Communication
Connect Slack, Intercom, Zendesk, and other communication platforms to Ballast.
Connect your team communication and customer support tools to make conversations searchable.
Available Integrations
| Integration | Features |
|---|---|
| Slack | Channels, DMs (personal), threads |
| Intercom | Conversations, articles |
| Zendesk | Tickets, articles |
| Freshdesk | Tickets, articles |
Slack
Index your Slack workspace:
What’s Indexed
- Public channel messages
- Private channels (if bot is invited)
- Threads
- DMs (as personal source only)
- Files shared in messages
Setup
- Add Slack to your collection
- Click Connect with Slack
- Install the Ballast Slack App to your workspace
- Select channels to index
Configuration
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Channels | Select public channels |
| Include private | Add bot to private channels |
| Personal DMs | Connect your DMs as personal source |
| Date range | How far back to index |
Personal vs Shared
- Shared source: Public channels visible to everyone
- Personal source: Your DMs, only you can search
Best Practices
- Start with high-traffic channels
- Exclude noisy channels (alerts, bots)
- Use date limits for channels with long history
Intercom
Index customer conversations and help articles:
What’s Indexed
- Customer conversations
- Help center articles
- Internal notes
Configuration
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Conversations | Open, closed, or all |
| Articles | Published help center content |
| Date range | Conversation history limit |
Use Cases
- Find past customer issues
- Search support precedents
- Query help documentation
Zendesk
Index support tickets and knowledge base:
What’s Indexed
- Ticket descriptions and comments
- Help center articles
- Internal notes
Configuration
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Tickets | Filter by status, group, tags |
| Articles | Published KB articles |
| Include internal | Index internal notes |
Freshdesk
Index Freshdesk tickets and solutions:
What’s Indexed
- Ticket content
- Solution articles
- Agent responses
Configuration
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Tickets | Filter by status, priority |
| Solutions | Knowledge base articles |
| Date range | Historical limit |
Sync Behavior
| Type | Default Frequency |
|---|---|
| Slack | Real-time (events API) or 5 min |
| Intercom | Every 15 minutes |
| Zendesk | Every 15 minutes |
| Freshdesk | Every 15 minutes |
Privacy Considerations
- Customer data is searchable by authorized users only
- Personal DMs require explicit personal source connection
- Internal notes may contain sensitive information
Best Practices
- Filter actively - Exclude resolved/old tickets
- Use personal sources - Keep DMs private
- Consider retention - Match your data retention policies
- Train users - Ensure team knows what’s searchable