# Replying to comments Clarify can draft replies for you, but a reply never reaches the platform without two deliberate human steps: approving the draft, then posting it. Replies work wherever the comment came from: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or Threads. ## Drafting a reply 1. Open the comment in the [Social Stream](https://clarify.net.au/comments). 2. In the **Draft reply** section, either type your own response or click **Generate reply** to have the AI draft one. 3. Edit the draft until you're happy. The AI writes using your workspace context, community guidelines, and voice examples, so the more of those you've set up in [Settings > AI](https://clarify.net.au/settings/ai), the closer it sounds to you. ## Refining a draft Not quite right? Once there is a draft in the box, a field appears underneath it. Type what you want changed in plain words, such as *make it warmer*, *shorter*, *more formal* or *mention our office hours*, then click **Refine** (or press Enter). The AI revises the draft in the box, so any edits you have already made are kept, and it works on replies you typed yourself too. You can refine as many times as you like, and **Undo** brings back the version before the last change. A refined reply still follows your community guidelines: asking for a harsher tone gets you a firmer reply, never an abusive one. ## Web search for factual replies For questions that need facts, toggle **Web search** before generating. The AI will look up current information and cite its sources, which appear under the draft so you can check them. The same toggle applies to **Refine**: with it on, a request that needs a new fact can be looked up; with it off, the draft keeps the sources it already has. You control which websites it may or may not cite in [Settings > AI](https://clarify.net.au/settings/ai) under **Web search sources**. ## Approving and posting 1. Click **Approve reply**. This marks the draft as reviewed by a person. 2. Click **Post reply**. The reply is published on the platform as a response to that comment. Once posted, the panel shows *"Reply posted"* with a timestamp, and the action is recorded in the [Activity Log](https://clarify.net.au/activity) with the name of the person who posted it. ## Replying on X Replies to X (Twitter) work the same way, with two differences. X limits a reply to 280 characters as it counts them (a link counts as 23, most emoji as 2), and Clarify shows that count under the draft. And X charges for every reply posted, so each one uses X credits: 3, or 40 if the reply contains a link. The cost is shown under the draft before you post. See [X (Twitter) and X credits](https://clarify.net.au/help/x-and-x-credits). ## A second pair of eyes Not sure about a reply, or not allowed to post it yourself? Click **Request review** next to the draft (it reads **Send for approval** if you don't have the Post replies permission). Pick a teammate, add a note, and the draft lands in their [Reviews](https://clarify.net.au/reviews) queue, where they can edit it, message you back and forth, and approve and post it, or reject it with a note. See the Reviews and approvals article for the full flow. ## Who can do what Drafting a reply requires no special permission, but **approving and posting both require the "Post replies" permission**. A member without it drafts the reply and sends it for approval; someone with the permission approves and posts it from the Reviews queue. Permissions are managed in [Settings > Team](https://clarify.net.au/settings/team). ## Replying to many comments at once For a post that attracted many similar questions, use **Bulk reply** in the grouped view of the [Social Stream](https://clarify.net.au/comments). See the Hiding comments and bulk actions article.