Live Chat lets viewers interact in real time while watching a livestream or premiere. It is enabled by default for most streams, except when a channel is set to Made for Kids. Creators can also choose how chat appears and manage moderation tools.
Viewers can switch between two chat modes at any time:
- Top Chat: Filters out likely spam, abuse, or low-quality messages so the conversation is easier to follow.
- Live Chat: Shows all messages in real time without filtering.
If a livestream is edited using YouTube’s video editor after it ends, the chat replay will no longer be available.
How Top Chat Works
Top Chat highlights messages that are more likely to be relevant and engaging. YouTube uses different signals to decide what appears, including message content, channel identity, usernames, avatars, and viewer interaction patterns.
Messages that may be spam, repetitive, inappropriate, or low quality are less likely to appear in Top Chat, even if they still exist in Live Chat.
Live Polls During Streams
Creators can engage audiences using live polls during streams or premieres.
Key features include:
- Polls must include 2–4 answer choices
- Only available during live streams or premieres
- Votes are final once submitted
- Results are visible in real time
- Polls remain active for up to 24 hours
On mobile, creators can also use poll stickers, which can be customized in size, color, and placement on screen.
Additional Live Chat Features
Automatic Translation
Live Chat can automatically translate messages into the creator’s display language on mobile. Translations are visible only to the creator and can be turned off in settings.
- Viewers still see original messages
- Creators can tap to view the original text
- This feature is mobile-only for now
Badges
Badges help identify users in chat, such as:
- Channel owner
- Moderators
- Members (if memberships are enabled)
Creators can also customize membership badges as part of channel perks.
Emojis
Viewers can use standard emojis in chat. Creators can also unlock custom emojis for channel members.
Live Q&A
Creators can highlight viewer questions from chat and answer them directly during the stream. These interactions are not separately tracked in analytics.
Reactions
Viewers can react to livestream moments without typing messages. These reactions are anonymous and appear alongside chat activity.
AI Chat Summaries (Experimental)
Some livestreams may include an AI-generated summary of ongoing chat activity to help new viewers quickly understand what people are discussing.
Important notes:
- Summaries are based only on public chat messages
- They do not summarize the livestream content itself
- Not all streams will show this feature
- It can be turned off in Live Control Room settings under chat customization
Managing and Moderating Live Chat
Creators and moderators can control chat safety using tools such as:
- Blocking or hiding users
- Filtering spam or offensive language
- Slow mode or subscriber-only chat
- Assigning trusted moderators
Strong moderation helps maintain a positive environment and protects viewers during live streams
