WeChat’s competitor to Slack has arrived

WeChat, meet Slack.

Today, WeChat launched version 1.0 of its hotly-anticipated office chat app, WeChat Enterprise.

WeSlack (not its real name, but it does have a nice ring to it) is free, is only available in Chinese via apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and OS X. But using the program isn’t quite as simple as just downloading and logging in – as we found out below.

Business casual

Like we said at the app’s announcement, WeChat Enterprise includes a number of features that are familiar territory to those who have used business chat apps. But it also has some welcome innovations.

The service can essentially replace group email, and make quick chats between colleagues easier. It has useful add-ons like the ability for an employee to mark when they are on a break, hold group voice/text chats, and allows for companies to build in specific features like automated forms for reimbursements, vacations, and the like.

Screenshots via Apple App Store.

Employees can even make calls via WeChat Enterprise that are charged to their company’s bill – an offer that we haven’t seen in similar office chat programs.

WeSlack (sorry, but that is a catchy name) also allows for users to embrace their less formal side, with support for the personal chat client’s emoticons and animated stickers.

According to a post on QQ Tech – a website owned by WeChat’s parent company, Tencent – the service has been in a closed beta since early March.

To register on WeSlack, you need an official Chinese business license.

While today technically marks the service’s launch, it’s not quite as easy to use WeChat Enterprise as it is to start up a random Slack group. Companies that already have official business WeChat accounts (as many Chinese companies do) are already registered, and just need to go through a few steps on the WeChat Enterprise website.

But if you’re a small startup – or not in China – you may be out of luck for now. To register on WeChat Enterprise, you need an official Chinese business license. There is no word on if/when the service will be available outside of the country.

If you work for a Chinese company and are determined to take WeChat Enterprise for a spin, now is the time to message your boss and tell them to register with Tencent. If they agree, then that may be one of the last work emails you’ll need to send for a while.