Comment Tools Pro groups link settings, submission rules and reader capabilities for WordPress comment sections. Choose how links appear, how comments are reviewed and which tools users can use to join a discussion.

Link controls change how comment URLs appear

Remove the website field from the comment form, unlink commenter names, stop URLs from becoming clickable, or remove HTML link tags. URLs remain visible as text when hyperlinking is disabled. You can also open comment links in a new tab and set their rel value to ugc, follow or nofollow.

Submission rules help limit unwanted comments

Set a minimum interval between comments from the same user, set minimum and maximum comment lengths, and write alert messages for length limits. Keyword or keyphrase rules can mark matching comments as spam or delete them. A bot check includes a stylesheet or image to the page and sets a cookie when a person loads it in a browser. The extension checks for that cookie when a comment is submitted and marks submissions without it as spam.

Sentiment analysis for English comments can display an emotion icon and let you filter comments by positive, negative or neutral sentiment in the front end and dashboard. You can set a score threshold to prevent comments with profanity or too many negative words; commenters see a message asking them to rephrase.

Bulk controls clear queues and change comment visibility

Disable comments across the website or hide existing comments. Bulk actions can delete pending comments, all comments or all spam comments. Users with the required privileges can delete comments or mark them as spam from the front end. Other controls show a post's update date or show all comments on one page with a shortcode.

Reader features add more ways to join a discussion

Commenters can record voice messages and attach pictures, videos, audio, documents and other files. Set allowed file types and maximum upload size, require an attachment, pick whether it is embedded or shown as a link, and allow multiple uploads or image galleries. You can choose which users may upload files and manually moderate comments with attachments. Links to services such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter can be embedded in comment text when auto-embed is enabled.

Readers can upvote or downvote comments, quote a comment, mention a username with an autocomplete suggestion, and subscribe to discussion notifications or reminders. Replies can be collapsed and numbered. Other settings include pinning a comment, marking it private so only the administrator and commenter can see it, and redirecting first-time commenters to a selected page.

AI replies and sentiment settings guide moderation

AI auto replies use OpenAI GPT and ChatGPT. Add an OpenAI API key in the comment tools settings, then choose whether to reply to approved top-level comments, child comments or both. Reply length and generation controls are adjustable, including the token limit, temperature, presence penalty and frequency penalty.

Email options carry comment activity to your mailing list

Add a newsletter opt-in checkbox to the comment form and edit its label. Subscriber names and email addresses can be exported as CSV or sent directly to a MailChimp list. Zapier can connect comment subscriptions to other mailing list platforms. Administrators can also email an individual commenter, email commenters on a post from the WordPress toolbar, or notify commenters or all site users when new comments are posted.

Setup connects the tools to your comment process

1. Install and activate Comment Tools Pro on a WordPress site with comments enabled.
2. Open the comment tools settings and choose the link, moderation, interaction and notification options for the site.
3. To enable AI replies, add an OpenAI API key and choose which approved comments should receive responses.
4. Review the comment area and adjust the selected settings to fit the discussion workflow.