Instagram DM automation
Automate Instagram DMs and keep every reply personal
Answer DMs, story replies and keyword comments the moment they arrive, from your Instagram business or creator account, and step in yourself whenever a conversation needs you.
Included in Premium and higher plans, not in Starter. Free for 7 days. Card required; cancel before the trial ends and you will not be charged.
How it works
Up and running in four steps
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Connect your professional account
Add your Instagram business or creator account with Instagram (with Facebook) in Social Accounts. DM automation needs the account linked to a Facebook Page you manage.
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Pick a trigger
A keyword in a DM, a comment on a post or Reel, or a reply to your story.
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Write the reply
Type the message, add buttons or a card, or start from a ready-made template.
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Publish and watch
Switch it on, try it with the test bot, then follow runs and completion in the analytics.
Triggers
Everything that can start an Instagram conversation
Pick one trigger for a simple reply, or several for a full flow.
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DMs and keywords
Answer every DM, or only DMs that contain, exactly match or start with your keyword.
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Post and Reel comments
Reply to comments on your posts and Reels, including posts that run as ads.
Explore comment-to-DM -
Live comments
Answer comments while you're live, for example with the link you just talked about.
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Story replies
Respond when someone replies to one of your stories, with a thank-you, a link or an answer.
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Story mentions
Say thanks when someone mentions you in their story, and keep the conversation going.
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Instagram ads
Greet people who start a chat from your ad, with one flow for every ad or a dedicated flow for a single ad.
Replies
Replies that feel human
Automated does not have to mean robotic. These options keep your answers useful and your timing natural.
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Rotated versions
Write up to 5 versions of a reply. Postocial rotates them, so answers read naturally.
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Quick replies and buttons
Up to 13 quick replies, which are text only on Instagram, and up to 3 buttons, such as a link to your shop.
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Cards and carousels
Show a product or an offer as a card, or up to 10 cards in one carousel.
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Questions that save answers
Ask for an email address or a phone number and save it straight to the contact.
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Timing
Reply right away or after a short pause, at any hour or only during your business hours.
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Once per person
Answer each contact only once, however many times they write or comment.
Bot setup
A first impression for new chats
Choose what people see before they type a word, and what they get when no keyword matches.
- A welcome message when someone taps Get Started
- A default reply when nothing matches, every time or once a day per person
- Up to 4 ice breakers that answer or start a flow. Instagram shows them in its mobile app only.
- A persistent menu with links or flows
AI replies
AI replies from your own knowledge, if you want them
Add an AI Reply step to a flow and it answers with your own OpenAI, Claude, Gemini or DeepSeek key. Your AI provider bills that usage, and Postocial doesn't charge per reply.
- AI Knowledge: answers from your files, web pages and FAQs, with an OpenAI or Gemini key
- A fallback message and a handover to your team when the AI can't help
- One switch that stops every AI step in your workspace
- Tell people they are chatting with an automated assistant where the law requires it
Follow-up
What happens after the first reply
Each conversation leaves you with a contact you can follow up with, inside Instagram's rules.
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Contacts with tags and stages
People who write to you or comment become contacts you can tag and move through your pipeline.
Explore contacts -
Short follow-up sequences
Send a few timed follow-ups after someone subscribes in a flow, within Instagram's messaging rules. They can stop as soon as the person replies.
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Broadcasts
Message a saved segment of people who messaged you in the last 24 hours. Opted-out contacts are skipped.
Explore broadcasts -
Follow-ups after you reply
Start a flow after you or the bot send a message, for example to ask for feedback.
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ig.me links and QR codes
Share a link or a QR code that opens a chat with you and starts a flow, on your bio page, packaging or posters.
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See what brought people in
The Overview shows contact sources, which links and codes brought people in, and how your flows complete.
Instagram's rules
What Instagram lets a business send
Meta limits what businesses can send on Instagram to protect its users, and your automations have to stay within those limits.
- Standard messages only within 24 hours of the person's last message
- The human-agent tag gives a teammate up to 7 days, only for replies a person writes
- Message only people who wrote or commented first, and stop when they ask
- One private reply per comment, within a limited time after it was posted
- Quick replies are text only, and ice breakers show in the mobile app only
FAQ
Instagram DM automation questions
Does it work with a personal Instagram account?
No. Instagram opens its messaging tools only to professional accounts, so you need a business or creator account. You can switch a personal account to a professional one in the Instagram app settings.
Can it reply to story mentions?
Yes. A story mention or a reply to your story can start a flow, such as a thank-you message or an answer to the question the person asked.
Can I send a link when someone comments a keyword?
Yes. Choose the posts, set the keyword, reply to the comment publicly and send the link by DM. Instagram allows one private reply per comment, and only to the person who commented. How comment-to-DM works.
Can my team take over a conversation?
Yes. Instagram DMs arrive in the unified inbox, and the automation can pause as soon as a teammate replies. Hand the chat back to the bot when you're done.
Do AI replies cost extra?
Not from Postocial. AI replies run on your own OpenAI, Claude, Gemini or DeepSeek key, so your AI provider bills that usage. Postocial doesn't charge per message.
How is this different from scheduling Instagram posts?
Scheduling, on every plan, publishes your Instagram posts at the right time. DM automation, on Premium and higher plans, answers the people who respond to them. Both run in the same workspace. See Instagram scheduling.
Let Instagram answer while you create
On Premium and higher plans, connect your Instagram account during the free trial and publish your first keyword reply today.
A card is required to start the 7-day free trial. When the trial ends, we charge your card for the plan you picked, unless you cancel before.