywhere. Across workspaces, notification overload consistently ranks among the most common frustrations. Research showed that the more channels a person joins, the more likely they are to feel overwhelmed and confused about notification behavior.