From zero to your first automated DM.
Six steps, about fifteen minutes. No code, and you never give us your Instagram password.
What you are building
Someone comments a keyword. They get a DM. That is the whole loop.
Step by step
Follow in order. Each step assumes the one before it is done.
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1
Get your Instagram account ready
Instagram only allows automation on Business or Creator accounts. A personal account cannot be connected — this is Meta's rule, not ours.
In the Instagram app: Settings → Account type and tools → Switch to professional accountSwitching is free and reversible, and it does not change your handle, your followers or your posts.Account type and toolsSwitch to professional account ›CreatorBusiness -
2
Connect it
Go to Accounts → Connect Instagram. You are sent to Meta's own login screen, you approve the permissions there, and you come back connected.
The permissions we ask for, and why:
instagram_business_manage_messagesto send the DMinstagram_business_manage_commentsto read comments and replyinstagram_business_basicto identify the account
We never see or store your password. Revoke access from Instagram at any time.◎Continue as @yourbrand✓ Manage messages✓ Manage commentsAllow -
3
Choose what starts it
Create an automation and pick one trigger. They behave differently:
💬 Comment Someone comments on your post or reel. The only trigger that can also reply publicly.📖 Story reply Someone replies to your story. Arrives in your inbox, so there is nothing public to reply to.✉️ DM keyword Someone messages you a keyword directly.What starts this automation?Someone comments on a post or reel ▾Trigger keywordsPRICEcontainsLINKcontains -
4
Write the message
Personalise it with
{{first_name}}, and vary the wording with{Hey|Hi|Hello}— one option is picked per send, so no two people get identical text.Vary your public reply especially. It sits under the post for everyone to see, so the same sentence repeated under every comment is the most obvious automation signal there is.Add a delay of 30–90 seconds so replies do not land instantly on every comment.DM message{Hey|Hi} {{first_name}}! Here's the link 👇Examples· Hey Priya! Here's the link 👇 · Hi Priya! Here's the link 👇 -
5
Activate, then test on a real post
A draft never fires. Hit Activate, then comment your keyword from a different Instagram account.
Commenting from your own account will not trigger anything. Self-comments are skipped deliberately, or an automation would reply to itself forever.draft not running↓active listening for comments -
6
Watch it work
Reports shows what fired and what it achieved. The activity log lists every action with its result, so a failure is never a mystery.
Expect a delay of up to a minute — actions run on a queue, not instantly.success comment_matchedsuccess dm_sentsuccess reply_sent
Running clients
One workspace per client. Nothing is shared between them.
Create a workspace
Workspaces → Add. Connect that client's Instagram inside it.
Invite the client
People → Invite. Choose Owner to hand the workspace over.
They take ownership
They accept, the workspace becomes theirs, and you stay on as manager.
They stay in control
They can remove your access whenever they like. Their automations keep running.
Things that surprise people
Every one of these is a Meta rule, not a limitation we chose.
Ready to set it up?
The free plan covers 100 DMs a month — enough to prove it works on a real post.
Create your free account