Instagram auto reply: answer every DM and comment
Free for 7 days, no credit card required
People ask the price in a DM, comment LINK under a reel and reply to your story at midnight. Answering each by hand takes hours, and a slow answer loses the sale. Here is what Instagram offers on its own, and how to answer every one automatically.
- Meta's official API, no password, nothing installed
- Unlimited contacts on every plan
- AI replies in your customer's language
- From $29 a month
What Instagram does on its own
Instagram’s own tools offer instant replies, frequently asked questions and keyword replies for business accounts, and Meta is rolling out AI replies. For replies that run on every DM, comment and story mention, with your keywords, buttons and AI answers from your knowledge, CommentWatchDog automates them through Meta’s official API, from $29 a month.
Meta Business Suite, on a computer
Inbox automations
- 1
Open Inbox in Meta Business Suite and click Automations.
- 2
Click Create automation and pick one: Instant reply (a greeting for a first message), Away message, Frequently asked questions or Custom keywords.
- 3
Write the reply, click Create automation, and turn it on or off with its Status toggle.
- A custom keyword reply takes up to 5 keywords, which must match exactly; Meta says they are case-sensitive.
- Meta sends a keyword reply after 15 minutes, unless you answer first.
- Keyword replies are only in Meta Business Suite on a computer.
In the Instagram app
AI auto replies (creator AI)
- 1
On your profile, tap Professional dashboard, then Your AI under Your tools.
- 2
Tap the gear for Your AI Settings and turn on Auto replies.
- 3
Choose who it answers: anyone you don’t follow, followers you don’t follow back, or only people you choose.
- Meta is introducing it gradually, in the mobile app only, and it needs a creator AI built in Meta AI Studio.
- Meta notes its AIs have been trained in English, so other languages may get weaker answers.
- To turn it off: Professional dashboard, Your AI, then the Auto replies toggle.
Every message answered, not just the first
Instagram’s tools cover a greeting and a few keywords. These are the rows that decide it for a business that lives in its DMs; the Instagram DM automation page has the rest.
CommentWatchDogInstagram’s side is Meta’s own help: About Inbox automations, Set up Inbox automations, About AI auto replies (read September 2026). Instagram is a trademark of Meta.
Answers for every way people reach you
Each start below is its own automation, in the app’s own words, with the rule Meta sets for it. For a Facebook Page, see Facebook auto reply.
In the DMs
Answers to what people write to you.
- Instagram messageKeyword replies
A message with your keywords, an exact phrase or any message at all gets its answer: text, buttons, a link or a whole flow. Keyword replies.
Up to 50 keywords; a keyword must start a word, so “hi” is never found in “this”.
- Ice breakers and first messagesA welcome for the first message
Their first message ever gets your greeting, and up to four questions sit above an empty chat for them to tap. The welcome message and ice breakers.
Ice breakers do not show on Instagram on a computer.
- AI agent answersQuestions answered by AI
Anything your keywords do not catch can go to your AI agent, which answers from your site, text and FAQs, or hands the chat to a person. AI answers in your DMs.
Only one automatic answer goes to one message.
Under your posts
Answers to comments on posts, reels and ads.
- Post or reel commentsComment auto reply
A keyword or any comment gets a public reply under it and the one private reply Meta allows in their DMs. Comment to DM.
One private reply per comment, within 7 days of it.
- Hide the commentSpam answered with silence
Your moderation rules run first, so a scam that types your keyword gets no link, and spam is hidden before anyone reads it.
A hidden comment is still seen by its author.
Stories and links
Answers that start somewhere else.
- Story reply or mentionStory replies
A reply to your story, or a mention in theirs, gets a thank-you, a code or a whole flow. Story replies and mentions.
Meta sends no event for GIF or sticker replies.
- ig.me linkA link that starts the chat
Your chat link in a bio, an ad or a QR code opens the DM and starts its own reply.
Brand-new people need ice breakers switched on for Instagram to pass the link along.
Your first auto reply, in four steps
From connecting the account to the first answer going out.
- 01
Connect Instagram
Sign in with Facebook’s own login and pick your Instagram professional account. Meta’s official API: no password shared, nothing installed.
A business or creator account
- 02
Pick what it answers
A DM with a keyword, a comment, a story reply, a first message, or any message for the AI agent.
Each start has its own reply
- 03
Write the reply
Text with their name in it, buttons and links, a code, a question, or a whole flow.
Up to 1,000 characters on Instagram
- 04
Switch it on
Turn it Live and every matching message is answered within seconds. Pause it, or take over one chat, whenever you like.
Pause a chat for 24 hours in the inbox
Every answer, in one place
Each message in the inbox says who sent it: you, the automation or the AI agent, and one press takes a chat over.
- Pause for 24 hours
- Automations and the AI agent stay quiet in that chat while you answer.
Questions about Instagram auto reply
What people ask before they turn it on.
Yes. Instagram’s own tools offer an instant reply to first messages, frequently asked questions and keyword replies through Meta Business Suite on a computer, and Meta is gradually adding AI auto replies in the app. For replies to every DM, comment and story reply, with your keywords, buttons and AI answers, CommentWatchDog automates them through Meta’s official API.
With Instagram’s own tools: in Meta Business Suite open Inbox, click Automations, then Create automation, pick Instant reply or Custom keywords, write the reply and turn it on. With CommentWatchDog: connect your Instagram account with Facebook’s login, pick what starts the reply (a message, a comment, a story reply or a first message), write it and switch it to Live.
Use a comment start: pick the posts, reels or ads, the keywords (or any comment), then a public reply under the comment, a private reply in their DMs, or both. Spam that types your keyword is hidden by your moderation rules before any reply. See comment to DM.
For Instagram’s own replies, turn off the automation’s Status toggle in Meta Business Suite’s Inbox automations, or for AI auto replies go to Professional dashboard, Your AI and switch off Auto replies. In CommentWatchDog, switch the automation off in its list, or pause automations in one chat for 24 hours from the inbox.
Yes, on Meta’s official API: keyword replies and flows answer what you planned, and an AI agent answers the rest from your website, text and FAQs, in the customer’s language. When it does not know, it hands the chat to a person instead of guessing.
Short, specific and with one next step. For a price question: “The new roast is $18 a bag and ships today. Shop it here.” For a LINK comment: “Hey Kayla! Tap below and the code is yours.” For a story reply: “Thank you, Ava! Here’s 15% off your first bag: WELCOME15.”
Instagram’s own tools are free. CommentWatchDog has a 7-day free trial without a card, then plans from $29 a month with unlimited contacts and no charge per message. See pricing.