Discord AutoMod vs AI Automod: what's the difference?
Updated November 14, 2026
They have almost the same name, but they are different tools. AutoMod is the filter built into Discord, free and already on your server. AI Automod is an independent bot you add on top. Here is an honest look at what each one does, so you can pick one or combine them.
What AutoMod, Discord's tool, does
AutoMod lives in Server Settings → AutoMod and works on every server. According to Discord's official FAQ, it offers:
- Keyword rules: your own list (up to 1,000 terms of 60 characters per rule, with
*wildcards) and three ready-made lists: insults and slurs, sexual content, severe profanity. - A spam filter trained on messages reported to Discord, and a mention limit per message (up to 50).
- Blocked words in member names.
- Three responses: block the message before it is posted, send an alert to a channel, time out the author (custom keyword and mention spam rules only).
Its big strength: a blocked message never appears. Its limits, which Discord states itself: the ready-made lists and the spam filter only work in English, and a keyword is blocked everywhere, whatever the intent. Discord itself points out that it's often the intent, not the word, that hurts.
For raids, Discord also offers alerts and a temporary captcha after a detected raid (gradually rolling out to Community servers), and pausing invites.
What AI Automod adds
It judges meaning, not just words
In AI mode, each message is read as a whole: category, severity and tone. “you're so dumb 😂” between friends is not “you don't even have friends, shut up”. Before any sanction, a second AI checks that the message itself is really at fault; when in doubt, nothing is sanctioned. Details are on the AI Automod's AI page. AI mode is in beta, included in the Max plan or free with your own AI key.
It understands French from the free plan
Rule-based moderation (insults, sexual content, personal data, scams) is built for French and the English terms common on Discord, with no AI and no subscription.
It sanctions and keeps the history
Warn, mute, kick, ban, numbered cases, automatic escalation for repeat offenders, appeal link for banned members: see sanctions.
It protects the server all the time
Automatic raid mode, one-click lockdown, anti new accounts, anti bot, captcha on every join (Pro) and anti-nuke: limits on creating or deleting channels and roles and on mass moderation. See protections.
It logs everything
Logs by category, Smartlog cards with action buttons (Pro) and a web dashboard.
Quick comparison
| AutoMod (Discord) | AI Automod | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, built in | Free · Pro €2.99 · Max €9.99 (30 days) |
| Ready-made insult lists | English | French (and common English terms) |
| Your own word list | Yes, with wildcards | No |
| Understands tone (joke or serious) | No | Yes, AI mode (beta, Max) |
| Blocks before posting | Yes | No: deletes right after |
| Spam and mass mentions | Yes | Yes, plus flood, links and scams |
| Personal data (phone, address…) | With your own list | Yes |
| Sanctions | Block, alert, timeout | Warn, mute, kick, ban, history, escalation |
| Anti-raid | Alerts and temporary captcha | Automatic raid mode, lockdown, new accounts |
| Captcha on join | Temporary, after a detected raid | On every join (Pro) |
| Anti-nuke (channels, roles, mass bans) | No | Yes |
| Logs and dashboard | Alerts in a channel | Logs, Smartlog (Pro), web dashboard |
Should you keep Discord's AutoMod?
Yes, nothing stops you from using both. A good combination: keep a short list of words you never want posted in
AutoMod (they are blocked before they appear), and let AI Automod judge the rest by tone, then handle sanctions, raids
and logs. To get started, follow the setup guide: /setup configures
everything in two minutes.
AI Automod is an independent bot, not affiliated with Discord Inc. Information about AutoMod comes from Discord's public FAQ as of the date shown at the top of the page.