Teams | Collaboration | Customer Service | Project Management

At World Summit AI on October 9th, Rachel Shepard shared how Atlassian tackled this challenge by rethinking the presentation of ‘agents’ in AI design. Rachel, an AI design leader at Atlassian, shares a recent case study from a cross-functional design sprint that explores how we should introduce agents to users and why the team moved away from agent-focused UX in favor of simpler, composable Skills. Rachel brings deep experience in AI platform design and responsible AI frameworks.

The Slack MCP server and Real-Time Search API are now generally available.

It feels like we’re caught between two worlds right now. On one side, the comfort of working from home – the quiet mornings, no commute, the familiar rhythm of logging in from the kitchen table. On the other hand, the old pull of the office, with its buzz, the face-to-face talks, the endless meetings, and the sense of being constantly “watched.” That’s why the latest remote work statistics matter so much. They cut through the noise and tell us what’s really happening.

Two recent data points sum up the story of AI deployment so far. First: Enterprise AI spend is predicted to hit almost $115B in 2026, signalling the urgency with which the technology is being adopted. Second: Only 15% of AI decision-makers reported a revenue lift for their organization in the past 12 months, meaning the reality is yet to match the hype.

To use or not to use? That is the question that keeps fueling debates across forums, blogs, newsletters, and social feeds. Since its official release in 2022, ChatGPT has made an impressive amount of noise in the digital space. It was a genuinely innovative step forward. And at the same time, a trigger for existential panic mixed with big, almost utopian hopes about the future.

Team communication tools have evolved significantly over the past decade. What began as simple chat applications designed to replace emails have now transformed into intelligent collaboration platforms capable of understanding context, predicting needs, and improving productivity at scale. At the center of this transformation is artificial intelligence (AI). AI is no longer an experimental feature in workplace tools. It is actively reshaping how teams communicate, collaborate, and make decisions.