Setup is a one-time admin enablement; ongoing operation is per-group invitations.
- Enable Chatter Customers in Setup
Setup, Chatter, Customer Groups, Enable Chatter Customers in Groups. The setting is org-wide.
- Create a Chatter Customer Group
From Chatter, New Group. Check Allow Customers. Set the group name, description, and access (Public, Private, Unlisted).
- Invite Chatter Customers
From the group detail page, click Add Member, then Invite Customers. Enter their email addresses. Salesforce sends an invitation email.
- The customer accepts
They click the email link, set a password, and access the group. They see only the group content, not the broader Salesforce.
- Manage the group
As group owner, post updates, share files, moderate discussion. The Chatter Customer participates like any other group member.
- Remove Chatter Customers when no longer needed
Either remove from the specific group (they lose access to that conversation) or deactivate the user (they lose access to all Chatter Customer groups across the org).
- Chatter Customers cannot see anything outside their groups. Posts in the group should never reference records outside the group context; the customer cannot click through.
- File sharing in Chatter Customer Groups uses Content Documents. File sharing settings (Public, Private) affect what the customer sees; pre-share files into the group rather than relying on group-level sharing.
- Chatter Customer users count against your Salesforce user limit for some purposes (license counts, search results) but not others (paid user quotas). Check the specific limit you are concerned about.
- Single sign-on for Chatter Customers requires custom setup. The default email-and-password flow is the path most orgs use.
- Experience Cloud overtook Chatter Customers for most use cases. If you need anything more than conversation, evaluate Experience Cloud instead.