CommentShark is a web app that helps you scale engagement with your YouTube audience. It's the ultimate YouTube comment management tool. CommentShark allows you to quickly respond to comments, reply to multiple comments at once, use the help of AI to generate replies, template repetitive responses, search and filter your comments, find your top commenters, see your history with them, and much more!

CommentShark connects to your YouTube channel via the official API. You set up "Rules" that match specific text, use AI classification, or text matching patterns. When a new comment matches a rule, CommentShark can automatically reply, moderate (hold for review or reject), or delete the comment—running 24/7 in the background. You choose whether actions happen automatically or require your approval.

YouTube Studio lets you moderate comments manually — one at a time. CommentShark adds automation on top: keyword rules, AI classification, auto-replies, scheduled moderation, and bulk actions across all your videos. Think of it as YouTube Studio's comment tools on autopilot.

Absolutely. We use official YouTube APIs and OAuth 2.0 for secure authentication. We only request the permissions necessary to manage your comments. We don't store your password, and you can revoke access at any time via your Google Account settings. See more at our Terms of Service.

To get started, simply sign up with your Google account and link your YouTube channel. From there, you can start exploring the different features and configure your settings. Just login at /dashboard to get started.

Yes — new accounts get 7 days free on any paid plan (Plus, Pro, or Premium). Visit the Billing page and pick a plan; you'll enter a card at checkout but won't be charged until the 7-day trial ends. Cancel anytime before then via "Manage Subscription" and you won't be charged. Each account is eligible for one trial. A Free tier is also available if you'd rather skip the trial.

CommentShark has a flexible pricing model to suit your needs. Current plans include:

• Free: 15 automated actions per month.
• CommentShark Plus ($9.99/mo): 300 automated actions per month plus AI features.
• CommentShark Pro ($19.99/mo): 1,500 automated actions per month.
• CommentShark Premium ($49.99/mo): 3,000 automated actions per month plus priority support.

See the latest details on our pricing page.

If you reach your monthly limit for comment actions, the system will pause sending replies until your next billing cycle or until you upgrade your plan. You'll be notified so you never miss a beat.

Not currently. All our plans are billed on a monthly basis, giving you the flexibility to upgrade, downgrade, or cancel at any time without long-term commitments.

Use the Contact Sales form and share your team size, goals, and comment volume. We'll follow up with a tailored enterprise plan.

You can cancel your subscription at any time from the Billing page in your dashboard. Click "Manage Subscription" to open the customer portal where you can manage your plan or cancel. Your features will remain active until the end of your current billing period.

Each CommentShark account is linked to one YouTube channel. If you own one channel and have been invited to manage others via Team Access, you can switch between them from your Profile page. If you only have delegate access and do not have your own connected channel, use the Team Member Sign In page to get a delegate magic link.

CommentShark accounts are created by the YouTube channel owner through Google sign-in. If you manage or work on a channel but are not the account owner, you cannot sign up directly — the owner needs to create the account first, then invite you as a team member.

Once the owner has signed up, they can go to Settings → Team Access and invite you by email. You'll receive a magic link to accept the invite — no YouTube credentials or CommentShark subscription required on your end.

If you've already been invited and just need to log in again, use the Team Member Sign In page to request a fresh magic link.

Yes! You can invite team members to help manage your CommentShark account without sharing your YouTube credentials. Go to Settings → Team Access to invite people by email. You can assign roles like Admin (full access except billing), Editor (can reply and manage rules), or Viewer (read-only). Team members will receive an invite link at their email address, and returning delegates can use the Team Member Sign In page to request a fresh login link later. Only the channel owner can upgrade, cancel, or otherwise manage billing.

You can permanently delete your account and all associated data from the Profile page in your dashboard. Scroll to the bottom to find the "Danger Zone". This action is irreversible.

Sign in with your YouTube account, create auto reply rules with text match or AI triggers, choose a response template or AI-generated reply, and activate the rule so CommentShark can post for you 24/7.

Auto reply rules combine a match condition, a response, and a posting mode. CommentShark monitors incoming comments, checks them against your rule logic, and either posts immediately or queues the reply for approval based on your settings.

Yes. You can create reusable templates with variables, add AI instructions for tone or talking points, and tailor responses for different scenarios so every automated comment still sounds on brand.

Yes! You can choose between Autonomous mode (replies are posted immediately) or Approval Required mode. In Approval Required mode, all AI-generated replies go to a queue where you can edit, approve, or reject them before they go live.

Yes. Paid plans can retroactively replay rules on older comments from a single video or from a channel date in the past. Replayed matches count against your normal monthly execution quota, action emails stay suppressed, user-initiated replays have a 40-hour cooldown between runs, and past-date channel replays use the calendar date you selected in your local time zone.

We use advanced AI models to analyze the sentiment and context of each comment. You can set custom instructions (e.g., "Be polite and grateful" or "Answer as a pirate") or use our smart templates. The AI generates a unique, personalized response that sounds like you. It learns from your previous replies to provide more natural responses, and you can provide more context to the AI to help it generate more accurate responses.

Comment actions execute after comments are synced from YouTube. Paid channels sync every hour, so the average response time is around 30 minutes. Free tier channels sync every 2 hours, so actions typically take 1-2 hours. This sync schedule ensures reliable delivery while managing API quota efficiently. You can monitor processed comments and see which ones matched your rules in the Activity tab.

The first time CommentShark loads your comments into our database (for example when you open the Comments page or a video for the first time after connecting), we do not run reply rules on that ingest. That prevents flooding old threads with automated replies. After that, new comments are eligible once they appear in a sync. On paid plans, background sync runs about hourly; opening Comments while logged in can also refresh from YouTube if your data is more than about a minute stale.

Yes! Use the "Test all rules" button on the auto-reply rules page. Simply paste sample comment text to instantly see which rules match, why they matched, and what response would be generated, without posting anything to YouTube. This is the fastest way to verify your rule logic without waiting for actual comments.

No. Automation rules are forward-looking only—they only apply to new comments that arrive after you enable the rule. This prevents accidentally spamming replies on old videos or comments you've already handled manually. If you enable a rule today, it will only process comments posted from that point forward.

The Activity tab shows all comments that CommentShark has processed, including which ones matched your rules and which were skipped. You can see exactly why a comment matched (or didn't match), which rule triggered, and what action was taken. This is helpful for debugging rules and understanding your automation's behavior.

A few things to check:

• Rules are forward-looking. They only apply to comments posted after the rule was enabled. Existing comments won't be processed.
• Sync takes up to an hour. Paid channels sync every hour, so there's a natural delay between a comment being posted and CommentShark processing it.
• Check the Activity tab. Every comment CommentShark processes appears here with a status — actioned, skipped, pending approval, or failed. If a comment was received but didn't trigger your rule, it will show as skipped with the reason.
• Test your rule. Use the "Test all rules" button and paste in the exact comment text to verify your match condition is correct before waiting for real comments.

If the Activity tab shows nothing at all, comments may not have synced yet — give it up to an hour after the comment was posted. Still stumped? Contact support and include the rule name and a sample comment — we'll take a look.

Yes! Beyond automatic replies, you can create rules that hold comments for review, reject them outright, or delete your own replies/comments. For comments left by other viewers, YouTube's API removes them via moderation actions rather than direct deletion. This is perfect for filtering spam, hate speech, or policy-violating content before it appears on your videos. Learn more about our YouTube comment moderation capabilities.

It depends on whether the stream is active or already published:

• During an active live stream (live chat): Not supported. YouTube Live Chat is a separate API from the standard comments API, and CommentShark does not connect to it.
• After the live stream ends and is published as a video: Fully supported. Once a live stream is published, it appears in your channel's video library with a regular comment section—just like any other video. CommentShark will sync its comments and apply your rules automatically. No special setup required.

YouTube API limitations — CommentShark uses the official YouTube API, so we only support actions YouTube exposes. That means we cannot:

• Like or heart comments
• Pin or unpin comments (YouTube's API doesn't expose pin status directly, so our pinned comment tooling uses a heuristic)
• Edit comments written by other viewers
• Mark comments as spam via a dedicated spam action
• List or discover rejected comments after they've been rejected
• Manage comments on videos where YouTube has disabled comments
• Reply to live chat during an active live stream — live chat is a separate YouTube API from regular comments and is not supported

Product limitations — a few things CommentShark doesn't do by design:

• Rules are not real-time. Comments are synced on a schedule (every hour on paid plans, every 2 hours on free), so there's a natural delay before automation runs.
• Rules are forward-looking only. They only apply to comments posted after the rule is enabled. Use the Replay feature (paid plans) to retroactively process older comments.
• One channel per account. Each CommentShark account manages one YouTube channel. To manage additional channels, the channel owner must create a separate account and invite you as a team member.
• Your channel's comments only. CommentShark can only manage comments on videos you own or have been granted access to. It cannot act on comments on other channels' videos.

No. Comments on YouTube are classified as spam by Youtube if they violate policy guidelines. You can read more about YouTube's spam policies and community guidelines.

Follow-up rules let you build multi-step conversation funnels. When your bot replies to a comment and the original commenter replies back, CommentShark can automatically continue the conversation with the next step you've defined. This is great for lead capture, onboarding sequences, or guiding viewers through a series of questions.

There is no hard limit on the number of follow-up steps. You can add as many steps as you need to build your conversation funnel. Each follow-up step counts toward your plan's rule limit.

Yes. Follow-up steps count toward your plan's rule limit just like regular rules. Each follow-up reply that gets posted also counts as one execution toward your monthly action quota.

No. CommentShark automatically ignores comments made by the channel owner and comments you've already replied to. This prevents infinite reply loops and duplicate responses. Rules also only apply to new comments received after the rule is enabled (they are forward-looking).

Absolutely! Our YouTube Random Comment Picker supports both standard YouTube videos and YouTube Shorts. Simply paste the URL of any public YouTube video or Short.

Yes. The Comment Picker fully supports comments with emojis. Emojis are displayed correctly in the winner selection.

Yes. You can choose to allow multiple entries per user or limit it to one entry per user to ensure fair giveaways.

Yes. We use a cryptographically secure random number generator to select winners, ensuring fair and unbiased results every time.

Our tool uses the YouTube Data API to retrieve comments from any public video and sort them by date posted in ascending order (oldest first). It then displays the very first comment ever posted. For videos with more comments than our search limit, we search within the first 500 comments for logged-out users, or 2,000 comments for logged-in users.

Yes! The First Comment Finder supports both standard YouTube videos and YouTube Shorts. Simply paste the URL of any public YouTube video or Short.

No, the YouTube First Comment Finder can only retrieve comments from public YouTube videos. If a video is set to private or unlisted, the comments are not accessible through our tool.

No, deleted comments are not accessible through the YouTube Data API. The First Comment Finder will only show you the oldest comment that is currently visible on the video.

YouTube's comment section offers two sorting options: 'Top comments' and 'Newest first'. However, there's no built-in way to sort comments by oldest first. Our tool solves this problem by using the API to retrieve comments chronologically.

Brand safety refers to protecting your brand's reputation by ensuring your content (and comments) don't appear alongside harmful, offensive, or inappropriate material. On YouTube, toxic comments, spam, and hate speech can damage brand perception—68% of buyers read comments before purchasing. CommentShark's moderation tools help keep your comment sections brand-safe 24/7.

CommentShark uses AI-powered rules to automatically detect and handle problematic comments. You can create rules that:

• Hold for review: Flag suspicious comments for manual approval before they stay visible.
• Reject automatically: Immediately hide spam, hate speech, or policy violations.
• Delete permanently: Remove harmful content entirely.

Rules can use text patterns or AI classification to match comments.

CommentShark can detect and moderate spam (promotional content, scam links), hate speech and toxic language, competitor mentions, off-topic comments, profanity, and any custom criteria you define. Our AI classification understands context—so genuine criticism is distinguished from actual brand attacks.

Yes! CommentShark supports team collaboration for agencies and enterprise brands. You can invite team members to manage comments without sharing YouTube credentials. Features include role-based permissions (Admin, Editor, Viewer), approval workflows where team members review AI suggestions, and activity tracking to see who handled which comments.

CommentShark syncs comments regularly throughout the day. For paid channels, comments are typically processed within an hour of being posted. Moderation actions (hold, reject, delete) execute immediately once a comment is matched by your rules.

Yes. CommentShark offers an approval queue where flagged comments go for human review before action is taken. This is perfect for brands that want AI assistance but require human oversight. You can approve, reject, or edit suggested actions before they go live.

CommentShark uses enterprise-grade security. We authenticate via OAuth 2.0 (we never see your password), use encrypted connections for all data, and comply with YouTube's official API policies. You can revoke access anytime via your Google Account settings.

Yes! For agencies, brands, and enterprise teams with custom requirements, we offer tailored pricing and features. Contact us at enterprise@commentshark.com to discuss your needs.

Yes! The YouTube Comment Searcher supports both standard videos and Shorts. Just paste the URL.

Yes. You can search for comments containing specific text, or filter by author name to find all comments from a specific viewer on a video.

When you add blocked words to your YouTube channel settings, any comment containing those words or phrases is automatically held for review instead of being published. You can then approve or reject held comments from your YouTube Studio dashboard. Blocked words apply across all your videos and live streams.

Go to YouTube Studio → Settings → Community → Automated Filters. You'll find a Blocked words text box where you can paste a comma-separated list of words and phrases. Click Save when done.

YouTube allows up to 50,000 characters in the blocked words field, which typically accommodates several hundred phrases. Start with the high-severity categories (scams, phishing, hate speech) and add more as needed. Quality matters more than quantity—well-chosen phrases catch more spam than a massive list of single words.

If your blocked words list is too aggressive, it can hold legitimate comments for review, which may frustrate viewers if you don't approve them promptly. To minimize this, use specific phrases instead of single common words, review your held comments regularly, and start conservatively before expanding your list.

It depends on your channel's audience and tone. Family-friendly channels benefit from profanity filters, while channels with mature audiences may find it overly restrictive. Our tool includes a profanity category that's off by default, letting you decide based on your community standards.

Review and update your list every 2-3 months. Spammers regularly change their tactics, using new phrases, Unicode characters, and creative misspellings to evade filters. Check your held comments for new spam patterns and add them to your list.

Blocked words are a great starting point but they're limited to exact text matching. AI moderation tools like CommentShark understand context, detect sentiment, and catch spam that doesn't match any specific keyword. For best results, use both: blocked words as your first line of defense and AI moderation for everything that slips through.

Logged-out users can search up to 500 comments per video. Logged-in users can search up to 2,000 comments.

The Bulk Pinned Comment Editor lets you scan your recent videos for pinned comments and update them all at once. You can use find & replace, apply a template with variables like {video_title} or {channel_name}, or edit each comment individually. It's perfect for keeping your pinned comments consistent across all your videos.

You can scan for pinned comments as often as you like, but bulk edits are limited to once every 18 hours. This protects against accidental mass edits and keeps your YouTube API usage sustainable.

Bulk pinned comment editing is available on paid plans. Scanning and editing have separate limits — CommentShark Plus can scan 100 and edit 15,CommentShark Pro can scan 250 and edit 100, and CommentShark Premium can scan 500 and edit 200. See pricing for the latest plan details.

Pinned comments are detected by checking if your comment appears first when sorted by relevance. This is a heuristic — YouTube's API does not expose pin status directly. It works reliably in most cases but is not 100% perfect.

No. This tool can only edit existing pinned comments. It cannot pin comments for you or create new pinned comments. You need to pin comments manually through YouTube Studio first.

Sentiment analysis uses AI to score each comment on a scale from negative to positive. CommentShark automatically classifies every synced comment so you can see at a glance how your audience feels about each video, without reading thousands of comments manually.

Sentiment analysis, AI comment tagging, and the Video Insights dashboard are available on CommentShark Plus, CommentShark Pro, CommentShark Premium, Custom. Free-tier users can upgrade from the Insights page or visit the pricing page to unlock these features.

Comment tags are automatic labels applied to each comment based on its content. Tags include categories like questions, praise, complaints, suggestions, and spam. They let you quickly filter and focus on the comments that matter most.

Yes. You can configure sentiment anomaly alerts from the Insights page. Set a threshold (e.g. 40% negative) and CommentShark will email you when a video crosses it. Alerts have a 6-hour cooldown and only fire when sentiment is getting worse, not when it improves.

Sentiment scores are computed using AI embeddings and pre-trained anchor vectors. The system works well for general YouTube comment language. Individual comments can occasionally be misjudged (sarcasm is hard for any AI), but aggregate trends across a video are highly reliable.