Comment, Chatter
A Chatter Comment is a reply added to a Salesforce Chatter Feed Item: the comment thread under a post, the response to a Chatter Question, or the agent's note added to a Case feed.
Definition
A Chatter Comment is a reply added to a Salesforce Chatter Feed Item: the comment thread under a post, the response to a Chatter Question, or the agent's note added to a Case feed. Stored as FeedComment records, each Chatter Comment carries the comment body, the parent Feed Item, the author, the timestamp, and any @mentions, attachments, or rich text formatting. Comments are how Chatter conversations actually happen; without them, every post stands alone with no way for the team to discuss or build on it.
Chatter Comments matter because they are the granular unit of Chatter engagement. Likes signal acknowledgement but carry no information. Comments contribute substance: questions, clarifications, decisions, follow-ups, agreement, disagreement. The Best Answer mechanism on Chatter Questions marks one Comment as the canonical answer. Engagement metrics (Comment count per post, average response time, top commenters) trace community health. Modern Chatter UIs render Comments inline with the parent post, support @mentions to notify users, and let authors edit or delete their own Comments. The pattern is the same across Service Cloud Case feeds, Chatter Group feeds, and Experience Cloud Q&A surfaces.
How Chatter Comments work and where they appear
The FeedComment data model
Each Chatter Comment is a FeedComment record with ParentId (the parent FeedItem), CommentBody (text), CommentType (the comment type), InsertedBy (author), CreatedDate, and IsRichText. Comments can have attachments, mentions, and reactions. The structure mirrors most social platforms' comment models.
Mentions notify users
Typing @ followed by a user's name (or @group followed by a Chatter Group) creates a mention. The mentioned user gets a notification through the Notifications tray, email, or push. Mentions are the strongest engagement signal; mentioned users are far more likely to respond than passive viewers.
Best Answer marks one comment
On Chatter Questions, one comment can be marked as the Best Answer. The marked comment pins to the top of the thread and contributes to the answering user's reputation. Best Answer marking is one of the most important community-management actions.
Editing and deleting comments
Authors can edit their own comments within a configured time window. Owners of the parent post can delete comments. Community moderators can delete any comment in groups they own. The edit history is tracked; deleted comments soft-delete (the comment row remains with an IsDeleted flag).
Comments in Case feeds
The Service Console's Case feed surfaces Chatter Comments inline with system updates and CaseComments. Agents use Chatter Comments to discuss case strategy with colleagues without exposing the discussion to the customer (Chatter visibility is controlled separately from CaseComment.IsPublished).
Rich text and attachments
Modern Chatter Comments support rich text (bold, italic, lists, links) and attachments (files, images). The Lightning UI exposes these affordances; older Classic UI was plainer. Attachment uploads create ContentVersion records linked to the comment.
Reporting on Chatter Comments
Reports on FeedComment surface engagement metrics: comments per user, top-commented posts, average comment length, comment volume by group. Community managers track these to identify high-value contributors and content driving engagement.
Common pitfalls
Three patterns recur. Public Chatter Comments on Case records expose sensitive information if access is not scoped carefully. Notification fatigue from over-mentioning trains users to ignore mentions. And edit-after-mention can confuse readers; the comment changes but the notification reflects the original.
How to use Chatter Comments effectively
Chatter Comments are mostly captured organically. The configuration touchpoints are notification settings, edit policies, and reporting setup.
- Train users on @mention etiquette
Mentions notify users; over-use trains people to ignore them. Use mentions intentionally for action-needed messages.
- Configure edit and delete policies
Setup, Chatter Settings. Configure the edit window for comments and the moderation permissions for owners and moderators.
- Use rich text where it helps
Bullet lists, bold, and links improve comment readability. Plain text is fine for short replies; long discussions benefit from formatting.
- Mark Best Answers on Chatter Questions
For Q&A threads, the original asker or a moderator should mark Best Answers. Without marking, the thread loses its canonical answer.
- Build engagement reports
Report on FeedComment by user, by group, by date range. Engagement trends identify high-value contributors and groups losing momentum.
- Public Chatter Comments on Cases can expose sensitive information. Scope visibility carefully.
- Over-mentioning trains users to ignore mentions. Use intentionally.
- Edits after mentions confuse readers. The notification reflects the original comment text; the edited version may say something different.
- Delete operations soft-delete (IsDeleted flag). The comment is hidden but the audit trail remains; do not assume hard deletion.
Trust & references
Cross-checked against the following references.
- FeedComment API ReferenceSalesforce Developer Docs
- Chatter FeedSalesforce Help
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Comment, Chatter.
- Chatter OverviewSalesforce Help
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 is a Chatter Comment?
Q2. What does @-mentioning someone in a Chatter Comment do?
Q3. Why use Chatter Comments instead of email for record discussions?
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