Best Slack and Teams-Native Platforms for Automating IT Support
Introduction
Many modern companies live in Slack and Microsoft Teams. Employees collaborate, make decisions, and solve problems in chat, yet many IT support tools still force users into separate portals just to request help.
The best Slack and Teams-native platforms today treat chat as the primary interface for IT support: automating common requests, resolving issues in place, and involving humans only when necessary. Below is a comparison of platforms that support in-chat IT workflows, followed by a deeper breakdown of each solution.
While this guide compares IT support systems, it’s important to note that not all tools here play the same role. Some platforms treat Slack and Microsoft Teams as an intake layer for tickets. Others, like Console, act as an AI-native front door for employee requests, automating resolution before a ticket ever exists.
Comparison Table
In the table below, “Native” refers to tools that are designed to operate directly inside Slack or Microsoft Teams, using chat as the primary interface for submitting, managing, and often resolving requests without requiring users to switch to a separate portal.
“Yes” indicates that a tool integrates with Slack or Teams but relies on an external help desk system for configuration, triage, and resolution, with chat serving mainly as an intake or notification layer rather than the core workspace.
Platform | Slack Support | Teams Support | Primary Strength | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Console | Native | Native | AI-native front door for employee support | Organizations replacing ticket-first IT with automation-first support |
Jira Service Management | Yes | Yes | ITSM + engineering alignment | Engineering-centric organizations |
Zendesk | Yes | Limited | Omnichannel ticketing | Support teams managing multiple channels |
Freshservice | Yes | Yes | Structured ITSM and asset management | Mid-size IT teams |
Console – AI-native front door for employee support
What Console Does
Console is an AI-powered IT automation platform that helps companies like Ramp, Scale, and Cursor automate 50-60% of internal IT requests before they ever reach a human. Console works by integrating with existing systems and understanding users, devices, applications, and organizational context. Unlike traditional help desks or ITSM platforms, Console does not start with tickets. It starts with intent: understanding what an employee is trying to do and resolving it automatically when possible.
Console lives directly in Slack and Microsoft Teams, enabling employees to describe issues or requests in natural language without leaving the chat. Since Console has access to identity, device, and application context, it can automatically resolve many requests end-to-end. When automation isn’t possible, Console accurately routes requests to the appropriate employee for resolution.
Reasons to Buy
Automates repetitive IT requests
Designed for complex enterprise environments
Frictionless user experience inside Slack and Teams
Seamless integration with existing systems and internal knowledge bases
Features
Console is fundamentally different from traditional ITSM software. It is an AI-native automation platform that operates where employees already work and understands users, devices, applications, and internal policies. Console resolves roughly 50-80% of support requests automatically and opens tickets only when human intervention is required.
Console can execute workflows from start to finish, such as resetting passwords, updating group membership, provisioning system access, or responding with definitive policy answers. Organizations can also create pre-configured step-by-step actions, called Playbooks, to handle recurring tasks.
When a request cannot be fully automated, Console uses its understanding of your organization to ensure the request is escalated to the correct person in your organization. Requests are enriched with identity, HR, and application context, dramatically simplifying ownership and escalation.
Ease of Use
Console is widely praised for its intuitive interface. Since it lives directly in Slack and Teams, adoption barriers are extremely low and no new portals are required. Employees typically begin submitting requests within minutes, and administrators can learn core workflows quickly. Console centralizes knowledge, context, and policy logic, reducing the operational complexity common in legacy ITSM platforms.
Support
Console provides dedicated onboarding and customer success resources, along with implementation engineers who assist with integrations and initial playbook configuration. AI-powered self-service tools also help employees resolve common issues independently.
Jira Service Management
What Jira Service Management Does
Jira Service Management is an IT service management platform built to help IT, engineering, and operations teams manage incidents, service requests, and changes. It integrates with Slack and Microsoft Teams so employees can submit requests, receive updates, and track ticket status from chat.
Built on Atlassian’s Jira platform, Jira Service Management is commonly used by organizations that want tight alignment between IT service workflows and software development teams.
Reasons to Buy
Strong IT and engineering alignment
Highly customizable workflows and SLAs
Deep Atlassian ecosystem integration
Scales well for large organizations
Features
Jira Service Management includes incident management, service requests, change management, and problem tracking. Slack and Teams integrations support ticket creation and notifications directly from chat. Advanced automation rules, approval workflows, and SLAs are supported, but most configuration and administration happens in the Jira web interface rather than inside chat tools.
Ease of Use
The platform is powerful but can require significant setup and ongoing management, especially for teams new to Atlassian. While chat-based intake improves the employee experience, administrators should expect a learning curve.
Support
Jira Service Management offers extensive documentation, community forums, and paid support plans. Enterprise customers can access professional services and priority support.
Zendesk
What Zendesk Does
Zendesk is a widely used support platform offering ticketing, automation, and omnichannel communication tools. It integrates with Slack to allow teams to create tickets from messages and receive updates. Microsoft Teams support is typically provided through connectors or third-party integrations.
Zendesk is commonly used by organizations managing support across email, chat, phone, and messaging channels.
Reasons to Buy
Mature, feature-rich ticketing system
Strong omnichannel capabilities
Large integration ecosystem
Flexible automation tools
Features
Zendesk provides ticket management, SLA tracking, automation rules, and reporting across multiple channels. Slack integration enables ticket creation and internal collaboration, but most configuration and resolution happens with Zendesk’s web interface.
Ease of Use
Zendesk is relatively easy for agents to learn but becomes more complex as workflows scale. End users may still interact with forms or portals depending on setup.
Support
Zendesk provides extensive documentation, community forums, and tiered customer support plans. Enterprise customers can access dedicated account management and professional services to assist with setup, customization, and ongoing optimization.
Freshservice
What Freshservice Does
Freshservice is an IT service management platform that helps IT teams manage incidents, service requests, assets, and changes. It provides a structured approach to IT operations, including service catalogs, change workflows, and asset tracking, making it well suited for teams that want a traditional ITSM foundation with modern tooling.
Reasons to Buy
Strong ITSM foundation
Built-in asset and change management
Slack and Teams integrations
Clean, well-organized web interface
Features
Freshservice includes incident management, service catalogs, asset tracking, change workflows, and automation rules. Chat integrations support intake and updates, but most administration occurs in the web console.
Ease of Use
Freshservice offers a modern and approachable web interface for IT teams familiar with traditional ITSM tools. While chat-based intake improves the employee experience, administrators should expect to spend most of their time configuring workflows, managing assets, and handling changes outside of Slack and Teams.
Support
Freshservice provides onboarding resources, documentation, and customer support across its plans, with more advanced services available at higher tiers. Larger teams can access enhanced support and professional services, which can be helpful during initial setup or when managing more complex ITSM workflows.
Quick Summary
Slack- and Teams-native IT support platforms reduce friction and dramatically improve the employee support experience. While many tools offer chat integrations, fewer are designed to automate and resolve requests directly inside collaboration tools.
For organizations prioritizing in-chat automation, fast resolution, and minimal workflow overhead, Console stands out by acting as an AI-native front door for IT support, resolving work where employees already operate.
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