Remote and hybrid teams often face communication challenges: scattered tools, siloed workflows, and lost context. Сhoosing the right communication platform is crucial for task planning and productive work.
In this article, we explore five popular tools used by teams for communication and planning, highlight their key features, and compare their performance.
What makes a great cross functional communication tool?
The right tool for cross-functional processes for team communication goes beyond just sending messages. Here are the features that matter most:
Сollaboration features: A good communication platform should let team members share updates, files, and insights without barriers. It should support group chats, direct messages, and easy sharing of documents so everyone can stay in the loop.
AI-powered memory retention: Teams often revisit past decisions or need to reference earlier discussions. A tool that remembers conversations and keeps track of business context saves time and prevents repeated questions.
Smart replies and context-aware assistance: AI-driven suggestions, reminders, and smart replies help teams respond faster and keep conversations focused. Context-aware features make sure that suggestions are relevant to the ongoing discussion. Users can also trigger Smart Reply using their voice for faster responses. Simply click the voice icon in the message bar, and after speaking, choose to send it as a voice message (right button) or use AI Smart Reply to fine-tune your message (left button).
Multi-platform integration: Most teams use a mix of tools like Slack, Gmail, Outlook, WhatsApp, and more. The best communication platforms bring these together, so users don’t have to switch between apps to find information or chat with colleagues.
Security and compliance: Business conversations often involve sensitive information. A reliable tool should offer strong encryption and meet compliance standards.
Internal AI-powered search: AI-powered search lets users locate past messages, files, or decisions quickly.
Knowledge base: A built-in knowledge base helps teams store and access important documents, FAQs, and guidelines. This reduces repeated questions and keeps everyone informed.
Tanka AI is the first messenger built for founders and fast-growing teams who need not just chat, but a communication tool with long-term memory. Unlike traditional chat tools, Tanka’s AI remembers key discussions, project updates, and business context across all your teams. This means you don’t have to repeat information or dig through endless chat logs to find what you need. Tanka is built for teams managing complex workflows within their own organization, where keeping track of decisions and sharing knowledge between different departments is critical.
Tanka brings together your favorite apps like Slack, Gmail, WhatsApp, and Notion-into one platform, making it easier to communicate without switching tools. Its AI-powered memory, smart replies, and internal search help teams stay organized and productive, especially when projects span multiple teams or departments.
Key features of Tanka AI
AI long-term memory: Remembers key discussions, project updates, and decisions, making team AI knowledgebase easy to access. Users don’t have to repeat themselves or dig through old chats and documents. Tanka understands business context and develops over time to provide smarter, up-to-date support.
Smart replies: Provides fast, context-aware responses in both team chats and emails.
Integration: Connects with Slack, Gmail, WhatsApp, Notion, G suite, and more, centralizing communication in one place.
Internal AI-powered search: Instantly searches across all chats, files, and project updates, so you can quickly find information.
Team Wiki: Offers a shared knowledge base that allows teams to organize information by project, department, or function. It serves as a foundation for AI assistants to generate responses.
Co-Memory: Team members can upload documentation, reports, and other project materials into a shared memory space. This collective knowledge is accessible to everyone and continuously informs the AI assistant.
AI assistant: Helps organize information, schedule meetings, and track deadlines based on your team’s needs.
Enterprise security: Ensures all data is encrypted and compliant with business standards.
Tanka’s unique combination of AI memory, smart features, and integrations makes it a strong choice for various teams that need reliable, context-aware cross-team communication, accommodating different working styles.
2. Slack
Slack is a popular communication platform. Used by a wide range of businesses, including over 80% of the Fortune 100, Slack helps teams stay connected, share updates, and manage projects through organized channels and direct messages.
Slack’s AI features, such as advanced search and daily recaps, help teams keep track of important conversations and quickly find information. Slack is suitable for both small teams and large enterprises.
Key features of Slack
Channels and direct messaging: Organizes conversations by topic, project, or team.
Slack AI: Offers AI-powered search, conversation summaries, and daily recaps to keep teams up to date.
App integrations: Connects with over 2,600 apps, including Google Drive, Salesforce, and Asana.
Slack connect: Users can collaborate with external partners and clients securely in shared communication channels.
Audio and video calls: Supports 1:1 and group audio/video meetings, plus screen sharing for real-time collaboration.
Enterprise security: Includes encryption, SSO, and compliance features for businesses of all sizes.
Slack’s combination of organized communication, automation, and integrations makes it a reliable tool for cross-team collaboration, especially for organizations with diverse workflows and external partners.
Microsoft Teams is an internal collaboration platform built to support communication and teamwork across organizations of all sizes. It’s widely used by businesses that rely on Microsoft’s ecosystem, offering a familiar interface and access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneDrive.
Key features of Microsoft Teams
Video conferencing and meetings: Hosts 1:1 or group video calls, webinars, and live events with built-in scheduling and recording.
AI-powered meeting tools: Provides intelligent recaps, real-time transcriptions, and translation.
Microsoft 365 integration: Works with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, and SharePoint within the Teams platform.
File sharing and collaboration: Allows users to share, edit, and co-author files in real time.
App integrations: Connects with hundreds of business apps, including Trello, Asana, and Salesforce.
Security and compliance: Key benefit is its enterprise-grade security, encryption, and compliance with industry standards.
Microsoft Teams is a good choice for organizations already using Microsoft 365. Its combination of communication, collaboration, and AI-powered productivity tools helps teams work together productively, whether they’re in the office or working remotely.
4. Asana
Asana is a work management platform designed to help teams plan, track, and complete projects in one place. It connects daily tasks to broader company goals, giving teams clear visibility into progress and priorities. Asana’s AI automates routine tasks such as capturing, prioritizing, and assigning requests.
Key features of Asana
Project and task management: Allows users to plan, organize, and track work.
AI-powered workflows: Helps automate routine tasks such as capturing, prioritizing, and assigning requests.
Collaboration tools: Lets users to comment on tasks, share files, and communicate directly within projects to keep everyone aligned.
Integrations: Connects with popular tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, and more.
Reporting and dashboards: Visualizes project's progress, workload, and team performance.
Security and compliance: Meets enterprise security standards to protect company data and ensure compliance.
Asana’s strength lies in combining task management with AI to reduce manual work and keep teams focused on what matters. It makes cross team communication around projects more transparent and effective.
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5. Notion
Notion is an all-in-one workspace designed to help teams organize knowledge, manage projects, and collaborate on documents in a single, customizable platform. It supports a wide range of content types, from notes and wikis to project boards and calendars, allowing teams to adapt their workspace to fit their workflow.
Key features of Notion
Connected workspace: Combines docs, wikis, project management, and databases in one place for easy access and sharing.
Notion AI: Assists with brainstorming, summarizing, content generation, translation, and smart search.
Knowledge management: Offers a flexible team wiki to store, organize, and share information across departments.
Content collaboration: Enables real-time editing, comments, and feedback from teammates on any document or page.
Integrations: Connects with Slack, Google Drive, and other apps to bring external content into Notion.
Security & permissions: Offers granular access controls to manage who can view or edit information.
Notion is especially useful for teams that need a flexible, searchable workspace to manage both knowledge and projects. Its AI-powered features and integrations make it a practical choice for improving cross-team communication.
Yes – Retains key discussions, project updates, and business context
Limited – Threaded history, but no persistent AI memory
Limited – Conversation history, but not AI-powered memory
No – Focuses on task/project tracking, not long-term chat memory
Yes – AI-powered memory for docs, wikis, and connected sources
Smart replies & AI-powered suggestions
Yes – Context-aware smart replies and AI suggestions in chats/emails
Yes – AI-powered summaries, recaps, and message suggestions
Yes – AI-powered meeting recaps, translation, and suggestions
Yes – AI-powered workflow automation and task suggestions
Yes – AI Q&A, content generation, and smart search across knowledge
Managing a company’s knowledge base
Yes – Built-in team wiki/co-memory for shared knowledge
No – Relies on integrations for documentation and wikis
No – Relies on SharePoint or OneNote for knowledge base
Limited – Project documentation only, not a full knowledge base
Yes – Flexible team wiki and documentation, easy to organize
AI search through a company’s knowledge base
Yes – Instant AI-powered search across chats, files, and updates
Limited – Search across messages and files, not AI-powered
Limited – Search across messages and files, not AI-powered
No – Standard search for tasks/projects, not AI-driven
Yes – AI search across docs, wikis, and integrated tools
Multi-platform integration
Yes – Integrates with Slack, Gmail, WhatsApp, Notion, and more
Yes – 2,600+ app integrations including Google Drive, Asana
Yes – Integrates with Microsoft 365, Trello, Salesforce, and more
Yes – Connects with Slack, Teams, Google Drive, and other tools
Yes – Connects with Slack, Google Drive, JIRA, and others
Why AI memory transforms cross functional team collaboration
Traditional messaging platforms often let important conversations fade away, making it hard for teams to reference past decisions or maintain continuity in projects. When knowledge isn’t preserved, teams risk repeating discussions, missing key details, and losing valuable insights. AI memory changes this by capturing and storing essential conversations, decisions, and updates, so information remains accessible for team members.
AI-powered tools like Tanka AI automate the process of documenting and organizing team knowledge. Tanka creates a centralized, searchable record of discussions and outcomes. It suggests context-aware replies, making client communication faster and more consistent.
Tanka AI acts as an intelligent assistant, keeping teams aligned across different platforms and conversations. Its AI long-term memory is self-evolving, learning from every new interaction, document, and project update. Tanka can offer continually updated support and recommendations, ensuring that responses and insights always reflect the latest business context and needs.
Conclusion: why Tanka AI is the best messenger for cross-team communication
Siloed teams need more than just another messaging platform, they need a solution that remembers conversations, supports workflows, and keeps knowledge accessible. Tanka AI is built for this purpose. Its AI memory retains key discussions, project updates, and business context, making past decisions accessible and searchable for everyone involved in joint projects. Its smart replies, internal AI-powered search, and integrated knowledge base help teams stay aligned and productive.
See how AI-powered communication transforms teamwork—try Tanka today! Sign up for a free Beta
