Instagram Comment-to-DM Automation: Set Up Replies and an AI Agent
By Mark Inger, CEO at Pleep
Automatically sending a catalogue to someone who comments “CATALOGUE” on Instagram involves two stages: one private reply to the comment, followed by a conversation after the customer responds. A comment does not authorize an automated sequence of DMs. An AI agent can continue when the customer replies in Direct or taps a reply button.
This guide uses Pleep's Instagram integration to connect an account, select comments, prepare the messages, and test CRM handoff. The example is a store post inviting people to comment “CATALOGUE2026” to receive a catalogue.
What Instagram permits
The first private reply and an ongoing conversation have different rules. For posts and Reels, Meta allows one private reply within seven days of the comment. Follow-up messages require a response from the recipient and must stay within 24 hours of that response. See Meta's private-replies documentation.
| Customer action | What you can configure |
|---|---|
| Comments with your keyword on your post | One permitted private reply to that comment |
| Replies in Direct or taps a reply button | A conversation within the 24-hour messaging window |
| Only opens a website link | A website visit alone does not open a conversation |
| Does not respond to the first DM | No further automated message sequence |
A reply button and a button that opens a website are different. For a catalogue flow, ask the customer to tap “Get catalogue” first, then send the link after that response. Manychat's own comment-trigger instructions also explain why a website click is not a conversation response.
1. Prepare the account and knowledge base
Pleep's Facebook connection flow requires a professional Instagram account linked to a Facebook Page, with access to that Page. A personal Instagram profile does not work for this connection method. Meta describes the Page requirement in its Instagram API with Facebook Login documentation.
Prepare the current catalogue, delivery terms, payment options and returns policy. Add them to the agent's knowledge base and test answers in a test chat. Tell the agent what to do when a product or answer is missing: ask a manager rather than inventing stock availability or a price.
A store should also define:
- which questions to ask before recommending a product;
- when to request the customer's city and contact details;
- which discounts the agent is allowed to offer;
- when a person should take over.
2. Connect Instagram to Pleep
Open the dashboard on a computer, choose the agent, and open integrations. Start the Facebook sign-in flow under Instagram. Select the business portfolio, Page and Instagram account, grant the requested permissions, and finish connecting.
In Instagram, enable access to messages under Settings → Messages and story replies → Message requests → Allow access to messages. Labels can vary by app version; look for permission for connected tools to access Direct.
Send a regular Direct message from another account. It should appear in Pleep. If it does not, check message access and the selected account before configuring keywords: a comment rule cannot fix missing incoming messages.
If you connected Instagram earlier and see a prompt to reconnect for comments, complete that step. It grants Pleep the permissions needed to handle comments.
3. Choose a post and keyword
Open comment automation in the Instagram integration and create a rule. For the first launch, choose a single post or Reel. Use the all-posts option only when the same response is appropriate for existing and future posts.
Add CATALOGUE2026 as the keyword. Pleep matches text without distinguishing uppercase from lowercase and looks for the keyword within the comment. Short strings can therefore match inside unrelated words. Check several examples:
| Example comment | Expected result |
|---|---|
| “CATALOGUE2026” | Rule matches |
| “Could I get catalogue2026 please?” | Rule matches |
| “Great photo!” | Rule does not match |
Use the editor's keyword tester if it is available in your dashboard. Avoid an “Any comment” rule for a catalogue offer: someone complimenting a photo may not want a sales message.
4. Prepare the first DM and button response
Example first message:
Thanks for your interest! Tap “Get catalogue” below and I'll send the link here. I'm the store's virtual assistant; I can also bring in a team member.
Add a “Get catalogue” reply button. After the customer taps it, send a second message containing the promised link. Make sure the catalogue opens without access to your work account: test it in a private browser window and on a phone.
Do not tell customers the catalogue has already arrived if it will only be sent after a button tap. An optional public comment reply can say: “Check Direct and message requests for the catalogue button.” Public replies and private messages are separate actions; seeing a public reply does not prove that the DM was delivered.
Once the customer responds, the AI can ask which product they need, answer from the knowledge base, and suggest a next step. Receiving the first DM without responding does not authorize further automated reminders.
5. Connect CRM and human handoff
If you use amoCRM or Bitrix24, first connect the CRM to the correct agent and verify the destination pipeline. Pleep's comment automation supports creating a deal after a Direct response: the comment and opening message stay in Pleep, while CRM handoff begins after the customer sends a message or uses a reply button.
This sends an engaged conversation to the CRM instead of creating a deal for every comment under a post. Follow the amoCRM and Bitrix24 setup guide for pipeline and stage configuration.
Test the opposite direction too: when a manager takes over or AI is disabled at the CRM stage, automation should not keep speaking for them. For Instagram alongside WhatsApp and Telegram, use the shared inbox, but do not assume that separate customer profiles will merge without matching their contact details.
6. Test before sending paid traffic
Use a separate customer account and your own test post:
- Leave the keyword comment and check for the first DM, including message requests.
- Before tapping, confirm that the catalogue and subsequent sequence are not sent automatically.
- Tap the reply button and check the link and conversation continuation.
- Ask one question covered by the knowledge base and another it cannot answer.
- Verify deal creation after the reply, the selected pipeline, and operator handoff.
- Leave a comment without the keyword: the rule should not run.
Do not rely only on repeating the same comment. Platform limits and duplicate protection can suppress repeated messages. Use a new test post and an independent customer account when checking an edited flow.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| Even normal incoming DMs are missing | Instagram message access, selected account and connection status |
| Direct works but comments do not | Comment permissions, active rule, account and post selection, keyword |
| Public reply appears but the DM is missing | The customer's message requests; a public reply is not delivery confirmation |
| The link opened but AI did not continue | Whether the customer used a reply button rather than just a website link; whether the conversation window is open |
| No CRM deal appears | Whether the customer replied, deal creation is enabled, and CRM is connected to the correct agent |
| AI stops after a manager takes over | Current conversation owner and CRM-stage AI settings; stopping may be expected |
Measure the steps separately
Count matching comments, delivered opening messages, customer responses and CRM deals separately. They represent different stages: receiving a message is not yet an enquiry. For a small pilot, review Pleep conversations alongside CRM records; do not report message sends as sales.
Start with one post and one offer, then expand after testing. Check current Pleep plans for channel and CRM availability, and the integrations page for the other parts of the workflow.
