XMTP Labs CEO Shane Mac disconnects services after AI mishap
Shane Mac, CEO of XMTP Labs, had a rough day when his finance-managing AI accidentally posted his checking and savings account balances, major monthly expenses and spending against his budget in the company's executive Slack channel.
The bot was meant to send reports privately but mixed up chat names and shared them where it shouldn't have.
After this slip-up, Mac disconnected Google, my calendars, my banking, Stripe, everything from the AI.
Grok bot now requires channel permission
Mac started building AI agents last year to handle things like finances and bookings.
By August 2026, he'd set up Grok Bot for monthly audits, but because of shared Slack connections, the bot sent sensitive information to XMTP's company executive Slack channel instead of a private one.
In response, Grok now asks for explicit user permission before agents could transfer information into other channels.
Reflecting on it all, Mac said he realized it was a reminder of the capabilities of personal AI agents, which can connect information across services and perform tasks with limited human involvement.