Clear is a Slack app that helps you write clearer, more direct workplace messages. Privacy-first, no message storage, with built-in coaching to help you improve over time.
i've been working in tech for around 15 years, and the last five of them fully remote. as our team grew and we switched to english as the default language, my slack messages got longer and harder to process, even for me.
i was writing how i would speak in person. long paragraphs, multiple ideas at the same time, adding lots of filler words. in reality, a few sentences were usually enough. most times i felt it would be easier (for me) to jump on a call just to explain what i already wrote.
when custom GPTs launched, i built one to shorten my messages. it worked surprisingly well, but i wasn't improving on my own; i was just using it as a crutch. also, it would sometimes miss the nuance or make me sound robotic.
so i started to tweak it. i added simple communication principles like BLUF. i made it adapt to my style: lowercase, don't use emojis, keep abbreviations. the part that helped me the most was adding coaching tips. instead of only rewriting the message, it tells me what i could improve next time.
that's when it stopped being just a tool and started being actually useful in growing.
turned it into a slack bot because it seemed like something other remote teams would find useful. pretty simple technically but solves a real daily problem.
would love to hear what you think! happy to answer any questions about how it works or why i made certain decisions.
Nice idea clarity in Slack is such an underrated productivity win. Love the privacy-first angle and built-in coaching. This feels genuinely useful for everyday work 👏
I like the focus on clarity rather than rewriting everything. The Slack integration feels natural, and the coaching style feedback is a nice touch for teams that want better communication without extra tools. Curious to see how this evolves as more teams start using it.
Same problem here: my Slack turns into rambly essays. The BLUF nudge + coaching angle sounds right. Bonus points for no storage. Curious how it keeps nuance without the robo tone, esp with lowercase style. Gonna try it with my team this week.
given that English is the default language, but not everyone's native language, its super helpful to have apps like this to clarify and shorten what we're saying.
Does it work only as a separate bot or I can call it within any slack chat via "/"?
@alen_todorov congrats on launching Clear for Slack! 🚀 Your approach to voice-to-text integration with built-in coaching is brilliant—I really appreciate how the new voice support feature transforms audio clips into polished messages with transcripts. Excited to see where you take this next. Best of luck with today's launch!
Writing long Slack messages and still feeling unclear is frustrating. Do you feel people respond faster now with shorter messages?
This hits a real nerve. most tools just rewrite stuff and quietly kill your own skill; turning it into a coach instead of a crutch is such a good framing.
love the focus on BLUF+ keeping your own style (lowercase, no emojis etc.). would love to see a breakdown of the exact principles you’re using inside the bot.
Hey Alen, that shift from using AI as a crutch to actually learning from it is a real insight. Was there a specific Slack message where you realized you’d written a wall of text just to say something simple?
i've been working in tech for around 15 years, and the last five of them fully remote. as our team grew and we switched to english as the default language, my slack messages got longer and harder to process, even for me.
i was writing how i would speak in person. long paragraphs, multiple ideas at the same time, adding lots of filler words. in reality, a few sentences were usually enough. most times i felt it would be easier (for me) to jump on a call just to explain what i already wrote.
when custom GPTs launched, i built one to shorten my messages. it worked surprisingly well, but i wasn't improving on my own; i was just using it as a crutch. also, it would sometimes miss the nuance or make me sound robotic.
so i started to tweak it. i added simple communication principles like BLUF. i made it adapt to my style: lowercase, don't use emojis, keep abbreviations. the part that helped me the most was adding coaching tips. instead of only rewriting the message, it tells me what i could improve next time.
that's when it stopped being just a tool and started being actually useful in growing.
turned it into a slack bot because it seemed like something other remote teams would find useful. pretty simple technically but solves a real daily problem.
would love to hear what you think! happy to answer any questions about how it works or why i made certain decisions.