Substack Launches Reply Rules Feature for Authors

On Wednesday, the Substack platform announced a new “Reply Rules” feature that allows authors to better control interactions with their audience. Using this tool, content creators can set specific rules for comments on their posts, Notes, or Chat sections. For example, authors can ban AI-generated “AI slop” text, offensive language, or even require comments to be written exclusively in haiku format. Techcrunch.com reports on this news .

Substack explains that the system learns from user actions, including which replies are hidden, and automatically filters comments that do not match the author's preferences. Authors retain the right to view hidden comments and can make them visible again if they change their minds. Currently, the Reply Rules feature is active for all English-language publications.

The platform has always adhered to a decentralized moderation approach, meaning writers control their own communities. Authors previously had tools such as locking posts, deleting comments, and blocking users. The new feature is expected to reduce the need to manually review every comment.

It is worth noting that Substack has faced criticism for its moderation policies, particularly its leniency toward far-right publications. Critics argue that such an approach paves the way for harmful rhetoric. Substack, in turn, has emphasized that it strives to create the best conditions for diverse online cultures to flourish and acknowledges facing difficult decisions along the way.

This year, Substack has implemented several updates. These include a video recording and publishing studio for authors, as well as the launch of a TV app that allows subscribers to watch video posts and live streams on their televisions.