How to run a standup in Slack (async standup guide)

What is a standup in Slack, and why run one async?

A standup is a short daily or weekly check-in where each person shares what they are working on, what they finished, and what is blocking them. The name comes from the idea that everyone stands up in a room so the meeting stays short. In a Slack standup, there is no meeting: each person posts their update in a shared channel on a schedule, and teammates read and reply asynchronously.

Async standups work when:

• The team is spread across multiple time zones, and a live meeting excludes someone.
• The work is visible enough that a written update is all the team needs to stay coordinated.
• Blockers are rare, so most updates are informational, not urgent.

They do not work when:

• The team needs to make decisions together, not just report status.
• Written updates sit unread, and nobody replies or unblocks anyone.
• The work already shows up in Linear, Jira, or GitHub, so a daily standup adds noise.

Standup template for Slack

Copy this template into a Slack message or a Workflow Builder form:

Standup: [your name], [date]

Blockers: [anything you need from someone, with their @name, or "none"]

Yesterday:
- [finished item]
- [finished item]

Today:
- [priority task]
- [priority task]

FYI: [one line anyone should know, optional]

Put blockers first. If they sit at the bottom, people stop reading before they get there. Keep each section to outcomes, not activity: "merged the billing fix (PR link)" is better than "worked on billing."

How to set up a standup with Slack Workflow Builder

Slack Workflow Builder can post a reminder or open a form at a set time each day and send answers to a channel. This works on all paid Slack plans. Per Slack's Workflow Builder guide:

1. Open Slack, click your workspace name, then "Tools & settings," then "Workflow Builder."
2. Click "Create" and choose "Scheduled."
3. Set the schedule: "Every weekday at 9 am" or "Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 10 am."
4. Add a step: "Send a message to a channel" or "Send a form."
5. For a form: add fields for "Yesterday," "Today," and "Blockers." Choose where the answers post (usually a #standup or #team channel).
6. Test it, then turn it on.

Workflow Builder collects what people type. It does not write anything for them, so each person still fills the form from memory or by checking their tools.

Best standup bots for Slack

Standup bots ask questions, collect answers, and post summaries to a channel. They are easier to set up than Workflow Builder and often include analytics. Three options:

Verified October 29, 2026 from each vendor's public site. Prices change; check vendor sites before deciding.

Our guide to best AI standup and status bots for Slack covers these and more in detail.

Can AI write your standup for you?

It can write a solid first draft if the work left a trail. An agent that can read your connected tools can list the Linear issues you closed, the GitHub pull requests you merged, the Gmail threads you replied to, and the Slack messages you posted, then format them into the template above. What it cannot know is the conversation in the hallway or the call nobody wrote down, so the person still edits the draft before posting.

Geniusly is an AI coworker for your team in Slack. It reads the accounts you connect (Gmail, Google Drive, Google Sheets, Slack, GitHub, Linear, and Google Ads) and prepares a brief, report, status update, or handoff for a person to review. Connected apps are read-only by default, except Google Sheets edits you explicitly ask for, and Slack messages beyond its reply are posted only after your approval. Anyone in a channel it has been invited to can ask it for work, it can run a task once, daily, or weekly, and it has a Free plan.

For a standup, a scheduled request like "every weekday at 9 am, draft my standup from my Linear issues, GitHub pull requests and Gmail sent yesterday" gets you a draft to correct in under a minute. Get started with Geniusly free.

Standup best practices

• Post blockers first. If someone needs help, that is the most important line.
• Keep it to outcomes, not activity. "Shipped the new pricing page" is better than "worked on pricing."
• Link the work. A link to the PR, the doc, or the ticket lets teammates check it in one click.
• Read and react. If nobody reads standups or unblocks anyone, the team will stop posting. A manager who reacts, even with an emoji, keeps the habit alive.
• Skip it if your work already shows up in a tracker. If the team can see your Linear board or GitHub activity, a daily standup may be redundant. Try a weekly update instead.

Alternatives to daily standups

Not every team needs a daily standup. Consider these instead:

• Weekly status update: One update per week, usually on Friday, with what closed, what is in progress, and what is blocked. See our guide to how to automate weekly status reports in Slack.
• Project board: If your work lives in Linear, Asana, or Jira, set up notifications for status changes and blockers rather than asking people to write daily updates.
• End-of-day report: A short note at the end of each day, not the start. Useful for remote teams across many time zones. See our EOD report template.
• No standup at all: If the team is small, co-located, or always in sync, standups may be overhead. Try skipping them for a week and see if coordination suffers.

Frequently asked questions

What is an async standup?

An async standup is a written check-in where each person posts what they did, what they are doing today, and what is blocking them, without a live meeting. Teammates read and reply asynchronously.

How do I run a standup in Slack?

Use Slack Workflow Builder to post a form or reminder at a set time each day, or use a standup bot like Geekbot, Standuply, or Daily Bot. Each person fills the form, and answers post to a shared channel.

What should I include in a standup?

Three things: blockers first, what you did yesterday, and what you are doing today. Keep it to outcomes, not activity, and link the work.

Can AI write my standup?

It can draft it if your work lives in connected tools like Linear, GitHub, Gmail, or Google Sheets. You still review and edit the draft before posting.

When should you skip daily standups?

Skip them when your work already shows up in a tracker, when nobody reads or replies to them, or when the team is small enough to stay coordinated without them. Try a weekly update instead.