While Slack technically has supported GIFs for a while now, the experience in sharing them has been… poor. Thankfully, Slack itself is here to save the day and give us all a proper and native GIF-sharing experience.
Until now, the default way to search for a GIF was to type /GIPHY into the message field and pan through randomly generated images until you find the one you are looking for. Or not — there are plenty of times that I just gave up, abandoning what would have been a perfect GIF for something that’s only acceptable.
This experience also makes it easier to accidentally share a GIF you did not intend to choose. Basically, while Slack has technically supported GIFs, the experience has been in need of an upgrade for some time now. Thankfully, that’s exactly what’s happening.
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), the company announced that it is building in a native GIF-sharing experience. Instead of having to backslash your way to the perfect GIF, you can now find GIFs by clicking on the emoji picker. Next to emojis, you’ll find a new GIF section.
Not only can you search for GIFS in this section, but — my god — Slack will actually show you multiple suggested GIFs based on your search. Multiple options, without having to pan through each individual one? True innovation at work. But seriously, while this is what should have existed all along, I am certainly glad it is finally here.
Looking for the perfect GIF? We’ll help you find it in a jiff.
Starting today, you can select GIFs right within the message composer! You’ll find this new option in the “Attach” menu (the one with the + icon).
Slack’s new GIF searching experience is powered by TENOR, the GIF company currently owned by Google. It appears that GIPHY just took a hit if people start switching to this new way of finding GIFs and abandon that /GIPHY method from the days of old.
If you want to enable the new GIF picker, you can follow the steps below for the Free, Pro, and Business+ plans:
- From your desktop, click your workspace name in the sidebar.
- Hover over Tools & settings, then select Workspace settings from the menu.
- Next to GIFs, click Expand.
- Check or uncheck the box next to Enable the GIF picker, then click Save.
For those on the Enterprise Grid plan, follow the steps below:
- From your desktop, click your organization name in the sidebar.
- Hover over Tools & settings, then select Organization Settings from the menu.
- From the left sidebar, select Settings, then click Organization Settings.
- Next to GIFs, click Edit.
- Check or uncheck the box next to Enable attaching GIFs, then click Save.
You can learn more about the new GIF picker on Slack’s support page.
We’ll have to see if business administrators actually turn on the GIF picker for their employees to enjoy. They might as well since everyone is already spamming the chat with GIFs anyway. If you’re going to spam the chat, you might as well make it easier for people to find the perfect GIFs, right?
I am forever on a mission to have my title at work changed to King of the Memes. Today’s update gets me one step closer to making that a reality.
