Guide: Start a flow from comments on your ads
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-starts/start-a-flow-from-comments-on-your-ads
Topic: Flow starts
Time: about 3 minutes
Who can do it: Owner, Administrator or Manager
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox
Result when done: Comments under your Facebook and Instagram ads get the flow.
Context: The same comment start, narrowed to your ads. Meta sends comments on ad posts to CommentWatchDog like any other comment (Instagram's carry the ad they were left on), so a flow can answer the person who asked under your ad with the one private reply Meta allows, while the ad keeps running.

Before you start:
1. Ads only is a choice of the comment start, on Instagram and Facebook.
2. Meta allows one private reply per comment, within 7 days of it.
3. Facebook cannot send a private reply to another Page.

Steps:
Step 1 of 4: Open a flow and pick the start.
Where: Automation, then New automation and Start from a blank canvas; the window Start automation when… lists the Triggers. On Facebook it reads Post or ad comments; on Instagram, Post or reel comments. To change the start of a flow you already have, click its first card and press Change beside Starts with.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the app)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-starts.en.webp (Start automation when…: every start of the page.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-starts-phone.en.webp (The starts on a phone.)
You should see: The start lands as the first card, and the panel on the right, Trigger, opens its settings.

Step 2 of 4: Choose Ads only.
Where: Trigger panel, On which posts: Ads only. Any post or ad covers ads and posts together; Pick posts can hold a single ad.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-start-ad.en.webp (On which posts: Ads only.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-start-ad-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The start card reads Ads only.

Step 3 of 4: Choose which comments.
Where: Trigger panel, Which ones, under On which posts. Any comment answers everyone who comments under the ad. Has a keyword or Is exactly holds it to your words: a field for the keywords opens under it (type a word and press Enter).
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-start-ad.en.webp (Which ones, here set to Any comment.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-start-ad-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The start card reads the choice under Ads only: Any comment, or your words.

Step 4 of 4: Answer with the private reply.
Where: Add Private reply from the Steps panel (On the comment) and wire it after the start. Give it a Button so their tap opens the chat; the rest of the flow runs there. A Public reply before it answers in the thread under the ad for everyone.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-private.en.webp (The private reply and its button.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-private-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The private reply sits after the start, and its way When they tap or reply leads on.

If something is off:
Problem: A commenter never got the private reply
Fix: On Instagram a private reply to someone who does not follow you lands in their Requests folder. On Facebook, a comment left by another Page cannot get one.
Problem: Old ad comments did not get it
Fix: The private reply must go within 7 days of the comment. A flow answers comments that arrive while it is live.

Common questions:
Question: Does it work on Instagram ads too?
Answer: Yes. Ads only is a choice of the comment start on both Instagram and Facebook; Instagram's comment events carry the ad they were left on.
Question: Can the flow answer the same comment twice in private?
Answer: No. Meta allows one private reply per comment, and the canvas refuses a second. Anything more goes after the person taps or replies.
Question: Can I pick one ad instead of all of them?
Answer: Yes. Pick posts holds the posts and ads you choose; paste an ad's post link to find one that is not in the list.

Related guides:
- Start a flow when someone comments: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-starts/start-a-flow-when-someone-comments
- Send the private reply: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-steps/send-the-private-reply
- Comments on ads: what Meta allows: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/platforms/comments-on-ads-what-meta-allows

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-starts/start-a-flow-from-comments-on-your-ads.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt