Jack Dorsey’s latest venture isn’t a social app or a crypto wallet, it’s a group chat platform called Buzz, built to stitch together human teams and AI agents in a single, unified interface. Launched by Block, the company behind Bitcoin and Square, Buzz is positioned as a direct competitor to Slack and GitHub, two platforms that have long defined how teams communicate and manage code. But Buzz doesn’t just want to be another chat app. It’s designed to be a model-agnostic, decentralized, self-sovereign, and open-source platform, a radical departure from the closed ecosystems that dominate enterprise software today.
The core idea is simple: instead of switching between Slack for chat and GitHub for code, or juggling multiple AI tools in separate tabs, teams can manage both human collaboration and AI agents within the same conversation thread. That’s not just convenience, it’s a structural shift. Buzz allows users to assign tasks to AI agents, track progress, and pull in code repositories without leaving the chat. As first reported by TechCrunch, the platform is built to handle workflows that span both human and machine roles, a necessity as AI agents become more deeply embedded in daily operations.
One of Buzz’s most compelling features is its open-source nature. Unlike Slack’s proprietary architecture or GitHub’s closed API ecosystem, Buzz’s code is available for developers to fork, modify, and tailor to their specific needs. This isn’t just a marketing gimmick, it’s a strategic move to empower teams to customize their collaboration tools without being locked into a vendor’s roadmap. For organizations that rely on bespoke automation or hybrid workflows, this flexibility could be a game-changer.
The platform’s decentralized architecture also sets it apart. Instead of relying on a central server controlled by a single company, Buzz distributes data and control across nodes, a design that aligns with the self-sovereign principle. This means users retain ownership of their data and workflows, even as AI agents participate in those workflows. It’s a subtle but important distinction: in a world where AI is increasingly managing tasks, who owns the output? Buzz’s model suggests the team does, not the platform.
There’s a deeper trend here that Buzz is responding to: the fragmentation of enterprise tools. Slack handles chat, GitHub handles code, Notion handles docs, and dozens of other tools handle dozens of other things. That fragmentation creates friction, teams spend time switching contexts, and AI agents often operate in silos. Buzz aims to eliminate that friction by creating a single interface where AI agents can be summoned, tasks can be assigned, and code can be reviewed, all within the same conversation.
This is not just about convenience. It’s about reducing cognitive load. When AI agents are integrated into the workflow, they can handle repetitive tasks, suggest optimizations, and even draft responses, but only if they’re part of the same conversation thread. Buzz’s design forces that integration. It’s not just a chat app, it’s a workflow orchestrator.
The timing is also significant. Slack’s dominance in enterprise chat is well-established, and GitHub’s integration challenges have been widely reported. Buzz’s launch is a direct response to those market realities. It’s not just competing, it’s redefining what a collaboration platform should be. And with its open-source, decentralized model, it’s inviting developers to co-create the future of workplace automation.
For teams that are already experimenting with AI agents, Buzz offers a natural next step. It doesn’t require a complete overhaul of existing tools, it simply adds AI agents into the conversation. That’s a powerful proposition. As AI becomes more integral to productivity, tools that unify human and machine collaboration will become essential. Buzz is betting that its open-source, AI-native design will make it the platform of choice for teams that want to move beyond silos.
It’s not clear yet whether Buzz will succeed, Slack has deep enterprise roots, and GitHub’s integration with GitHub Actions and Copilot is already baked into many workflows. But Buzz’s approach is different. It’s not trying to replicate existing platforms, it’s trying to build a new kind of collaboration layer, one that’s designed for the AI era.
And that’s why it matters. As AI agents become more capable, the tools that manage them will define how teams operate. Buzz is one of the first to try to unify that process, and its open-source, decentralized model could make it more than just another chat app. It could be the foundation for a new kind of workplace automation.
For more on how to build workflow automation without losing control, check out our post on Building Workflow Automation Without Losing Control.