Approvals in Chatter
Approvals in Chatter is the Salesforce feature that posts pending Approval Requests into the approver's Chatter feed as Feed Items, so the approver can read the context and click Approve or Reject directly inside Chatter without opening a separate page.
Definition
Approvals in Chatter is the Salesforce feature that posts pending Approval Requests into the approver's Chatter feed as Feed Items, so the approver can read the context and click Approve or Reject directly inside Chatter without opening a separate page. When the feature is enabled, every newly-assigned Approval Request also generates a Chatter post visible to the approver, with the submitted record's key fields, prior approver comments, and inline action buttons. Approvers who already live inside the Chatter feed (sales managers, finance reviewers) can act faster because the request comes to them rather than the other way around.
The feature is org-wide, configured in Setup, Chatter Settings, and applies to every Approval Process in the org. Most modern orgs leave it on because the friction reduction is meaningful. Salesforce supports Approvals in Chatter alongside the regular Notifications tray, Items to Approve home component, Email Approval Response, and Salesforce-for-Slack integration. An approver might see the same request in four or five surfaces simultaneously; acting in any one of them resolves the request and removes it from all the others. The redundancy is intentional and is what makes Salesforce approvals robust across user habits.
How Approvals in Chatter changes the approver experience
Enabling Approvals in Chatter
Setup, Chatter Settings. Check Allow Approvals in Chatter. The change applies to every Approval Process in the org. Existing pending approvals also surface in Chatter; new ones post automatically as they are created.
What the Chatter post looks like
When a request is assigned, Salesforce posts a Feed Item to the approver. The post shows the submitted record's name and a link, key fields specified in the Approval Process configuration, prior approver comments, and inline Approve and Reject buttons. The post also accepts a comment when the approver clicks an action, so context can travel with the decision.
Where the post appears
The Feed Item appears on the approver's What I Follow feed, on their personal Chatter Profile feed, and on the record's own Chatter feed. Approvers who follow records related to their queue (Accounts, Opportunities, Cases) often see the approval post inline with other activity on the parent record.
Acting from inside the feed
Clicking Approve or Reject on the Chatter post runs the same approval logic as the standard Approval Request page. The decision propagates to ProcessInstanceWorkitem, advances the Approval Process, and removes the pending request from every surface (Notifications, Items to Approve, Email Alert). Approvers do not need to switch surfaces to confirm the decision.
Comments on the approval
Comments left when approving or rejecting attach to the Approval Request as the approver's comment field. Subsequent approvers, the submitter, and auditors all see the comment in the approval history. This makes Chatter approvals as auditable as standard ones; the comment travels with the decision.
Mobile experience
The Salesforce Mobile App surfaces Chatter posts including Approval feed items. Approvers can approve or reject from the mobile app the same way they would from the desktop feed. Combined with mobile push notifications, the feature is a major productivity unlock for managers who travel or work outside Salesforce regularly.
Configuration interactions
Approvals in Chatter respects the underlying Approval Process's Display Fields setting (which fields show up on the approval page). The fields configured there also show up on the Chatter post. Keep the field list short and focused; the post becomes hard to read if every field is shown.
Common gotchas
Three patterns recur. Users complain about Chatter spam if every Approval Process is overactive; the fix is process design, not disabling the feature. Approvers who do not use Chatter often miss the post; redundant surfaces (email, notifications) cover them. And the post is generated per assigned approver; queue-based approvals produce one post per queue member, which can flood a busy feed if the queue is large.
How to enable and tune Approvals in Chatter
Setup is a single checkbox. Tuning is about keeping the Chatter feed readable: short field lists on the approval page, sensible approver assignments, and reasonable Approval Process volumes.
- Enable the feature
Setup, Chatter Settings. Check Allow Approvals in Chatter. Save. The change applies to every Approval Process in the org immediately.
- Trim Display Fields on each Approval Process
Setup, Approval Processes. For each process, edit the layout that controls displayed fields. Keep the list short; busy field lists make the Chatter post hard to read.
- Validate the post on a test submission
Submit a test record for approval. Confirm the Chatter post appears on the approver's feed, the action buttons work, and comments propagate.
- Audit volume after launch
Watch for Chatter spam complaints in the first weeks. High-volume Approval Processes can flood feeds; consider redesigning processes to reduce noise rather than disabling the feature.
- Educate approvers on the new surface
Train approvers that they can act from the Chatter feed without switching surfaces. Adoption is the value; without it, the feature is just one more notification channel.
- Queue-based approvals produce one Chatter post per queue member. Large queues can flood feeds; consider Slack routing for those cases.
- The feature is org-wide. Disabling it for one Approval Process is not possible; redesign noisy processes instead.
- Chatter posts reflect the same Display Fields as the standard approval page. Trim both surfaces together when refining the experience.
- Approvers who never visit Chatter rely on other surfaces (email, notifications). Do not assume Chatter alone reaches every approver.
Trust & references
Cross-checked against the following references.
- Approvals in ChatterSalesforce Help
- Chatter OverviewSalesforce Help
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Approvals in Chatter.
- Approval Processes OverviewSalesforce Help
Hands-on resources to go deeper on Approvals in Chatter.
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
Test your knowledge
Q1. What does Approvals in Chatter do?
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