diff --git a/integrations/slack/src/handlers/events.ts b/integrations/slack/src/handlers/events.ts
index 324657745..872639129 100644
--- a/integrations/slack/src/handlers/events.ts
+++ b/integrations/slack/src/handlers/events.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { FetchEventCallback } from '@gitbook/runtime';
 
 import { SlackRuntimeContext } from '../configuration';
-import { parseEventPayload } from '../utils';
+import { isAllowedToRespond, parseEventPayload } from '../utils';
 
 /**
  * Handle an event from Slack.
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ export function createSlackEventsHandler(
         const eventPayload = await parseEventPayload(request);
 
         // url_verification doesn't have an event object
-        const { type, bot_id } = eventPayload.event ?? eventPayload;
+        const { type } = eventPayload.event ?? eventPayload;
 
         const handler = handlers[type];
 
@@ -31,11 +31,11 @@ export function createSlackEventsHandler(
             });
         }
 
-        const isExternalChannel = eventPayload.is_ext_shared_channel;
-
         // check for bot_id so that the bot doesn't trigger itself
         // check whether this was triggered from an external channel
-        if (bot_id || isExternalChannel) {
+
+        // if (bot_id || isExternalChannel) {
+        if (!isAllowedToRespond(eventPayload)) {
             return new Response(null, {
                 status: 200,
             });
diff --git a/integrations/slack/src/handlers/handlers.ts b/integrations/slack/src/handlers/handlers.ts
index 7b55ad819..33c918081 100644
--- a/integrations/slack/src/handlers/handlers.ts
+++ b/integrations/slack/src/handlers/handlers.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { Logger } from '@gitbook/runtime';
 import type { SlashEvent } from './commands';
 import { notifyOnlySupportedThreads, queryLens, saveThread } from '../actions';
 import { SlackRuntimeContext } from '../configuration';
-import { isSaveThreadMessage, stripBotName } from '../utils';
+import { isAllowedToRespond, isSaveThreadMessage, stripBotName } from '../utils';
 
 const logger = Logger('slack:api');
 
@@ -39,11 +39,10 @@ export async function queryLensSlashHandler(slashEvent: SlashEvent, context: Sla
  */
 export async function messageEventHandler(eventPayload: any, context: SlackRuntimeContext) {
     // pull out required params from the event for queryLens
-    const { type, text, bot_id, thread_ts, channel, user, team } = eventPayload.event;
-    const isExternalChannel = eventPayload.is_ext_shared_channel;
+    const { type, text, thread_ts, channel, user, team } = eventPayload.event;
 
     // check for bot_id so that the bot doesn't trigger itself
-    if (['message', 'app_mention'].includes(type) && !bot_id && !isExternalChannel) {
+    if (['message', 'app_mention'].includes(type) && isAllowedToRespond(eventPayload)) {
         // strip out the bot-name in the mention and account for user mentions within the query
         // @ts-ignore
         const parsedQuery = stripBotName(text, eventPayload.authorizations[0]?.user_id);
@@ -73,11 +72,10 @@ export async function messageEventHandler(eventPayload: any, context: SlackRunti
  */
 export async function appMentionEventHandler(eventPayload: any, context: SlackRuntimeContext) {
     // pull out required params from the slashEvent for queryLens
-    const { type, text, bot_id, thread_ts, channel, user, team } = eventPayload.event;
-    const isExternalChannel = eventPayload.is_ext_shared_channel;
+    const { type, text, thread_ts, channel, user, team } = eventPayload.event;
 
     // check for bot_id so that the bot doesn't trigger itself
-    if (['message', 'app_mention'].includes(type) && !bot_id && !isExternalChannel) {
+    if (['message', 'app_mention'].includes(type) && isAllowedToRespond(eventPayload)) {
         // strip out the bot-name in the mention and account for user mentions within the query
         // @ts-ignore
         const parsedMessage = stripBotName(text, eventPayload.authorizations[0]?.user_id);
diff --git a/integrations/slack/src/utils.ts b/integrations/slack/src/utils.ts
index 479bebca4..38fb7adf4 100644
--- a/integrations/slack/src/utils.ts
+++ b/integrations/slack/src/utils.ts
@@ -122,3 +122,11 @@ export function isSaveThreadMessage(message: string) {
 
     return false;
 }
+
+// Checks whether we should respond to a slack event
+export function isAllowedToRespond(eventPayload: any) {
+    const { bot_id } = eventPayload.event;
+    const isExternalChannel = eventPayload.is_ext_shared_channel;
+
+    return !bot_id && !isExternalChannel;
+}