How to Log Slack Messages to Copper with Zapier

Zapier Dashboard > Create Zap > Trigger > Search Apps

Create a new Zap and connect Slack

Log into Zapier at zapier.com and click the orange 'Create Zap' button in the left sidebar. You'll land in the Zap editor. In the Trigger box, search for 'Slack' and select it from the results. Zapier will prompt you to choose a Slack account — click 'Sign in to Slack' and authorize through the OAuth popup. Make sure you authorize the workspace that contains your customer channels.

1. 1Click 'Create Zap' in the left sidebar
2. 2Click the Trigger box labeled 'Search for an app'
3. 3Type 'Slack' and select it from the dropdown
4. 4Click 'Sign in to Slack' and complete the OAuth flow
5. 5Click 'Continue' after the green Connected badge appears

Zap Editor > Trigger > Event dropdown

Choose the Slack trigger event

With Slack selected, click the 'Event' dropdown under 'Trigger Event.' Choose 'New Message Posted to Channel' — this fires instantly via webhook every time a new message lands in the channel you'll configure next. Do not choose 'New Mention' unless you specifically only want @-mention messages logged; that will miss most conversation messages.

1. 1Click the 'Event' dropdown
2. 2Select 'New Message Posted to Channel'
3. 3Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Configure > Channel

Select the customer Slack channel

In the 'Channel' dropdown, select the specific Slack channel you want to monitor — for example, #acme-corp or a general #customer-comms channel. If you manage multiple customer channels, you'll need to create separate Zaps per channel or use a naming convention that a single channel catches (some teams funnel all customer messages into one #customer-log channel via a Slack workflow). Click 'Continue' after selecting the channel.

1. 1Click the 'Channel' dropdown
2. 2Search for or scroll to your target channel (e.g. #acme-corp)
3. 3Select the channel
4. 4Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Test Trigger

Test the Slack trigger

Click 'Test Trigger' — Zapier pulls the 3 most recent messages from the selected channel. Pick one that looks like a real customer conversation (not a bot notification). This sample will be used throughout the rest of the Zap setup for field mapping. If Zapier returns 'No results found,' post a test message to the channel first, then re-run the test.

1. 1Click 'Test Trigger'
2. 2Review the 3 sample messages Zapier returns
3. 3Select the most representative message sample
4. 4Click 'Continue with Selected Record'

Zap Editor > + (between steps) > Filter by Zapier

Add a Filter to exclude bot and automated messages

Click the '+' icon between the trigger and your next action. Select 'Filter by Zapier.' Set the condition to: 'User' does not contain 'bot' AND 'Text' is not empty. This prevents Slack app notifications, CI/CD alerts, and blank system messages from creating junk Activity records in Copper. Without this filter, your Copper contact timelines will fill with noise within days.

1. 1Click the '+' button between the trigger and the next action step
2. 2Select 'Filter by Zapier' from the app list
3. 3Set Filter Condition 1: 'User' — 'Does not contain' — 'bot'
4. 4Click '+ AND' to add a second condition
5. 5Set Filter Condition 2: 'Text' — 'Exists' (is not empty)
6. 6Click 'Continue'

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Zap Editor > Action > Search Apps > Copper > Sign In

Add a Copper action and connect your account

Click the '+' button after your filter step and search for 'Copper' in the app list. Select it. Zapier will ask you to choose a Copper account — click 'Sign in to Copper.' You'll need your Copper API key, which lives in Copper under Settings > Integrations > API Keys. Copy that key, paste it into Zapier, then enter the email address associated with your Copper account.

1. 1Click '+' to add an action step
2. 2Search for 'Copper' and select it
3. 3Click 'Sign in to Copper'
4. 4In Copper, navigate to Settings > Integrations > API Keys and copy your key
5. 5Paste the API key and your Copper email into the Zapier connection modal
6. 6Click 'Yes, Continue to Copper'

Zap Editor > Action > Copper > Event dropdown

Choose the Copper action event

With Copper connected, select the action event from the dropdown. Choose 'Create Activity.' This creates a timestamped log entry attached to a Copper contact or lead record — exactly what you want for communication history. Do not choose 'Update Contact' here; that would overwrite contact fields rather than append a new interaction to the timeline.

1. 1Click the 'Event' dropdown under Copper
2. 2Select 'Create Activity'
3. 3Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Action > Copper > Configure

Map Slack message data to Copper Activity fields

This is the critical mapping step. Set 'Parent Type' to 'Person' (or 'Lead' if you're logging pre-sales conversations). For 'Parent ID,' you'll need the Copper contact ID — see the warning below for how to handle this. Set 'Activity Type' to 'Note' or a custom type you've created in Copper for Slack messages. In the 'Details' field, map the Slack 'Text' field from the trigger. Also include the Slack 'Permalink' and 'Timestamp' so the full context is one click away from Copper.

1. 1Set 'Parent Type' to 'Person'
2. 2Set 'Parent ID' to the Copper contact ID (see warning about lookup step)
3. 3Set 'Activity Type' to 'Note' or your custom Slack activity type
4. 4Click the 'Details' field and insert the Slack 'Text' variable
5. 5Append the Slack 'Permalink' and formatted 'Timestamp' to the Details field

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Zap Editor > + (before Create Activity) > Copper > Find Person

Add a 'Find Person in Copper' step (if needed)

If you don't have the Copper contact ID available from Slack data, insert a Copper 'Find Person' action before Step 8. Set the search to match by email address. This requires the customer's email to exist somewhere in your Slack data — common approaches are: (1) the channel topic contains the email, (2) a Slack custom field stores it, or (3) your team includes the email in a specific message format. Once found, use the returned 'ID' field in the Parent ID mapping back in the Create Activity step.

1. 1Click '+' to insert a step before 'Create Activity'
2. 2Select 'Copper' and choose 'Find Person'
3. 3Map the email field from your Slack data source to the search field
4. 4Enable 'Create Copper record if not found' only if you want auto-creation
5. 5Click 'Test Step' to confirm a matching contact is returned

Zap Editor > Action > Copper > Test Step

Test the full Zap end-to-end

Click 'Test Step' on the Copper Create Activity action. Zapier sends the mapped data to Copper using the sample Slack message from Step 4. After the test completes, open Copper, navigate to the contact record you expected to be updated, and check the Activity tab. You should see a new Note entry with the Slack message text, timestamp, and permalink. If the activity doesn't appear, check the Zapier task log for the error detail.

1. 1Click 'Test Step' in the Copper action panel
2. 2Wait for the green 'Test was successful' confirmation
3. 3Open Copper and navigate to the test contact record
4. 4Click the 'Activity' tab on the contact
5. 5Confirm the new Note entry shows the Slack message text and permalink

Zap Editor > Name field (top) > Publish Zap button

Name and publish the Zap

Give your Zap a clear name like 'Slack #acme-corp → Copper Activity Log' so it's identifiable in your Zap dashboard later. Click 'Publish Zap' in the top right. The Zap switches to 'On' status and begins listening for new Slack messages immediately via webhook. Test it live by posting a message to the monitored channel and confirming the activity appears in Copper within 2 minutes.

1. 1Click the Zap name field at the top of the editor and type a descriptive name
2. 2Click 'Publish Zap' in the upper right corner
3. 3Confirm the Zap status shows 'On' in green
4. 4Post a real test message to the monitored Slack channel
5. 5Check Copper after 60-90 seconds to confirm the Activity was created

Paste this into a 'Code by Zapier' step inserted between the Slack trigger and the Copper action. It formats the raw Slack Unix timestamp into a readable date, builds a clean Details string that includes the channel name, sender, message body, and permalink — and truncates messages over 2000 characters to stay within Copper's activity field limit. Configure inputData with the Slack fields from your trigger step.

// Code by Zapier — Slack message formatter for Copper Activity
// Maps to: inputData.text, inputData.username, inputData.channel, inputData.timestamp, inputData.permalink
const rawText = inputData.text || '';

// Code by Zapier — Slack message formatter for Copper Activity
// Maps to: inputData.text, inputData.username, inputData.channel, inputData.timestamp, inputData.permalink

const rawText = inputData.text || '';
const username = inputData.username || 'Unknown user';
const channel = inputData.channel || 'Unknown channel';
const permalink = inputData.permalink || '';
const unixTimestamp = parseFloat(inputData.timestamp) || Date.now() / 1000;

// Convert Unix timestamp to readable date (YYYY-MM-DD for Copper)
const messageDate = new Date(unixTimestamp * 1000);
const activityDate = messageDate.toISOString().split('T')[0]; // e.g. 2023-12-01

// Truncate message body to 1800 chars to leave room for metadata
const MAX_BODY_LENGTH = 1800;
const truncatedText = rawText.length > MAX_BODY_LENGTH
  ? rawText.substring(0, MAX_BODY_LENGTH) + '... [truncated]'
  : rawText;

// Build the full Details string for the Copper Activity
const details = [
  `Slack message from ${username} in #${channel}`,
  `Sent: ${messageDate.toUTCString()}`,
  '',
  truncatedText,
  '',
  permalink ? `View original message: ${permalink}` : ''
].join('\n').trim();

return {
  formattedDetails: details,
  activityDate: activityDate,
  senderUsername: username
};