Not everything that connects your records together or classifies them fits neatly into record types or a picklist. Sometimes, you need a flexible way to group information by themes, initiatives, or even internal tags – all without overcomplicating your data model by adding a ton of different fields to help with classification.
Topics for objects in Salesforce can help categorize records in an organized but user-friendly way, so that it’s easier to arrange and sort out data, enhance search, or even add business context across your org.
You can think of it like hashtags for your org. Like hashtags on social media, Topics can:
- Help categorize records by theme
- Make it easier to discover related conversations, especially if you use Chatter in your org
- Allow users to click on a Topic to view other records with the same Topic (useful even if your business does not primarily use Chatter)
- Let users add Topics on the fly (if permissions allow)
In this article, we’ll explore how to enable Topics in your org, as well as use cases that could change the way you think about organizing and navigating your data.
Enable Topics for Objects
Topics are enabled by default for many standard objects. If you’d like to enable them for custom objects, go to Setup and type “Topics for Objects” into the Quick Find box, then select it from the results.
On the left-hand side, you can see a list of the objects in your org, along with whether or not Topics have already been enabled for each. To enable, just select your desired object and tick the box for “Enable Topics” on the right. Tick boxes for the text fields you want to use for Topic suggestions, then hit “Save”.
To add the Topics component to your record pages, open a record of your desired object, and click the gear icon on the upper right to select “Edit Page”. This opens the Lightning App Builder.
On the left, search for “Topics” and drag the component onto your record page canvas.
On the right side, you can customize the component further with changes to its title, placeholder text (what appears in the search bar before the user types in), and the number of Topics shown. The number is set to 10 by default, but records can have up to 100 Topics.
Once you’re happy with the setup, save your record page and exit the Lightning App Builder.
Now that Topics are ready to use, let’s look at five ways they can add value to your org.
Practical Ways to Use Topics in Your Org
1. Categorize Records by Business Themes or Initiatives
What’s great about Topics is that it lets you assign flexible tags that aren’t tied to just one field or object. This makes them useful for a wide range of records, especially for those kinds where records across different objects share a common purpose or initiative.
For example, the marketing team in your org can add the Topic “2025 Product Launch” to records from different objects – such as Campaigns, Leads, and Opportunities – involved in that specific initiative. This creates a virtual grouping that can be easily accessed later on.
As seen from the screenshot above, opening the related list on the Topic “2025 Product Launch” shows three records with this tag – all from different objects. This Topic can then be used to track interactions or conversations related to the 2025 product launch across the org’s departments.
2. Simplify Discovery and Record Search
Salesforce Search is already a powerful tool, but sometimes it can return too much information or miss the context you’re looking for. Topics can help by tagging records with meaningful, specific labels, giving users an additional way to filter and surface related content. This means you no longer have to rely solely on field-based filters or keyword guessing. If the user knows what Topic they need to look at, they can simply search the Topic name to go directly to the specific Topic record. It’s a much faster alternative to digging through pages of results!
For example, members of the sales team may have been using the tag “Upsell Opportunities” to classify deals with strong potential for add-ons. A user can go into Global Search and type “Upsell Opportunities,” which will bring up that Topic as a result. Clicking on it and viewing the “Records with Topic” related list will display all Opportunities that have been tagged as having upsell potential.
Note: It’s best to know the words used in your Topic label to get the best results in Global Search. As long as you know at least one word in the Topic label you’re looking for, it should show up under “Topics” in the search results.
Topics aren’t supported in Salesforce’s natural language search, which only applies to standard objects like Account, Case, Contact, Knowledge, Lead, Opportunity, and Task. So, if you’re expecting to get results for a query like “Leads with 2025 Product Launch Topic,” you won’t get any. Maybe it’s worth submitting this as a feature request on the Salesforce IdeaExchange?
3. Support Internal Tagging for Training and QA
Another way to utilize Topics is to make them serve as internal-only tags that can help with processes related to training, quality assurance, or even coaching. For example, a user might want to mark certain records for review or reference – without making the classic “Can we just add a field?” request that admins hear at least once a week (and love to say no to).
One way this shows up in practice is when the support team uses Topics like “Training Example” for cases that can be useful for demos when onboarding new agents or “Known Issue” to highlight recurring problems that already have solutions. Aside from making internal processes easier, it also builds a self-learning loop internally.
How to Report on Topics in Salesforce
Once you start using Topics in your org, it’s only natural to want to report on them. To get started, you’ll need to create custom report types using either the Topic object or the Topic Assignment object as the primary object.
But even with those in place, the experience is somewhat limited compared to reporting on other standard objects. For example, creating a Topic report can show you the list of Topics in your org, which can be useful as there isn’t a Topics list view in the UI. If you’re following best practices by keeping your Topics updated with descriptions (let’s be honest – descriptions in general are often neglected), this report gives you a helpful way to spot which ones are missing context or need cleanup.
In the screenshot below, you can see a list of Topics where only one has a description.
Topic Assignment, on the other hand, may prove to be a bit more useful. The Topic Assignment object lets you find out which records are assigned which Topics, and you can filter by Topic Name, Record, or Object Type. For this particular report, make sure to add columns and run the report to get a proper view, as I noticed the preview may show no records at all despite having filters set to “All Time.”
The catch here is that there is no column for “Object Type” to identify the record associated with the topic. The Name of the record does not appear as-is either. The main identifiers here are the record ID (which identifies the exact record – the EntityId) and the Record Key Prefix (which identifies what Object the record is using the Object Key Prefix).
For example, if you want to know how many Opportunities are associated with a Topic that covers several objects, filtering the report to show only the entries with a Record Key Prefix of “006” is the way to identify them. Check out this list and guide on Object Key Prefixes to familiarize yourself with them.
If you’re more comfortable using queries, you might find it easier to work with Topics through the Dev Console (or Workbench), especially if you typically use topics for just a few records. In the screenshot below, I used Topic Assignment as a reference and queried the record ID (EntityId) of all records that have the topic “2025 Product Launch” (0TOKi000000XamsOAC).
Personally, querying feels more comfortable when dealing with Topic Assignments, as it gives you more control over filtering. It can be especially helpful when you’re working with automation, data quality checks, or simply prefer querying over the report builder at times.
Final Thoughts
Topics in Salesforce aren’t new – and they’re certainly not the flashiest feature – but they can fill an important gap by letting users organize records in a flexible, lightweight way. Features like record types, custom fields, and automation tend to be structured and rigid, so it’s great that Topics offer an option where needed. Whether you’re using them to connect records under a shared initiative, support onboarding efforts, or enhance internal context across teams, Topics can add clarity and cohesion to your org with just a few clicks.
While they aren’t perfect or clear-cut (especially when it comes to reporting!), Topics can be a quiet hero – helping your users discover, tag, and collaborate around what matters most. Have you been using Topics in your org? Let us know in the comments!
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