concept · explanation

AI generation and rendering

Understand how ai generation and rendering works in Slash Social.

Overview

AI captions, planning suggestions, and rendered video take longer than a Slack modal can wait. Slash Social runs that work in the background so you can keep moving in Create, Plan, and Insights. You submit from a modal, get an immediate acknowledgment, and receive a DM or App Home update when the job finishes or fails.

This article explains the two background paths, where AI appears in the product, and what to do when generation or rendering does not complete.

How it works

Slash Social separates generation from rendering:

  • Generation produces text, hashtags, alt text, planning suggestions, and daily prompt hooks from your brand context. It counts against monthly AI generation limits on your plan.
  • Rendering builds motion assets such as reels when the selected format needs composed video or image output.

Both paths run outside the three-second Slack response window. The create modal closes or updates first. Completion and failure signals arrive later through Slack messages or App Home refreshes.

Where AI shows up

AI planning assist is included on Free, Starter, Team, and Scale plans. Use it in Plan when you want AI-assisted week suggestions based on cadence, pillars, and brand context.

Daily prompt AI delivers voice-matched hooks for teams that want a daily starting point. It appears in Insights and Create flows tied to the daily prompt feature.

In Create, AI actions can fill a full post or individual fields before you attach media and choose a schedule intent. Open the create flow from App Home, /social-create, or the Command Palette. The create modal can stack with media management, preview, and generation status steps as you work.

After you submit, the item may land in draft saved, queued, or pending approval depending on your choices.

When generation fails

If generation does not finish, the item moves to generation failed. Create home and failed-job views show a count you can open to retry when the product offers it. A DM may also include a retry action. See Retry a failed generation for the full recovery path.

When rendering fails

Formats that require rendered previews depend on the rendering service. When rendering fails, the item stays out of approval until media is valid. Check account connection, format rules, and attached media before you retry from Slack or edit the draft.

Why it matters

Knowing the split between generation and rendering helps you set expectations with your team. Text and planning work usually finishes in seconds to minutes. Motion rendering can take longer when video composition is involved.

You also avoid duplicate work. If a modal already acknowledged your request, wait for the follow-up message instead of submitting again. If the status shows generation failed, use the failed-job views or troubleshooting guide rather than creating a second draft from scratch.

Creators, approvers, and admins all interact with the same item states. Approvers should expect drafts to arrive without valid media when rendering is still running or has failed.