Short answer: Filter the comments you want to close, then click Start bulk execution at the bottom of the list and choose Move comments to done. To stop giveaway comments from using your credits in the future, create a comment automation at the top of your list that only marks comments under the giveaway post as done. replient.ai has no winner picker inside the app.
Before you start
Bulk actions are included in every plan.
You need the permission manage comments.
A bulk action runs on all comments that match your filters, not only on the ones you can see in the list. The window tells you the exact number before you confirm.
Step 1: Filter the comments
In Comments → Comment view, click the filter icon (1) and then Add filter. Pick a filter from the list (2): Assigned to, Platform, Tags, Sentiment, Date Range, Reply status, Read/Unread, Post type or Language. You can combine several. Switch between the Open and Done tab first, because a bulk action works on the tab you are in.
To pick the comments of one post, type its Post ID into the Search box. Search also looks into the comment text and the commenter's name. You find the Post ID in the post details of any comment. A copy button sits next to it.
Example: to clear everything older than two days, set Date Range to end two days ago.
Your filters are saved in the link of the page, so you can bookmark or share the filtered list. See Can I filter my comments in comments tab?.
Step 2: Click "Start bulk execution"
As soon as a filter or a search is active and the list is not empty, a box appears at the bottom of the list. It says Execute actions in bulk for your selected filters (it will run in the background). Check the active filters (1), then click Start bulk execution (2). The link close bulk tools hides the box until you reload the page.
Step 3: Choose the action
A window opens. It shows how many comments will be processed (1). Pick the action from the list (2) and click Execute.
In the Open tab you can choose:
Action | What it does | Credits |
Move comments to done | Moves the comments to the Done tab. Nothing is sent to the platform. | None |
Send first AI suggestion | Posts the first AI suggestion as a reply to every comment. If the first suggestion is only a like or a hide, it does that instead. | 0.9 per comment that has no suggestions yet |
Hide comments | Hides the comments. | None |
Like comments | Likes the comments. | None |
Send custom text | Replies to every comment with your text. The { } button inserts the commenter's name. | None |
Send private message | Sends a DM with your text and up to three buttons. Only for Facebook and Instagram comments. | None |
In the Done tab you can choose Move comments to open or Hide comments.
The window says This action cannot be undone. Only Move comments to done can be reversed, with Move comments to open in the Done tab.
Comments on platforms that do not support the action are skipped. See How do I like, hide, delete or block a comment? for the platforms. Mentions of your brand are never hidden and never get a private message.
For Send first AI suggestion the window shows This will use up to a number of credits. If you do not have enough, it says Only about X of Y will run — add credits to cover the rest. You have to tick Run it anyway with the credits I have to continue. With no credits left, the action is disabled.
A private message can only reach someone within 24 hours after the comment. For older comments it fails, and the Activity Protocol shows why.
Step 4: Follow the progress
Move comments to done and Move comments to open are applied right away. The message says Bulk action completed successfully!. Very large selections may continue in the background.
All other actions run in the background. The message says Bulk action executed successfully! Comments are now being processed in the background. replient.ai handles about one comment per second, so 600 comments take about ten minutes. It can take longer when the platform limits your page.
A comment that is being processed is locked. It shows Bulk action running for this comment until it is done.
To check the result, use the filter Reply status: Answered by bulk action, Liked by bulk action or Hidden by bulk action. If a comment failed, open it and click Show Activities. The failed line has the reason.
Close all comments of one post
In Comments → Post view (1) you see your posts with their open comments. Hover over a post and click the tick on the right (2). The tooltip says Mark all comments as done. All open comments of that post move to the Done tab. Inside a post, the button Mark all as done and go to next post does the same and opens the next post. A message offers Undo for a few seconds.
Read more about the two views in What is the difference between comments view and post view?.
Giveaways: keep comments from using your credits
A giveaway can bring thousands of comments. Every comment that replient.ai processes uses credits: 0.1 for the AI analysis. If the comment lands in your inbox unanswered, the AI also writes a reply draft for 0.9. See How do credits work?.
⚠️ Important: Closing comments in bulk or in post view does not give credits back. The credits are used when a comment arrives. To save credits, you have to stop the analysis before it happens. That is what the automation below does.
Create the automation before the giveaway starts, or as early as you can:
Go to Automations → Comment Automations and click Add Automation. Choose Comment automation and Start from scratch. See How do I set up a comment automation?.
Give it a name (1), for example Giveaway: skip AI analysis.
Under IF, choose a condition that does not need AI, for example Post caption (2) with Contains and a word from the post caption (3). Post id and Post type work as well.
Under THEN, choose instant in the Wait for box (4). Then choose Mark comment as done as the only action (5).
Click Save. Then drag the automation to the very top of your list, so it is checked first.
Matching comments go straight to the Done tab. They are not analysed and no AI reply is written, so they cost no credits.
It only works if Mark comment as done is the only action and the conditions do not use Comment Tags, Sentiment, Comment language or First AI Suggestions. Those need the AI analysis.
It has to be above every automation that could match the same comment. Automations are checked from top to bottom, and the first match wins.
It only affects comments that arrive after you saved it. Comments already in your inbox have been analysed.
If a DM automation also reacts to those comments, they are analysed as usual. See How do I send a DM when someone comments a keyword?.
The skipped comments show as Neutral without tags, and no other automation runs on them.
Can I pick a winner with replient.ai?
No. replient.ai has no function to draw a winner. In the app you can filter, read and close the comments of a giveaway, and you can export the comments as a CSV file. For the draw itself, we offer separate free tools on our website: the Instagram Giveaway Picker, the Facebook Comment Picker, the TikTok Giveaway Picker and the YouTube Comment Picker. They are not part of your replient.ai account.