Guide: Send an Instagram commenter a DM automatically
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/send-an-instagram-commenter-a-dm-automatically
Topic: Keyword automations
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: Whoever comments the word you asked for gets the link, the code or the answer in their Instagram inbox, without you.
Context: Instagram lets a business answer a comment privately once, within seven days of the comment, and the app has no way to do it by rule. A keyword automation in CommentWatchDog watches the comments on your Instagram account and, when one contains the word you chose, sends your reply as a private message to that person. It works through Meta's official API: you sign in with Facebook and approve the Instagram account, no Instagram password is shared, and the message comes from your account. Keyword automations are included from Lite, with private-message replies from Starter.

Before you start:
1. Meta allows one private reply per comment, within 7 days of it. After the window the automation cannot send privately.
2. The message lands in the person's Instagram inbox if they follow you, otherwise in Requests, with a link to the commented post.
3. The conversation continues in Messages, on that account, within 24 hours of their last message.

Steps:
Step 1 of 4: Open the Automation tab on your Instagram account.
Where: Left sidebar, under Pages, click the Instagram account, then Automation. On a phone, the account, then Automation in the row under the title. Create automation, or start from a recipe and change its words.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the app)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-recipes.en.webp (The Automation tab of an Instagram account.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-recipes-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The editor, with the trigger at the top and the reply at the bottom.

Step 2 of 4: Set the trigger to the word you will ask for.
Where: When a comment, then exactly a keyword when the whole comment is the word, which is the usual shape of "comment LINK": it matches LINK and nothing else. Use contains keywords when the word may sit inside a sentence, such as price or code. Add the word with Enter.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor.en.webp (When a comment… and the keyword.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Your word appears as a chip; a comment that is that word, or contains it, matches.

Step 3 of 4: Write the message and switch on Send as private message.
Where: Then, choose Reply, write the message with the link or the code in it, and switch on Send as private message under the reply. A private message is read alone, so it can be longer and more specific than a public reply.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor-options.en.webp (Send as private message.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor-options-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Matching comments get a message in their Instagram inbox rather than a public reply, and the row in your inbox says Replied with a private note.

Step 4 of 4: Follow it up in Messages.
Where: Messages, on that account. Each conversation starts with the comment that triggered it, and you can keep talking within 24 hours of the person's last message.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the app)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/messages.en.webp (Messages: the conversation continues there.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/messages-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: A normal conversation, with the comment that started it as its first message.

If something is off:
Problem: The message was not sent
Fix: The 7 day window had passed, a private reply had already been sent for that comment, or the person does not accept messages from your account.
Problem: It never triggers
Fix: The word people type is not the word you set: LINK, link and Link all match, but "the link please" does not match exactly a keyword. Switch to contains keywords, or ask for a single word in the caption.
Problem: It sent to a spam comment
Fix: Word matching has no judgement. Switch on the moderation rules for that account; a comment a rule hides gets no reply, private or public.
Problem: I want a public reply as well
Fix: Use this automation for the private message and answer publicly by hand from the inbox.

Common questions:
Question: Can I automatically DM everyone who comments a keyword on my Instagram post?
Answer: Yes. A keyword automation on the account watches every new comment, and when one is or contains your word it sends your reply as a private message to that person, within Meta's window of 7 days from the comment and one private reply per comment.
Question: Does it need my Instagram password?
Answer: No. You sign in with Facebook and approve the Instagram account through Meta's official API; nothing is installed in your browser or your phone, and access can be removed in Facebook, Settings, then Business integrations, at any time.
Question: Where does the person receive the message?
Answer: In their Instagram inbox if they follow your account, otherwise in Requests. Meta includes a link to the commented post in the message, and on your side the conversation appears in Messages for that account.
Question: Does it work on comments under an Instagram ad, and on reels?
Answer: Yes. An automation belongs to the account and runs on every new comment on its posts, reels and ads. A comment your moderation rules hide gets no reply, so spam is never messaged.
Question: Which plans can send the reply as a private message?
Answer: Starter and every plan above it. On Lite, a private-message automation kept from the trial replies in public. Replies never count towards your comment allowance.

Related guides:
- Reply as a private message: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/reply-as-a-private-message
- Create an automation: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/create-an-automation
- Private replies: one message, 7 days, then 24 hours: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/platforms/private-replies-one-message-7-days-then-24-hours

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/send-an-instagram-commenter-a-dm-automatically.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt