Send a GIF in Slack and Teams (Pickers, Apps, and Admin Settings)
Sometimes the only correct reply is a dancing cat. Both Slack and Microsoft Teams build a GIF search right into the message box, and both are powered by Giphy behind the scenes, so the library is the same. What differs is where the button lives and what your admin can turn off. This guide covers sending on desktop and mobile plus the admin controls, according to each product's help pages.
Miles Crawford
The quick version
In Slack, click the smiley face icon in the message field, choose GIFs, search and pick one. In Teams, select the Emoji, GIFs and Stickers button on the right side of the message box and browse or search. Both search Giphy's library, and in both apps an owner or admin can switch the picker off, so if you do not see the option, that is the first thing to check.
Slack: send a GIF
On desktop, click the smiley face icon in the message field to open the menu, click GIFs, search for the one you want, select it to add it to your message and press Send. On mobile, tap the message field, tap the smiley face icon, tap GIFs, search, tap your pick and tap Send.
Per Slack's help page, this is available to all members and guests by default on every plan. GIF functionality in Slack is powered by Giphy, and Slack notes that additional terms apply.
Slack: admin controls and the GIPHY app
Owners and admins can remove the GIF picker. On Free, Pro and Business+ plans: from desktop, click Admin in the sidebar, select Workspace settings, expand Attach a GIF, and check or uncheck Enable the GIF picker, then Save. On Enterprise plans: click the organization name, hover Tools and settings, select Organization Settings, then from the left sidebar select Settings, click Organization Settings, expand Attach a GIF with Edit, toggle the picker and Save.
Two details from Slack's documentation: turning the picker off removes it from the message field but does not stop members from uploading GIF files they found elsewhere, and there is also a separate GIPHY app for Slack. When that app is installed to a workspace, any member can post a GIF in a conversation through it. So if your workspace has /giphy-style commands or a GIPHY bot, that came from the app, not the built-in picker.
Teams: send a GIF
On desktop, select Emoji, GIFs and Stickers on the right side of the message box, then search for a specific GIF or browse the galleries above the search bar. Select your pick and it lands in the compose box, then select Send. On mobile, select the GIF button beneath the compose box and use the search bar at the top or browse the popular collection.
The same menu covers emoji and stickers. Microsoft's help notes that some memes and stickers carry an edit icon and can be customized with your own caption before sending, and that adding custom memes or stickers requires the desktop or web app. So the mobile apps cover sending from the standard galleries, while caption-making is a desktop task.
Teams: admin controls
Teams GIFs are controlled in messaging policies. Per Microsoft's documentation, the "Use Giphy in conversations" setting decides whether users can include GIFs at all, and turning it on also requires Optional Connected Experiences to be enabled for the organization. A separate setting picks the Giphy content rating: No restriction, Moderate or Strict, which filters what the search returns. So if your Teams has no GIF button, or the results feel oddly tame, both are policy choices your admin made, not a bug.
Using GIFs well at work
A few habits we would suggest: a reaction often says what a reply GIF says without adding a message to the channel, so save the GIF for when it really is the reply. In busy channels, threads keep the animation from pushing real work off screen. And when the same joke or moment keeps coming up, that is a sign it should be a custom emoji: your own version loads faster than a GIF search and becomes part of the team's vocabulary. Our custom emoji guide and animated emoji guide walk through making them, and if the animations ever get to be too much, our animation settings guide shows how to calm them down.
What to be careful about
- A missing picker is a policy choice. In both apps, owners and admins can disable GIFs, so check with them before troubleshooting your own app.
- Disabling the Slack picker does not block uploads. Members can still attach GIF files they got elsewhere.
- Teams results depend on the content rating. Your admin chooses No restriction, Moderate or Strict, and Optional Connected Experiences must be on for Giphy to work at all.
- Both pickers are Giphy. Slack and Teams both note additional Giphy terms apply to GIF search.
- Custom captions are desktop-only in Teams. Mobile handles sending from the galleries, not meme editing.
Sources
Checked October 18, 2026. The steps and admin settings follow each product's own help articles. The etiquette advice is ours.