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Group Channels — Multi-Agent Collaboration

Groups are where Apex becomes something you can't get anywhere else. Instead of talking to one AI at a time, you put multiple agents in one room and let them work together.

What makes this different from just having multiple chat windows? In a group, agents can see each other's messages. They respond to @mentions, build on each other's work, and hand off tasks — all in one conversation thread that you can follow.

Create Your First Group

  1. Click + New Channel in the sidebar.
  2. Click New Group (instead of selecting a single persona).
  3. Give it a name — something that describes the purpose: "Product Team", "Code Review", "Research Lab".
  4. Add members — select 2 or more personas from the list. Each agent brings its own model and expertise.
  5. Click Create.

The group appears in your sidebar with a member count badge.

Talking to Agents in a Group

@mention a specific agent

Type @ in the message field to see the agent roster. Select an agent to direct your message to them.

@Architect review this database schema for scalability issues

Only Architect responds. Other agents see the exchange but stay quiet unless mentioned.

Talk to the room

Send a message without an @mention. The group's primary agent (the first one listed) responds by default.

Coming soon: @all broadcasts to every agent in the group simultaneously.

Agent-to-agent handoffs

Agents can @mention each other. When Architect finishes a design spec, it can hand off to Developer:

Architect: Here's the schema. @Developer — implement this with the migration.
Developer: On it. I'll create the migration file and the model class...

This is the collaboration pattern that makes groups powerful. You set the direction, agents coordinate the work.

Group Ideas

Product Team

Member Model Role in group
Architect Claude Opus 4.6 Technical lead, makes architecture decisions
Developer Claude Sonnet 4.6 Implements what Architect designs
Designer Claude Sonnet 4.6 Reviews UX, pushes back on poor user experience

Use for: Feature planning, code review, design critique. Give the team a feature request and watch them break it down, debate trade-offs, and produce a spec.

Research Lab

Member Model Role in group
Researcher Grok 4 Web search, current events, source finding
Analyst Claude Opus 4.6 Deep analysis, synthesis, statistical reasoning
Writer Claude Sonnet 4.6 Drafts the final report in clean prose

Use for: Market research, competitive analysis, literature review. Researcher finds the raw info, Analyst synthesizes it, Writer produces the deliverable.

Code Review Board

Member Model Role in group
Architect Claude Opus 4.6 Architecture-level review
Codex GPT-5.4 Implementation-level review, catches bugs
DevOps Claude Sonnet 4.6 Deployment, CI/CD, security review

Use for: PR reviews, security audits, deployment planning. Paste a diff and get three perspectives.

Operations Room

Member Model Role in group
Architect Claude Opus 4.6 Technical decisions, system design
Codex GPT-5.4 Background builds and code generation
Operations Claude Sonnet 4.6 Planning, tracking, coordination
Designer Claude Sonnet 4.6 UX review and user-facing design

Use for: Running your whole project. This is the "War Room" — set tasks, coordinate agents, track progress.

Tips for Effective Groups

Keep groups focused

A "Product Team" group works better than a "Everything" group. When agents know the context of the room, their responses are more relevant.

Use the right models for the right roles

Put the expensive model (Opus) on the agent that needs deep reasoning. Put a fast model (Sonnet) on agents that do implementation work. Put a local model on the utility agent that does quick lookups.

Let agents hand off to each other

The most powerful pattern is: you give a directive, and agents orchestrate the rest. "Build a REST API for user management" → Architect designs it → Developer implements it → you review.

One primary, many specialists

Every group has a primary agent (the first member). This agent responds to bare messages (no @mention). Make the primary your project lead — the one who understands context and delegates.

Group Settings

Click the ⚙️ gear icon next to the group name to access:

  • Rename the group
  • Add/remove members
  • Change the primary agent (who responds to bare messages)
  • View conversation history

Next Steps