Instagram DM automation that plays by Instagram's rules
ChatPeak sends the direct messages you set up when someone comments a keyword, replies to your story or writes to your Instagram account. Conversations that need a person land in a live inbox, and every automation shows what it sent and who answered.
What you can automate
- Comments on posts and reels
A keyword comment gets a private reply by DM, and optionally a public reply under the comment. See comment to DM.
- Keywords in direct messages
A DM that contains one of your keywords starts a flow, for example
price,menuorbooking. - Replies to your stories
A story reply starts its own automation, or falls back to your DM keyword automations when there is none.
- Every other message
An automation without keywords answers any DM, at most once a day per person, so nobody gets the same greeting twice in a row.
How it works
- 1Connect your Instagram account
Log in with Instagram and allow ChatPeak to manage comments and messages. It needs a business or creator account, and you never share your password with ChatPeak. See connect your Instagram account.
- 2Pick a trigger
Comment keyword, DM keyword or story reply, with as many keywords as you like.
- 3Build the flow
Add messages, split the flow with conditions on follower status, tags or the message text, and add or remove tags on the contact. See the flow builder overview.
- 4Publish and follow along
New conversations appear in the inbox as they happen, and each automation counts replies sent, messages opened and people who wrote back.
Messages that sound like you
Messages can greet people with {{first_name}}, {{full_name}} or {{username}}. Conditions let one flow answer followers and non-followers differently, or skip people who already carry a tag. Instagram accepts up to 1,000 bytes per text message, and ChatPeak checks that before sending.
Built for Instagram's messaging rules
The Instagram API does not let a business message people out of the blue. It may message people who wrote to it within the last 24 hours, and answer a comment with one private reply. ChatPeak uses only the official API and works inside these limits.
| Situation | What Instagram allows | What ChatPeak does |
|---|---|---|
| Someone comments on a post or reel | One private reply, within 7 days | Sends the first message and waits for an answer before the next |
| Someone sends you a DM | Messages within 24 hours of their last message | Answers right away, inside the window |
| The last message is more than 24 hours old | Manual replies with the human agent tag, up to 7 days | Adds the tag to replies you write in the inbox; automations never use it |
Source: Meta for Developers, Instagram Platform documentation.
The details, with links to Meta's pages, are in staying inside Instagram's messaging limits.
One inbox for what automation cannot answer
Every conversation an automation starts, and every DM that arrives, shows up in a live inbox as it happens, including the photos, videos and voice messages people send. Reply by hand when a question needs a person. Contacts collect the tags your flows set and can be imported and exported as CSV. See inbox and conversations.
Pricing
Start on the free plan, or try a paid plan free for 14 days. Every plan includes every feature; plans differ only in replies and accounts. Paying yearly saves 20%. Details on the pricing page.
| Plan | Per month | Automated replies a month | Instagram accounts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0 | 500 | 1 |
| Pro | $49 | 10,000 | 5 |
| Growth | $99 | 50,000 | 15 |
| Agency | $249 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Billed monthly, prices exclude tax.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, through Meta's official Instagram API and within its messaging rules. ChatPeak connects with the official Instagram login and only sends what the API allows: one private reply per comment, and messages within 24 hours of the person's last message.
No. Instagram lets businesses message people who interacted with them first, for example by commenting or sending a DM, and only within time limits. ChatPeak answers those people.
You need an Instagram professional account, either business or creator. Switching is free in the Instagram app.
The conversation appears in your inbox, where you can answer yourself. If the flow is waiting for that reply, it continues on its own.
It depends on the plan: the free plan includes 500 automated replies a month, paid plans include more. Replies you write yourself in the inbox never count. Meta also limits private replies to 750 per hour per Instagram account.
Read next
- Comment to DM for Instagram: every commenter gets your messageSend a DM automatically when someone comments a keyword on your Instagram post or reel. Pick the posts, reply publicly too, continue when they answer.
- Instagram auto reply for comments, DMs and story repliesSet up automatic replies on Instagram: answer keyword comments by DM and publicly, reply to DMs and story replies, and hand over to a person in the inbox.
- ChatPeak as a ManyChat alternative for InstagramChatPeak and ManyChat compared for Instagram DM automation: channels, pricing models, free plans and features, from both pricing pages in September 2026.
- How comment-to-DM automation actually works on InstagramWhat happens between a comment and the DM it triggers: professional accounts, private replies, the one-message rule and the 7-day window.
- Quick start guideCreate a ChatPeak account, walk through onboarding, connect Instagram and publish your first comment, DM or story reply automation.
- Follow-ups and DM sequencesSend several Instagram DMs over time with delays and reply waits, and the 24 hour window that limits how far a sequence can reach.
Turn comments into conversations
ChatPeak answers keyword comments with a direct message. Start on the free plan, no credit card needed.