Channels
Use AI Assistant and GitBook Agent in Slack, GitHub, Linear, and Jira
Channels bring AI Assistant and GitBook Agent into the tools your team already uses. Once connected, your team can mention @GitBook in Slack, GitHub, or Linear to ask questions, open change requests, and keep your docs up to date — without leaving their existing workflow.
When you add a channel, you choose how GitBook shows up in that tool. Each configuration runs in one of two modes:
Support agent: AI Assistant answers questions from your team or visitors directly in the channel. Ask a question, get an answer pulled from your docs. In Slack, citations in these replies link to the published site URL for the docs they reference. For example, a cited answer links to your docs site, not app.gitbook.com.
Collaborator: GitBook Agent joins as a teammate. Mention @GitBook to open change requests, request edits, or keep your docs in sync with what’s happening in that tool. In Slack, messages can link to app.gitbook.com when they reference internal workflow context, such as a change request or draft content. When GitBook Agent creates a change request from a channel, it automatically links it to the originating thread, issue, or pull request.
You can run multiple configurations per channel — for example, Support Agent mode for one customer-facing Slack channel, and Collaborator mode in another channel for your docs team.
To add a channel, open your site’s Settings and click Channels.
Use Channels when support questions, bug reports, or product feedback start in Slack, GitHub, Linear, or Jira and you want GitBook to respond in place.
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Available channels
Slack
Linear
GitHub
Jira
Coming soon
Overview
Channels connect GitBook to external workflows.
They let you:
Answer questions without leaving the source conversation.
Bring existing docs context into support and product workflows.
Turn important conversations into docs updates with GitBook Agent.
Use Channels when the conversation starts outside GitBook, but the answer or follow-up belongs in your docs process.
Supported platforms
Channels support these platforms:
Slack for conversations and support threads.
GitHub for issues, pull-request context, and discussion workflows.
Linear for issue tracking and product feedback workflows.
Jira for turning tickets into documentation updates.
Each platform uses the same core model.
GitBook receives supported events from the connected platform, gathers context from your knowledge, and responds through either AI Assistant or GitBook Agent.
Roles and permissions
Channels support two roles:
Collaborator — can make changes.
Support agent — provides read-only information.
Choose the role based on what the channel needs to do.
Collaborator
Use Collaborator when the channel must help turn conversations into documentation work.
A collaborator channel can use GitBook Agent to help create or update docs work in GitBook, such as opening or progressing a change request.
Support agent
Use Support agent when the channel only needs to answer questions.
A support agent channel uses existing docs and connected knowledge to reply with read-only context. It does not make content changes.
How it works
Channels handle incoming events from your connected platform.
An incoming event can be a new message, a mention, an issue update, or other supported activity from Slack, GitHub, Linear, or Jira.
GitBook processes those events in four steps:
Install and authorization
To install a channel, open your site dashboard and choose Settings → Channels.
Then choose the platform you want to connect.
Slack, GitHub, and Linear use an OAuth or app-install flow. GitBook sends you to the platform, you approve access, and then you return to GitBook to finish setup.
Connect Jira to your GitBook site, then add the gitbook label to a ticket. GitBook Agent uses the ticket to draft a change request for your team to review.
Before you start
You need the following:
Admin access to your GitBook site, with Channels available and GitBook Agent enabled and unpaused.
A Jira Cloud site, an Atlassian account email, and an API token for that account. The account needs access to the projects you want to use and permission to comment on and link issues.
Connect Jira
Connect your Jira account
Enter the following details:
Jira site URL: your Jira Cloud URL, such as
https://your-site.atlassian.net.Account email: the email address of the Atlassian account that created the token.
Jira API token: create an API token in Atlassian, then paste it here.
Click Connect Jira. Once the connection succeeds, GitBook shows the available projects.
Finish setup in GitBook
Choose the projects you want GitBook to handle. Leaving the selection empty includes all projects accessible to the connected account. Only issues labeled gitbook start documentation work.
Set Jira status when merged to Done, or the equivalent status in your project’s workflow, so merging the change request also completes the ticket. Click Save. GitBook confirms with a “Jira configuration saved” message.
Create a change request from a ticket
Describe the documentation change
Open or create a Jira ticket in one of the projects covered by your configuration. Give it a clear title and describe what the docs should say.
For example, use the title “Document API key rotation” and include the rotation steps, who can perform them, and what happens to the old key.
Optional: request another edit from Jira
While the change request is open, add a comment containing @gitbook and the change you want. For example:
@gitbook Add a note explaining when the old API key stops working.
GitBook Agent updates the linked draft and posts an update comment in Jira. Editing the ticket’s title or description alone does not request another edit.
Feedback and reactions
Reactions let your team give quick feedback on channel replies.
Use reactions when you want to signal whether a response was helpful.
That feedback helps GitBook understand which responses are working well in real workflows.
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