How to Auto-Reply to Instagram Comments (and Send a DM)

An auto reply to Instagram comments posts a public reply under any comment that contains your keyword and, in the same moment, sends that commenter a direct message with your link, running on Meta's official Instagram API. Instagram already includes a limited version of this for free in every professional account; a connected tool adds exact keyword matching, a multi-step DM, and click reporting.

Updated October 21, 20269-minute read

What happens when someone comments your keyword?

Instagram sends a connected tool a webhook the instant someone comments on a post, reel, ad or live video, and the tool answers in that same moment with a public reply and a private message. The mechanism is the same whether the tool is HookReply, ManyChat or any other, because every one of them calls the same Instagram API:

1. Someone comments your keyword on a reel, post, ad or live video — for example, "LINK".
2. Instagram's webhook delivers the comment to the tool in real time, with the comment's text, the post it sits under and who wrote it.
3. The tool posts a public reply, picked at random from a short list you write, so every commenter doesn't see the identical line repeated down the thread.
4. The tool sends a private message with your link, usually behind a button. If the person taps a button or writes back, the conversation can continue: ask for an email, offer a choice, or forward the contact to a CRM such as GoHighLevel over a webhook — the exact fields HookReply sends on each step are in GoHighLevel + Instagram DM automation.

A comment is only one of several triggers Instagram supports: a tool can answer a keyword sent by direct message, a reply to one of your stories, or the first message a stranger ever sends you, through the same API. The native options and the AI-chat ones for the direct-message side specifically are covered in auto-replies to Instagram DMs.

What does Instagram's official API allow for comment auto-replies?

Instagram's official API allows exactly one private reply per comment, and it has to be sent within 7 days of that comment; after the person answers, the conversation can keep going only within the next 24 hours. Both limits come straight from Meta's developer documentation, not from any tool's marketing:

• One private message per comment, sent within 7 days of when the comment was posted (Meta: private replies).
• A 24-hour window to keep talking once the recipient responds to that first message — outside it, the tool cannot send anything else (same source).
• Works on posts, reels, stories, ads and live videos; on a live video, only while the broadcast is still running (same source).
• No cold outreach. A tool can only message someone who has commented, written to you, or replied to one of your stories; there is no legitimate way to message someone who hasn't interacted with the account first.
• Needs a professional account and a public post; a personal or private account never triggers the webhook.
• The public half is a normal Instagram comment. The Instagram Graph API posts it through the replies edge, which creates one IG comment as a reply to another (Meta: IG Comment reference).
• Disclosure. Meta's own messaging policy requires an automated chat to disclose that a person is talking to an automated service whenever local law demands it, and names California and Germany specifically (Meta: messaging policy overview).

Those limits explain almost every "it didn't work" report: a message that should have landed a week ago, a conversation that goes quiet after 24 hours, or a reply that never left because the account wasn't public yet.

Can you auto-reply to Instagram comments for free?

Yes. Every professional Instagram account already includes a built-in comment-to-message automation inside the Meta Business Suite inbox, at no cost, matched to hashtags rather than any word you choose (Meta Business Help Center: automated responses). It sends a single reply and cannot branch into a second message, ask for an email, tag a contact or report a click.

HookReply's own Free plan covers the next step up: 100 active contacts a month, one Instagram account and 3 automations, with no card required and HookReply's own line on each message. A full comparison of what the free plans of HookReply and other tools actually include — and where the official Graph API becomes the only free route left — is in free Instagram comment-to-DM tools; pricing once a free plan stops being enough, for HookReply and for ManyChat specifically, is in ManyChat alternatives.

How to set it up, step by step

With a connected tool, setting up a comment auto-reply takes about ten minutes end to end:

1. Switch to a professional account if it isn't one already: in the app, Settings → Account type and tools. It's free and reversible.
2. Connect the account by logging in with Instagram and accepting the permissions. No tool worth using ever asks for your password directly; access comes from Meta's own login.
3. Set the keyword and whether it must match "contains" (the comment includes the word) or "exact" (the comment is only that word) — useful when the word is common.
4. Choose which posts it listens to. Leave none selected and it covers every post, including ones you publish later; scope it to one post if different reels give away different things.
5. Write two or three public replies, so the tool rotates between them instead of posting the same line under every comment.
6. Write the private message, usually with one button for the link; add a second step if you want an email, a choice, or to require a follow first.
7. Turn it on and test it from another account. Comment the keyword from an account that isn't yours and confirm the reply and the DM, including the "Requests" folder.

All of this runs on HookReply's Essential plan, 12 €/month or 10 €/month billed yearly (taxes included); the Free plan already covers a first keyword with 100 contacts a month.

Which keyword to use, and how to announce it

• Short and easy to spot in a scroll of lowercase comments: "LINK", "GUIDE", "TEMPLATE" in capitals stand out and are simple to say on camera.
• Say it in the first seconds of the video, not only in the caption. Most viewers never open the caption, so a keyword that only lives there gets far fewer comments.
• Use "contains" by default, so "LINK please!" still matches; switch to "exact" only if the word is common enough to trigger by accident.
• One keyword per offer. If the same reel gives away two different things, build two automations with two separate words rather than one that tries to cover both.
• Put the promise in that first message. Instagram allows only one private reply per comment, so if the link isn't in it, there may not be a second chance.

Why isn't my auto-reply working?

• The account is personal or private. Instagram only sends the webhook for professional accounts, and only when the account and the post are public.
• You tested from your own account. Comments from the same account that owns the automation don't trigger it; test from a different one.
• The message is sitting in "Requests". Normal when the commenter doesn't already follow the account — it isn't a failure.
• More than 7 days have passed. Instagram's API won't allow a private reply to an older comment, no matter which tool is used.
• The automation is scoped to other posts. Check which posts it's listening to.
• Two automations share the keyword. The one scoped to that specific post wins; if both are scoped the same way, the older one does.

Frequently asked questions

ManyChat and GoHighLevel are trademarks of their respective owners; this guide is not affiliated with them. Page made by HookReply, an interested party. Prices and terms checked on 21-10-2026 on each official website; they may change, so check them before you buy.

Keep reading

• Auto-replies to Instagram DMsNative inbox automations and the keyword, welcome and AI-chat options for direct messages.
• Free Instagram comment-to-DM toolsWhat the free plans of HookReply and other tools actually include.
• ManyChat alternativesReal cost at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 contacts, checked on the same day.