There are two ways to answer a DM automatically. You can draw a flow that reacts to exact words, or you can let an AI read the message and answer from your brief. They fail in opposite directions, which is why the answer is usually both.
Keyword flows: exact, and blind
A keyword flow does the same thing every time, which is perfect for a campaign. Comment GUIDE, get the guide. Nothing to go wrong. The catch is that anything you did not draw gets silence — and customers do not type the words you predicted.
AI replies: flexible, and only as good as the brief
An AI reads "kitnay ka hai?" and "how much" and "is this still available" as the same question, and answers from what you wrote. It handles the long tail you could never map. The risk is that a thin brief produces vague answers, so the brief is the whole job.
Instagram’s own free options — FAQs in chats, saved replies and Business Suite keyword replies — are compared step by step in how to set up auto replies on Instagram.
The order that works
Keywords first
For campaigns where you promised something specific. These should fire before anything else so the promise is always kept.
AI second
For everything else — the questions you did not plan for, in whatever language they arrive in.
You last
The moment you reply by hand, the automation should step aside for that chat. Nothing is worse than a bot talking over you.
Put this to work on your own DMs
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