Comment Actions let you define rules that watch your incoming comments 24/7 and take an action — send a reply, delete the comment, or move it to a moderation queue — automatically. Each rule has two parts: a trigger that decides which comments to act on, and an action that says what to do when matched.
How rules are evaluated
When a new comment arrives, CommentShark evaluates your active rules in priority order. The first rule that matches wins, and later rules are skipped for that comment. If no rule matches, no action is taken.
- By default, rules are forward-looking and start with new comments after the rule is enabled.
- Paid plans can use Replay Rules to apply your current rules to older comments from one video or from a past channel date.
- Rules never fire on your own channel's comments, or on comments you've already replied to — preventing reply loops.
- You can reorder rules by dragging them in the rules list to change evaluation priority.
CommentShark syncs new comments from YouTube roughly every hour for paid accounts. This means the average time between a comment being posted and a rule acting on it is around 30 minutes, with a maximum of about 1 hour. Free accounts sync less frequently.
If you create a new rule and want it to cover older comments too, use Replay Rules from the Comment Assistant. You can replay one video or re-run rules across your channel from a past date without sending action emails.
How the rule editor works
Every rule reads like a sentence: "When [match type] [match value], [action] [execution mode]." Each underlined slot is a chip — click it to pick or type a value. There are no forms, no wizard steps; you build a rule by filling in the sentence.
Match type
The first chip decides how a comment qualifies. Two families:
- Text Match — checks for an exact phrase, a pattern, or uses one of the built-in recipes (contains, starts with, ends with, exact match, URL, or custom regex). Fast, predictable, no AI quota.
- AI Classification (Plus) — you describe the kind of comment in plain English ("asking about pricing", "sounds frustrated") and the AI decides. Best for intent or nuance that text patterns can't pin down.
Rule of thumb: if you can write down the exact text you're looking for, use Text Match. If you're trying to capture an idea, use AI Classification.
Match value
The next chip is what you're actually matching. For Text Match that's the phrase or pattern; for AI Classification it's your description — for example, "Comments asking about pricing, plans, or how much the product costs." The more specific you are, the fewer false positives you get.
Action
Pick what happens on a match. Options: Reply with a preset (a fixed template, with @author as a placeholder for the commenter's name), Reply with AI (Plus — a unique on-brand reply per comment, with an optional Rule Context field for links, pricing, or product facts), Hold for Review (hides the comment and queues it for your approval), Delete (requires channel owner permissions), or Notify me by email (no action on the comment; just a heads-up).
Execution mode
The last chip decides whether CommentShark runs the action for you or waits for your OK. Pick Automatically for high-confidence rules (templated replies, obvious spam deletes) or After I approve for anything AI-generated or hard to undo.
Scope to videos (optional)
By default a rule applies to every video on your channel, including future uploads. You can narrow it to specific videos — useful for product launches or giveaways — and optionally restrict by publish date (e.g. only comments from the first 7 days after a video goes live).
Test before you enable
The editor has a built-in tester: paste a sample comment, hit Test, and see whether it matches, why it matched, and what reply would be generated — without posting anything to YouTube. Use it every time you build a new rule.
You can also test existing rules at any time using the "Test a comment" tool on the rules page — paste any comment text and see which of your rules would fire.
Follow-up rules — multi-step conversations
A follow-up rule continues a conversation after your bot's initial reply. When the original commenter replies to your bot's response, the follow-up rule evaluates their reply and can send another message — creating a multi-step sequence.
How the thread works:
- A viewer comments on your video
- Your root rule matches and your bot replies
- The same viewer replies to your bot's comment
- Your follow-up rule evaluates their reply and acts on it
- This can continue for as many steps as you define
- Only the original commenter's replies are evaluated — other viewers who join the thread are ignored.
- Threads are monitored for up to 10 days after the root comment.
- Each follow-up reply counts as one action toward your monthly quota.
- Follow-up rules use the same match types and actions as root rules — you can even use AI classification at each step.
A common use case: a viewer asks about your course, your bot replies with a short answer and asks "Want the full details?", and your follow-up rule catches "yes"/"sure"/"tell me more" and sends a link.
Monitoring with the Activity tab
The Activity tab shows every comment CommentShark has processed — which ones matched a rule, which rule fired, what action was taken, and the status (posted, failed, skipped, queued). This is the best place to debug a rule that isn't behaving as expected.
If a comment didn't trigger any rule, it appears as "no match" in the activity log. If an action failed, you'll see the reason and whether CommentShark retried it.