StreamYard offers a simple way to engage your audience by showing comments from your streaming destinations directly on screen using the Chat Overlay feature.
What is the Chat Overlay?
The Chat Overlay allows you to automatically display incoming comments from supported platforms, like YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitch, and others, right on your broadcast screen in real time. This is especially useful for creators who like to showcase all viewer comments, such as gaming streamers or Q&A hosts.
The Overlay always stays in sync with your studio chat: comments remain visible even when you toggle the Overlay on or off, and the full recent chat history appears whenever you enable it. When the Overlay is empty, a clear message appears on screen to let viewers know that new comments will show up in real time.
You can also customize how comments appear by selecting between three font sizes (Small, Medium, Big) and three layout dimensions (Regular, Tall, Wide). Changes update instantly, so you can adjust the Overlay’s look and feel even while you’re live.
💡 The Chat Overlay only supports platforms that allow comment integration with StreamYard. Facebook Groups and Instagram, for example, are not currently supported.
How to Enable the Chat Overlay
Using the Chat Overlay is simple:
Connect a supported destination (such as YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitch, or Facebook Pages/Profiles).
Go to your StreamYard Studio.
In the Comments tab, toggle on Show comments on stage (located at the top of the comments).
Comments from viewers will automatically start appearing on your live stream.
💡 You can still manually feature specific comments as usual by clicking “Show” next to a comment.
Customize the Chat Overlay
Once enabled, you can tailor the Overlay to fit your style and content:
- Choose between Small, Medium, or Big text for better readability.
- Select a Regular, Tall, or Wide layout depending on how much screen space you want comments to take.
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All adjustments happen in real time, so you can fine-tune the Overlay even during your broadcast.
Notes
Only comments made on platforms connected to the broadcast will appear.
Comments are displayed in chronological order.
In Reusable Studios, the Chat Overlay automatically clears between broadcasts so each stream starts with a clean slate.
The Chat Overlay is available on all paid plans.
Best Practices
If you want to highlight every viewer interaction without manually clicking each one, Chat Overlay is perfect for you.
It’s especially useful for creators who want to highlight community engagement — such as podcasters, live radio hosts, gamers, and interactive talk shows.