News Analysis
Salesforce dropped a bombshell on May 29, in the form of an API terms of service update. The announcement restricts long-term access to Slack data through its API, effectively cutting off access for vendors outside of its approved marketplace list, such as Glean.
The move triggered a wide-ranging debate across the tech industry around data security, data ownership and if the future of AI is a walled-garden approach, such as Salesforce is pitching, or lies in a more open model.
The changes went into effect for existing customers on June 30 and for new customers on May 29, the date of the announcement. The notice reinforces strict safeguards on how data accessed via Slack APIs can be stored, used and shared. The updated terms clarify that the Slack Marketplace is now the only appropriate channel for commercially distributing apps built with Slack APIs, and provide clearer guidance on responsible API usage, particularly for sensitive methods like the Discovery API and Data Access API.
Table of Contents
- Agentic AI Loses Slack Context
- Salesforce Isn't Alone in Tightening Control of Platform
- The Tradeoff Between Privacy, Governance and Innovation
- The Decisions the Slack API Move Forces
- Digital Workplace Tensions Come to the Surface
Agentic AI Loses Slack Context
At the core of this shift lies a complex interplay of competing priorities: innovation versus privacy, openness versus control and startup flexibility versus enterprise consolidation.
Slack’s new API constraints effectively limit third-party tools from storing or indexing long-term message history — cutting off a critical input stream for AI agents that rely on persistent organizational memory, Coalescence Cloud CEO Paul Wnek told Reworked. These “agentic” systems — designed to act with autonomy and foresight — depend on accumulated data to work well.
"Effective AI agents rely on context persistence — not just what’s happening in the moment, but what’s already happened,” Wnek said. Without historical Slack data, AI co-workers risk becoming glorified bots, responding only to direct prompts, rather than acting with accumulated insight. “This is the difference between the teammate who remembers everything from last quarter to the one who asks, ‘Wait, what were we talking about again?’”
John Price, CEO of cybersecurity firm SubRosa, agreed. "Restricting Slack’s API access critically impacts agentic AI tools, diminishing their contextual understanding and predictive capabilities. Without it, businesses lose a major productivity advantage,” he said. These tools often serve as connective tissue between Slack and systems like Notion, Glean, Jira and Google Drive — delivering value precisely because they can follow threads over time.
While enterprises may still deploy AI tools that operate in real-time, the lack of continuity undermines efforts to build more intelligent, proactive systems. The short-term result? AI agents will still function — but with reduced intelligence and autonomy.
Salesforce Isn't Alone in Tightening Control of Platform
Salesforce’s move isn't isolated. Industry experts see it as part of a broader trend where tech giants are consolidating control over their ecosystems. Companies like Meta and SAP have already limited third-party access to user data, and Salesforce’s Slack appears to be following suit.
“This is absolutely part of a broader trend,” Wnek notes. “Platform owners are moving to restrict third-party data, especially when it comes to historical context that could fuel external AI models.” He calls it a form of “data enclosure” — an echo of the old economic concept of land privatization, now applied to digital infrastructure.
However, the approach could backfire, warned Harmonic Security CEO Alastair Paterson. “This ‘balkanization’ of key applications and systems of record will not end well for those companies, since it risks accelerating their customers looking at new solutions in a time of great change towards AI-native applications,” he said.
Startups are feeling the squeeze. Tools that depend on long-term context, such as intelligent search or longitudinal workflow tracking, are now at a disadvantage compared to proprietary, in-platform AI offerings. Salesforce can build deep Slack integrations using its full access, external developers can’t, Paterson added. The playing field is no longer level.
"These restrictions complicate development and can significantly increase time to market” for startups, said Price. Innovation may slow as access becomes more limited and uneven.
The Tradeoff Between Privacy, Governance and Innovation
Salesforce frames the Slack restrictions as a pro-privacy move, consistent with growing concerns about data misuse and model transparency. And many experts agree with the intent—enterprise communications often contain sensitive, proprietary or regulated information.
Slack’s decision is “smart” because "privacy is critical," said Mark Smith, chief software analyst at ISG. Enterprises must disclose how AI tools are using employee communication data and decide what level of metadata should feed large language models, he continued.
"This story highlights growing tension between the need to protect sensitive enterprise data and the desire to leverage that same data for AI innovation,” said Matt Guenther, VP of strategic programs at Stratascale, a division of SHI International. "Privacy regulations give data subjects rights over their data which run contrary to the desires of AI innovators,” noted Guenther's colleague, Field CISO Casey Corcoran.
The concern isn't abstract. The evolving regulatory landscape, including data minimization rules, user consent and jurisdictional limits on cross-border transfers, places real constraints on AI adoption.
Still, Wnek frames this as a natural recalibration, not a full-blown conflict. "As AI tools mature, especially in B2B environments, the stakes around privacy, compliance and data control are rising,” he said. "But long-term, the challenge will be building systems that don’t force a tradeoff between security and progress."
The Decisions the Slack API Move Forces
The Slack decision also has implications for the “digital headquarters” — a workplace paradigm in which collaboration, search, automation and insight converge in a central hub.
Historically, that vision assumed open integration and data interoperability. But Salesforce’s API lock-down raises the specter of closed ecosystems, where vendor-aligned AI tools flourish, and external tools wither under data restrictions.
Price frames the decision as a “fork in the road.” Companies must now choose between vertically integrated suites and open, modular stacks. “That choice will determine how much autonomy they retain over data and innovation,” he said.
Paterson echoed this concern, citing companies trying to use Slack as a content hub. “These restrictions could hinder the ability to use Slack in that way and ultimately cede more ground to Microsoft Teams and other competitors,” he warned.
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Enterprises face new architectural decisions. Should they build internal data stores to retain longitudinal records across tools? Should they push vendors to guarantee data portability and interoperability? "Customers will be forced to choose between the convenience of an integrated suite or the flexibility — and complexity — of an open multi-vendor environment," said Guenther.
Enterprises may need to audit how dependent they are on long-term access and begin investing in private data lakes or secure middleware to future-proof their operations. “Companies should hire consultants to help navigate this transition,” Wnek advises, stressing the importance of anticipating where data lives, how usable it is, and what AI-powered systems it can fuel.
Digital Workplace Tensions Come to the Surface
The Slack API decision is more than a product tweak: it’s a signal. It reflects deep tensions playing out across the digital workplace: how to build intelligent, privacy-respecting tools; how to govern data in multi-vendor environments; and how to maintain innovation when access is increasingly gated.
Whether this marks a temporary constraint or a new norm remains to be seen. For now, the debate it has sparked — over control, context and the contours of collaboration — is one every enterprise will need to weigh carefully.
Editor's Note: Catch up on more vendor news from the wild west of AI technology:
- ServiceNow and Salesforce Fight to Be the Center of AI Agent Operations — Salesforce and ServiceNow move into each other’s domains, but their eyes are on a much bigger prize.
- Microsoft Prepares for Life Without OpenAI. What's Next for Copilot? — Microsoft and OpenAI's partnership, forged in 2019 and expected to last until 2030, is showing signs of strain. A look at Copilot's future, without OpenAI.
- Google Opens Workspace to Claude, Part of Open Ecosystem Approach to AI — Google is unleashing third-party AIs like Anthropic’s Claude into Workspace to challenge Microsoft’s AI power grab. Could this be the future of work?