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Your Spinnable workers aren’t locked into a single chat interface. They meet you where you already work — email, WhatsApp, Slack, or the Spinnable interface. This is one of the biggest differences between Spinnable and traditional AI tools. Think of it like hiring a human employee: they have a desk phone (Spinnable interface), email, Slack, and a mobile number (WhatsApp). They can handle conversations on all of them, simultaneously.

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Available Channels

Spinnable Interface

Your worker’s primary workspace — always available

Email

Workers have their own email addresses

WhatsApp

Message workers on the go

Slack

Collaborate in your team workspace

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Spinnable Interface

The Spinnable interface is your worker’s primary workspace. This is where you:
  • Start new conversations
  • Review past conversations
  • Monitor worker activity
  • Manage worker settings and knowledge
  • Give structured feedback

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When to use the Spinnable interface

  • Complex instructions or training sessions
  • Reviewing work and providing detailed feedback
  • Checking worker memories or knowledge base
  • Managing permissions and tool access
  • Bulk operations that need your full attention
Pro tip: The Spinnable interface gives you the fullest picture of your worker’s activities and capabilities. Use it for onboarding and major configuration changes.

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Email

Every worker comes with their own Spinnable email address (e.g., [email protected]). This email works out-of-the-box with no setup required — your worker automatically receives all emails sent to their address.

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Two types of email capabilities

What it does:
  • ✅ Worker receives ALL emails sent to their @spinnable.app address
  • ✅ Worker can reply to emails
  • ✅ Works immediately, no configuration needed
  • ✅ Perfect for most use cases
Example: Forward customer inquiries to [email protected], and Alice will respond automatically.

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Email threading behavior

  • Spinnable treats each email as a new conversation, but your worker sees the full email thread history for context
  • If someone replies to your worker’s email, the worker understands the conversation flow
  • Each thread maintains its own context within the Spinnable system

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Custom domain workaround

Want emails to appear from your custom domain? Here’s how it works:
  1. Connect Gmail/Outlook tool to your worker
  2. Tell the worker to sends emails from the connected email using the tool (e.g., [email protected])
  3. Recipients reply to that address
  4. Those replies go to YOUR inbox (not the worker’s Spinnable inbox)
  5. You need to forward them to your worker’s @spinnable.app address OR instruct the worker to monitor your inbox using the Read Email tool
Most users find it simpler to just use the worker’s @spinnable.app address and set up email forwarding rules rather than managing the Gmail/Outlook integration.

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When to use email

  • Customer support inquiries
  • Asynchronous communication that doesn’t need instant response
  • External stakeholders who don’t have access to your other tools
  • Formal communications that need email trail
  • CC your worker on relevant email threads to bring them into the loop
  • Use clear subject lines — they help your worker categorize and prioritize
  • Forward emails to your worker’s address instead of copy-pasting (preserves threading)
  • Set expectations in your worker’s job policy about email response time and style
  • Assuming Gmail/Outlook tools = automatic inbox monitoring (they don’t)
  • Not forwarding full email threads (worker loses context)
  • Forgetting to add the worker’s email to your contacts (emails might go to spam)
  • Sending time-sensitive requests via email instead of WhatsApp or Slack

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WhatsApp

Workers can communicate via WhatsApp using your account’s configured phone number. This is perfect for on-the-go communication.

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Setup

1

Configure your phone number

WhatsApp setup is account-level, not per-worker. One phone number applies to all workers.Go to your Account Settings and add your WhatsApp-enabled phone number.
Common issue: Not setting up your phone number in your profile → worker can’t recognize you as the manager when you message them.
2

Find your worker's WhatsApp ID

Each worker has a unique 4-digit alphanumeric WhatsApp ID (e.g., A4B9).Find it in: Worker → Details tab
3

Start messaging

Two ways to initiate contact:Option 1: Switch between workers
  • Message your configured WhatsApp number
  • Type /firstname or /firstname lastname to switch to that worker
  • Start your conversation
Option 2: Direct access with WhatsApp ID
  • Message your Spinnable WhatsApp number
  • Type /WorkerWhatsAppID (e.g., /A4B9)
  • Worker responds immediately
Other helpful commands:
  • /help — Get list of available commands
  • /list — See all your workers and their IDs

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External users

Want someone outside your organization to message your worker via WhatsApp?
  1. Ask your worker to send a WhatsApp message to the external contact
  2. Contact receives message from your Spinnable WhatsApp number
  3. They can reply directly — no special commands needed
This is the simplest approach. The worker establishes the connection.

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File Support

Workers can send and receive files through WhatsApp—documents, images, PDFs, and more. Supported files:
  • Documents (PDF, DOCX, XLSX, TXT, CSV)
  • Images
  • Spreadsheets and data files
  • Whatsapp Voice notes
File size limit: 16 MB per file How to use:
  • Attach files to your WhatsApp messages as normal
  • Workers download and process file contents automatically
  • Ask your worker to create and send files back to you
Reference files by name in your messages: “Review the contract.pdf I just sent”

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Limitations

WhatsApp does NOT support:
  • ❌ Group chats (workers can only do 1-on-1 conversations)

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When to use WhatsApp

  • Quick questions while away from your desk
  • Mobile-first workflows (field workers, traveling, etc.)
  • Personal, informal communication style
  • Set up your phone number first before trying to message workers
  • Switch workers explicitly using /firstname to avoid confusion
  • Share worker WhatsApp IDs with external contacts who need access

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Slack

Workers can join your Slack workspace and participate in channels and threads, just like human teammates.

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Setup (takes ~5 minutes)

1

Invite your worker to Slack

In the Spinnable interface, navigate to your worker and select Invite to Slack.Your worker will send you an email with setup instructions.
2

Help your worker set up their Slack account

As the manager, you’ll need to:
  • Accept the permissions shown in the confirmation screen
  • Authorize the worker’s access to your Slack workspace
This is a one-time setup per worker per workspace.
If you have multiple Slack workspaces, each worker needs a separate invitation for each workspace.
3

Add worker to channels

Once authorized, add your worker to relevant Slack channels like any other team member.

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How workers behave in Slack

  • Workers must be @mentioned to respond
  • They read only the message where they’re mentioned
  • Exception: In threads, workers read the full thread for context
Example:
  • You post: “Hey @alice, can you draft a response to this customer complaint?”
  • Alice reads only that message (unless it’s in a thread)

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Common mistakes

Don’t do this:
  • ❌ Forgetting to @mention the worker (they won’t see the message)
  • ❌ Trying to add Slack as a “tool” (Slack is a channel, not a tool)
  • ❌ Expecting workers to monitor all channel messages (they only read @mentions)
  • ❌ Inviting the same worker to multiple workspaces without separate authorization

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When to use Slack

  • Team collaboration where workers participate alongside humans
  • Real-time discussions that benefit from threading
  • Channel-based workflows (e.g., #customer-support, #content-review)
  • Transparent communication where the whole team sees worker contributions
  • @mention workers explicitly to trigger responses
  • Use threads for multi-turn conversations
  • Set channel etiquette in worker’s job policy (e.g., “Only respond to messages in #support”)
  • Introduce your worker to the team when they join a channel

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Voice Calls

Talk to your workers by voice for real-time collaboration. Click the Call button on any worker’s page to start a voice conversation.
Voice calls are currently in beta. Workers can use tools and complete tasks during calls, but are slightly less reliable than text-based communication.

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When to use voice

  • Real-time discussions that benefit from back-and-forth dialogue
  • Hands-free work when multitasking or away from keyboard
  • Quick questions that don’t need written documentation
  • Brainstorming where you want to think out loud
For detailed instructions or critical tasks, text channels are more reliable.

Voice Calls Guide

Learn more about using voice calls effectively

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Multi-Channel Operations

Here’s what happens when the same worker operates on multiple channels:

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Simultaneous operation

Your worker can handle conversations on all channels at the same time:
  • Responding to emails
  • Chatting on WhatsApp
  • Participating in Slack threads
  • Answering questions on the Spinnable interface
They don’t get confused. Each conversation is tracked separately.

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Context and memory

How it works:
  • Each channel maintains separate conversation threads
  • There’s no automatic context sharing between channels
  • Your worker’s overall memory is unified (they remember who you are, your preferences, past work)
  • Channel-specific preferences can be set through feedback
Example scenario:
  • You email your worker: “Draft a blog post about AI”
  • Later, you message on WhatsApp: “How’s that blog post going?”
  • The worker WON’T automatically connect these — they’re separate conversations
  • Solution: Reference the email or provide context in your WhatsApp message

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Tone adaptation

Workers automatically adjust their communication style based on the channel:
  • Email: More formal, structured
  • WhatsApp: Casual, concise
  • Slack: Collaborative, team-oriented
  • Spinnable interface: Professional, detailed
You can reinforce this by giving feedback like: “Be more casual on WhatsApp” or “Keep Slack responses brief and actionable.”

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Memory question

Q: “If I teach my worker something on email, will they remember it on WhatsApp?” A: Yes. Your worker’s memory is unified across all channels. However, whether they apply that learning on a specific channel depends on how you instruct them. For example:
  • General instruction: “Always use bullet points” → applies everywhere
  • Channel-specific: “Use bullet points in emails only” → applies to email channel

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Security & Access Control

You can control who can contact your workers via email and WhatsApp.

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Blocking external users

1

Navigate to worker settings

Go to Worker → Details
2

Configure access controls

Toggle settings to:
  • Block external emails
  • Block external WhatsApp contacts
Only users within your Spinnable account will be able to reach the worker.
For comprehensive security guidance, see our Security Best Practices guide.

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Next Steps

Connecting Tools

Give your workers access to Gmail, Slack, and other integrations

Managing Your Workforce

Learn how to organize and scale your team of workers

Security Best Practices

Keep your workers and data secure

How Workers Learn

Train your workers through conversation and feedback