Where messages come from

For agents

Guide: Where messages come from

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

Topic: Messages

Time: about 3 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

Result when done: Your page Messenger and your Instagram DMs are in the same place as your comments.

Context: Messages is a tab on each page. It holds the conversations people start with your page: Messenger on a Facebook Page, direct messages on an Instagram account, and the chats your automations and private replies open. The list keeps the open chats, newest first, and each line says who wrote last. The DM inbox is included from Starter.

Before you start

1. Each page has its own Messages tab; All pages, then Messages, shows every connected page in one list.

2. A private reply to a comment, yours or an automation's, starts a conversation here.

3. Reading messages needs the message permission on the Facebook connection.

Steps

Step 1 of 3: Open Messages on a page.

Where: Left sidebar, under Pages, click the page, then the Messages tab. On a phone, Messages in the bottom bar.

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

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/messages.en.webp (Messages, on the Facebook Page Northwind Coffee.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/messages-phone.en.webp (Messages on a phone: the list of chats.)

You should see: The open chats of that page, newest first. Each line starts with who wrote last, here AI agent: and You:.

Step 2 of 3: Read an Instagram conversation.

Where: On an Instagram account, the same tab holds its direct messages, with the same box to answer in and the same tools. A photo, a quoted reply and a reaction show as they do on Instagram.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/messages-ig.en.webp (An Instagram chat, and the box you answer in.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/messages-ig-phone.en.webp (The same chat on a phone.)

You should see: The chat, with Type your message here… under it.

Step 3 of 3: See what started a conversation.

Where: The contact panel, at the right of the chat (on a phone: the panel button at the end of the chat's header). Under Started from, Came from names the automation that first reached the person, and the card under it says how the chat began, here Started from a comment.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-inbox.en.webp (Started from: this chat began with a comment, answered by New roast 15% off. (The list here is All pages.))

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-inbox-contact-phone.en.webp (Started from, in the contact panel on a phone.)

You should see: Started from a comment, with the automation's name under it.

If something is off

Problem: Messages shows no chats

Fix: Nobody has written yet, or the list is filtered: the menu above the list reads Open, Closed or All. A chat you closed is under Closed until the person writes again.

Problem: I can see comments but not messages

Fix: The connection was made without the message permission. The tab says Allow message access to finish setup and offers Reconnect and allow.

Problem: A conversation is missing

Fix: Search conversations, above the list, looks at names and messages. Then check Closed.

Common questions

Question: Which plans include the Messenger and Instagram DM inbox?

Answer: Starter and every plan above it. On Mini and Lite it comes with the 7-day DM pass. Mini and Lite are offered in selected countries.

Question: Does CommentWatchDog show Instagram DMs as well as Facebook Messenger?

Answer: Yes. The Messages tab on a Facebook Page holds Messenger, and on an Instagram account it holds the direct messages, with the same box to answer in and the same tools.

Question: Is there one inbox for messages across all my pages?

Answer: Yes. Choose All pages, then Messages: the Instagram DMs and Messenger chats of every connected page in one list, newest first, each row marked with the page it came to. You can still filter to one platform or one page, and a brand group opens as its own merged inbox.

Question: Can I see which comment started a conversation?

Answer: Yes. A comment that started an automation appears in the chat as an event, and the contact panel says Started from a comment with the automation's name.

Question: Who on my team can read and answer messages?

Answer: Anyone on your team. Only an owner or administrator can reconnect Facebook to add the message permission if it is missing.

Related guides

Allow message access on the connection: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/messages/allow-message-access-on-the-connection

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

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

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/messages/where-messages-come-from.md

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