Channel Summaries

Channel Summaries help you catch up on activity in the current channel without manually reading every post. Use the Ask Agents about this channel button in the channel header to summarize recent activity, focus on a time range, or enter a prompt about the conversation.

Channel Summaries require a license. See the license requirements for details.

Use Channel Summaries

To open Channel Summaries:

  1. Open the channel you want to analyze.

  2. Select Ask Agents about this channel in the channel header.

  3. Choose the agent you want to use in GENERATE WITH: if multiple agents are available.

  4. Select one of the available actions, or enter a prompt.

The response is generated in the Agents pane, and only you can view it.

Available actions

Channel Summaries provide several ways to analyze the current channel:

  • Summarize unreads: Summarize messages posted since you last viewed the channel.

  • Summarize last 7 days: Summarize recent discussion from the last week.

  • Summarize last 14 days: Summarize discussion from the last two weeks.

  • Select date range to summarize: Summarize activity between specific start and end dates.

  • Prompt: Enter a prompt such as “What decisions were made in this channel?” or “List the open action items from this discussion.”

Enter a prompt

Use the text box in the popover to enter a targeted prompt about the current channel. For example, you can prompt an agent to:

  • Identify decisions, risks, or blockers.

  • Extract action items and owners.

  • Explain the status of a project or incident.

  • Summarize a discussion for someone joining late.

This helps you move beyond a general summary when you need a specific answer based on channel context.

Choose the right entry point

Mattermost Agents offers more than one way to summarize channel activity:

  • Use Ask Agents about this channel when you want to analyze the current channel with flexible options such as entering a prompt, date ranges, or recent activity summaries.

  • Use Ask AI at the New Messages line when you want to quickly summarize unread messages in a channel. See Summarize unread channels.

Tips

  • Choose the agent that best matches your task, such as a general assistant or a more specialized team agent.

  • Ask narrow questions when you want a focused answer, such as decisions, risks, next steps, or customer feedback.

  • Use date ranges to reduce noise in busy channels and focus on a specific period.

Contact your system admin if Ask Agents about this channel is not available in your Mattermost workspace.