See who sent each message

For agents

Guide: See who sent each message

This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/messages/see-who-sent-each-message

Topic: Messages

Time: about 2 minutes

Who can do it: Anyone on your team

Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)

Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox/messages

Result when done: You can tell an automation's message from the AI agent's, a teammate's, or one sent from Instagram or Facebook itself.

Context: When automations and people share one conversation, each outgoing message says who sent it: a teammate by name, an automation or the AI agent by the name of the automation that sent it, or Sent from Instagram (or Facebook) when someone answered from Meta's own apps. The customer's message that started an automation is marked Started, and a comment that started a run appears in the thread as an event, so you read the whole story in one place. Messages from all your pages sit in one list, each marked with the page it came to.

Before you start

1. The DM inbox is on Starter and above (and on the 7-day DM pass on Mini and Lite).

2. All pages shows every connected page; filter to one platform or one page.

3. You reply as the page the chat came to.

Steps

Step 1 of 3: Open Messages for all your pages.

Where: Left sidebar, All pages, then the Messages tab. The list holds every connected page's chats, and each row names the page it came to (@northwind.coffee · Instagram, Northwind Coffee · Facebook). The All pages switch above the list narrows it to one platform or one page. On a phone the list comes first, then the chat.

Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox/messages (Open Messages)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-inbox.en.webp (All pages: every chat, each marked with its page.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-inbox-phone.en.webp (The merged list on a phone.)

You should see: The chats newest first. A row whose last message came from a machine starts with Automation: or AI agent: instead of You:.

Step 2 of 3: Open a chat and read the line under each message.

Where: Under each message the page sent, a small line says who sent it. A bolt and an automation's name (New roast 15% off): that automation sent it. A robot and a name (AI barista on DMs): the AI agent answered, through that automation. A person's name (Mara Ellison): a teammate wrote it. Automated messages sit on a tinted bubble; a teammate's is solid.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-inbox.en.webp (An automation's message with its name under it. Below it: the AI agent's answer, then a teammate's.)

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

You should see: Who sent every message in the conversation. The name is a link to that automation.

Step 3 of 3: Find what started the automation.

Where: The customer's message that started an automation carries Started and the automation's name. A comment that started a run shows in the thread as an event: Commented on your post, or Commented on your ad, with the comment.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-inbox-event.en.webp (The comment that started it, as an event in the thread.)

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

You should see: The trigger and everything the automation sent after it, in order.

If something is off

Problem: A message says Sent from Instagram

Fix: Someone answered from the Instagram app (or Meta Business Suite), not from CommentWatchDog. It is still the page writing.

Problem: An automated message says only Automation or AI agent

Fix: The run behind it was pruned, so the automation's name is gone and only its kind is known.

Problem: Replies are greyed out on one page

Fix: That page is disconnected. The banner names it with Reconnect; replies go again once it is reconnected.

Common questions

Question: How do I know if a DM was sent by my automation or by a person?

Answer: Every outgoing message carries a line under it: a teammate's name, the automation's name with a bolt, the AI agent's automation with a robot, or Sent from Instagram or Facebook when it was written in Meta's own apps. In the chat list the last message starts with Automation: or AI agent:.

Question: Can I see all my pages' DMs in one inbox?

Answer: Yes. All pages, then Messages, shows every connected page's Instagram DMs and Messenger chats in one list, each marked with its page; filter to one platform or one page.

Question: Does the inbox show WhatsApp?

Answer: No. The inbox holds Instagram DMs and Messenger chats only.

Related guides

The contact panel: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/messages/the-contact-panel

Pause the automation in one chat: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/messages/pause-the-automation-in-one-chat

Where messages come from: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/messages/where-messages-come-from

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/messages/see-who-sent-each-message.md

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