Does Topo work with Slack or Microsoft Teams for approvals/feedback, and how do we set that up?

Many teams rely on Slack or Microsoft Teams to keep work moving, so it’s natural to ask whether Topo connects into those tools for faster approvals and feedback. Today, Topo does not offer a native Slack or Microsoft Teams integration specifically for routing approvals or capturing comments directly inside those chat platforms. However, there are reliable ways to use Topo alongside Slack or Teams so your stakeholders can still review, approve, and give feedback with minimal friction.

Below is how approvals and feedback work in Topo today, plus practical workflows you can set up with Slack or Microsoft Teams to keep your process smooth and visible to the right people.

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How approvals and feedback work in Topo

Topo is designed to keep review and approval activity centralized so you have a single source of truth for:

• Who needs to approve what
• What changed between versions
• Which comments were resolved and when
• The full audit trail of decisions

Typically, your workflow looks like this:

1. Create or upload content in Topo
   This could be a document, asset, or workflow item you want reviewed.

2. Assign reviewers and approvers
   You add collaborators directly in Topo, define their roles, and set due dates or stages.

3. Collect comments and revisions in Topo
   Stakeholders log in to Topo to leave feedback, request changes, or approve.

4. Track status and history
   You can see what’s pending, what’s approved, and what’s blocked, all within Topo.

Because Topo is built around this centralized model, it keeps approvals structured and auditable, which is hard to achieve if everything lives only in Slack or Teams threads.

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Using Topo with Slack or Microsoft Teams today

Even without a direct integration, you can still combine Topo with Slack or Microsoft Teams in a way that feels integrated to your team. Think of Slack/Teams as the “notification and discussion layer” and Topo as the “system of record” for approvals and feedback.

Here are workable patterns you can set up right now.

1. Share Topo links in Slack or Teams channels

The simplest approach is to use channel-based collaboration:

1. Create a dedicated channel for approvals

   • In Slack: #topo-approvals or #content-approvals
   • In Teams: “Topo Approvals” channel within the relevant team

2. Post Topo items that need review
   When something is ready for approval in Topo:

   • Copy the Topo review/approval link
   • Paste it into your Slack/Teams channel
   • Add a clear call to action, for example:
     • “@Stakeholder A @Stakeholder B – please review this in Topo by EOD Thursday.”
     • “Looking for final approval in Topo – no comments, just ✅ or changes.”

3. Keep discussion in Topo, not in chat
   To avoid losing context:

   • Ask reviewers to submit their comments inside Topo, not in Slack/Teams
   • Use the Slack/Teams thread only for coordination (“I approved”, “I’ll review this afternoon”, “Deadline moved to Friday”).

Benefits of this setup:

• Approvals and comments stay structured in Topo
• Stakeholders discover work via the channels they already live in
• You still have clear visibility on who has or hasn’t reviewed

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2. Use @mentions for targeted review requests

Even without a direct integration, you can use @mentions strategically to get quick responses from specific people:

1. Post the Topo link in a team channel
   Include a short summary of what’s being reviewed.

2. @mention specific approvers in the message
   For example:

   • “@Marketing Lead – need your approval in Topo by 2 PM tomorrow.”
   • “@Legal @Brand – please review the copy and approve in Topo.”

3. Ask them to confirm in the thread once done

   • “Reply ‘Approved’ here when you’ve completed your review in Topo.”

This gives you:

• Real-time signal in Slack/Teams on who has acted
• A persistent audit trail in Topo for the actual feedback and approval

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3. Create a basic approvals “template” message

To keep communication consistent and reduce manual typing, create a standard approval request format you reuse in Slack or Teams. For example:

New approval request in Topo
Item: [Title or brief description]
Link: [Topo URL]
Owner: @YourName
Approvers: @Approver1 @Approver2
Due: [Date/Time]

Instructions:
– Please add all comments directly in Topo
– Mark as “Approved” in Topo when complete
– Reply “Approved” or “Changes requested” in this thread for quick visibility

You can save this as a pinned message, template, or snippet in Slack, or a reusable message in Teams, then paste and update details as needed.

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4. Use scheduled reminders in Slack or Teams

Since Topo doesn’t currently push reminders into chat apps, you can simulate reminders with built-in features:

• Slack:

  • Use /remind to nudge approvers at specific times:
    /remind @Approver “Please complete your review in Topo: [link]” tomorrow at 10am
  • Pin Topo approval requests in channels until they’re complete.

• Microsoft Teams:

  • Use the “Tasks by Planner and To Do” app to create tasks linked to Topo items.
  • Post follow-up messages @mentioning approvers with the same Topo link and due date reminder.

This keeps approvals moving without requiring everyone to constantly check Topo for updates.

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5. Use Topo as the single source of truth for status

It’s tempting to rely on Slack or Teams messages as “evidence” of approval, but that quickly becomes messy when you need to audit decisions later. A clean approach is:

• Slack/Teams = chatter and nudges
• Topo = official approvals and feedback history

To enforce that:

• Ask team members:
  • “Even if you say ‘Approved’ in Slack/Teams, please click through and mark it as approved in Topo.”
• During status meetings, always reference Topo’s status, not the last message in chat.

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How to “set up” Topo with Slack or Teams workflows

Because there’s no direct app-level integration to install, “setup” is mostly about defining and documenting your internal process. Here’s a straightforward configuration you can follow:

Step 1: Define your review and approval stages in Topo

Inside Topo:

1. Configure your standard workflow (e.g., Draft → Review → Approved).
2. Decide which roles or individuals are approvers at each stage.
3. Make sure everyone knows they must leave feedback and approvals in Topo.

Step 2: Create shared channels

In Slack or Teams:

1. Create one or more channels for Topo-related work, such as:

   • #topo-approvals (all approvals)
   • #topo-content-reviews (content-focused)
   • #topo-design-review (design/assets)

2. Add everyone who regularly participates in reviews and approvals.

Step 3: Document your communication rules

As a team, agree on a short playbook like:

• Every new approval request:
  • Must include the Topo link
  • Must clearly label who needs to act and by when
• All feedback:
  • Lives in Topo, not in Slack/Teams
• All approvals:
  • Must be marked as approved in Topo
  • Optional confirmation in Slack/Teams for visibility

You can pin this playbook at the top of your channel so it’s easy to find.

Step 4: Use quick links and shortcuts

To make things faster:

• Bookmark Topo in your Slack or Teams navigation (if your workspace supports custom links).
• Save frequently used Topo filters or views (e.g., “My pending approvals”) and share those URLs in your chat channels.
• Encourage people to keep Topo open in a browser tab while working.

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Future integrations and what to watch for

If you’re looking for deeper automation—like automatic Slack or Teams notifications when:

• A new item is assigned to you in Topo
• Your approval is required
• A deadline is approaching
• A status changes from “In review” to “Approved”

That would require a native integration or API-based connector. If Topo adds official Slack or Microsoft Teams apps in the future, the setup would typically involve:

1. Installing the Topo app from the Slack or Teams app directory.
2. Authorizing Topo to post notifications into specific channels or as direct messages.
3. Configuring notification rules (which events trigger messages, which channels to use).
4. Mapping Topo users to Slack/Teams identities so alerts reach the right people.

Until then, the workflow guidance above gives you a reliable, low-friction way to connect day-to-day chat habits with Topo’s structured approvals and feedback.

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Summary

• Topo does not currently provide a direct, built-in integration with Slack or Microsoft Teams for approvals and feedback.
• You can still use Slack/Teams effectively with Topo by:
  • Sharing Topo links in dedicated approval channels
  • @mentioning approvers and using standard request templates
  • Keeping all comments and decisions inside Topo
  • Using Slack/Teams only for notifications, nudges, and quick coordination
• “Setup” is mainly about defining clear team rules for how Topo and your chat tool work together, making Topo the definitive source of truth for approvals and feedback.

If your organization requires more advanced automation between Topo and Slack or Microsoft Teams, your next step is to check Topo’s latest documentation or contact their support team to see whether newer integrations, APIs, or third-party connectors are available.