Emoji make a short message feel human without turning every response into another paragraph. In Chat, you can place emoji in a message, react to something another person said, or use an Award to give a valuable shared-chat contribution extra recognition.
These choices serve different purposes. Emoji inside a message help express your own thought. Reactions acknowledge a specific message in Activity Chat or Direct Messages. Awards are quick item-level appreciation reserved for shared Activity Chat.
Add Emoji To A Message
Open the emoji picker from the composer to search or browse the standard emoji catalog. Favorites appear near the top, followed by available custom emoji and the standard categories. Selecting an emoji inserts it at the current cursor position, so it can sit on its own or become part of a longer message.
Chat also recognizes familiar standalone emoticons. Type a shortcut such as :) or <3, then add a space, and it changes into the corresponding emoji. The conversion is deliberately careful: pasted text, text entered while a language composition is active, and emoticons inside a larger token remain unchanged.
A message made entirely from recognized emoji uses a larger, lighter presentation. Mixed text and emoji keep the normal message style, making an emoji-only response feel expressive without giving it the visual weight of a full paragraph.
!A mixed text-and-emoji chat message beside an enlarged emoji-only message
Emoji-only messages stand out with a larger treatment, while mixed messages keep normal chat typography.
Use Your Space's Custom Emoji
Custom emoji give a space its own visual vocabulary for live conversation. When they are available in the current Chat context, they appear in the picker's Custom section and can be used in messages or as message reactions. Their readable form is a space-specific token such as :super_nova:.
Custom emoji are intentionally limited to Chat and Meetings. They are not a general emoji catalog for posts, articles, goals, or documents, where space-specific imagery could make durable content harder to understand.
If Chat recognizes a token, it shows the custom artwork. If the emoji is unavailable or the token is unknown, the token remains visible as text instead of becoming a broken image. That fallback keeps older messages readable.
Space owners and members with Manage Chat access can add and remove custom emoji. A space can have up to 50 active custom emoji. See Custom Emoji for the administration boundaries, or follow Add and Manage Custom Emoji for the complete workflow.
React Without Interrupting The Conversation
A reaction is a compact acknowledgement attached to one message. It is useful when you agree, appreciate an update, find something funny, or want to show that you have seen a message without adding another reply to the feed.
You can open the reaction picker from a message's quick actions or choose Add Reactions from its menu. Standard emoji are always available, and custom emoji can also appear where the current Chat context provides a space catalog.
Reaction capsules keep the result easy to scan:
!A Direct Message reaction capsule with its author view open for UX Explorer
Opening an existing reaction reveals who used it without adding or removing your own response.
Selecting a reaction you have not used adds it. Selecting your own existing reaction removes it, so reactions behave like toggles. You can use several different emoji on the same message, but you cannot add the same emoji twice yourself.
In shared Activity Chat, reacting requires you to be the space owner or have Add Reactions access. In Direct Messages, participation in the conversation is the relevant boundary: participants can react to messages in that conversation.
Give A Shared Message An Award
Awards are quick item-level appreciation for contributions that deserve more emphasis than an ordinary reaction. Award artwork and counts remain attached to the message, and the Awards view shows who gave each one.
Awards are available only in shared Activity Chat. Giving one requires Add Awards access and an available Award balance. Choose Give Award from a message menu, select an available award style and quantity, then confirm. Unlike an emoji reaction, an Award is not a simple on-and-off choice and does not offer the same remove toggle.
Shared Activity Chat exposes Award actions in the message menu; Direct Messages do not.
Direct Messages do not expose Award actions. A private message can receive emoji reactions, but it cannot be awarded through the conversation menu.
Choose The Right Signal
Use the lightest response that carries your meaning:
Awards are also different from Medals. Awards recognize an item in the moment; Medals are rare, lasting recognition for a person.
For the wider composing, replying, and editing experience, continue with Messages and Replies.
Common Questions
Can I react in both Activity Chat and Direct Messages?
Yes. Space permissions control shared-chat reactions, while Direct Message participants can react inside their conversation.
Can I remove a reaction?
Yes. Select a reaction you already gave to remove your contribution from its count. You cannot remove someone else's reaction.
Why does :super_nova: sometimes remain as text?
Chat shows a custom image only when that token matches an available custom emoji. Keeping an unknown token readable avoids replacing the message with a broken or empty image.
Can I use custom emoji in posts or documents?
No. Space custom emoji are limited to Chat and Meetings. Standard emoji may still be available on other supported surfaces.
Who can manage a space's custom emoji?
The space owner and members with Manage Chat access. They can maintain up to 50 active custom emoji for the space.
Can I give an Award in a Direct Message?
No. Awards belong to shared Activity Chat. Direct Messages support reactions instead.
Are Awards the same as Medals?
No. Awards are quick appreciation attached to an item such as a shared-chat message. Medals are rare, lasting recognition given to a person.