Start a flow when someone sends a keyword

For agents

Guide: Start a flow when someone sends a keyword

This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-starts/start-a-flow-when-someone-sends-a-keyword

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: A DM with your word (or any DM) starts the flow.

Context: The message start listens to DMs: an Instagram message on Instagram, a Messenger message on Facebook. Because the person wrote to you, the chat is already open, so the flow can send messages, ask questions and branch at once.

Before you start

1. Instagram and Facebook both.

2. The same keyword rules as comments: up to 50, up to 80 characters each.

3. One message gets one automatic answer: a keyword automation first, then the greeting, then a catch-all.

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. The message start reads Instagram message on Instagram and Messenger message on Facebook (Someone sends you a message). 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 which messages.

Where: Trigger panel, Which ones: Any message, Has a keyword (the message contains any of your words), or Is exactly (the whole message is one of them). Is exactly ignores a leading ¿ or ¡ and the punctuation at the end.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-start-dm.en.webp (Which ones, here set to Has a keyword.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-start-dm-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)

You should see: The start card reads the choice in a sentence.

Step 3 of 4: Add the keywords.

Where: Keywords, under Which ones: type a word and press Enter. Capitals don't matter; accents on Latin letters are ignored; a keyword typed with quote marks matches the word without them.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-start-dm.en.webp (The keywords as chips.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-start-dm-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)

You should see: Each keyword is a chip.

Step 4 of 4: Say how often one person can start it.

Where: Trigger panel, How often per person, under the keywords: Every time, Once ever, Once a day or Once a week. Someone who already went through it is skipped quietly.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-start-dm.en.webp (How often per person.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-start-dm-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)

You should see: Someone who writes the word again follows the rule you picked.

If something is off

Problem: Another automation answered instead

Fix: One message gets one automatic answer. Two live automations that could answer the same message are flagged in the editor with the choice of which answers; the more specific one wins until you choose.

Problem: It answered a word inside another word

Fix: It does not: a keyword must start a word. Check the message for the keyword on its own, or use Is exactly.

Common questions

Question: What if two automations match the same message?

Answer: Only one answers. A keyword automation goes first, then the greeting for a first message, then a catch-all such as Any message or the AI agent. Between two keyword automations, the editor flags the clash and the more specific one answers until you choose.

Question: Can the flow start on any message at all?

Answer: Yes. Choose Any message under Which ones. It is the catch-all: keyword automations still answer first.

Question: Does a quick reply tap count as a message?

Answer: A quick reply posts its title as the person's message, so a tap is read like typed text.

Related guides

Start a flow when someone comments: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-starts/start-a-flow-when-someone-comments

Send a message with buttons and quick replies: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-steps/send-a-message-with-buttons-and-quick-replies

Answer messages that contain a keyword: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/answer-messages-that-contain-a-keyword

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-starts/start-a-flow-when-someone-sends-a-keyword.md

All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt