orca.floHow to auto-reply to Instagram comments with a DM
Short answer
As of October 2026: auto-replying to Instagram comments with a DM needs an Instagram professional account and a tool on Instagram’s official API. In OrcaFlo, open Channels, then Comment auto-replies, add a rule (all posts or some, optional keywords), write the public reply and the private message, and save. Meta allows one private reply per comment, within 7 days.
Updated
Every “price?” and “how much” under a post is a customer asking to buy, and most of them never come back if nobody answers within the hour. Comment-to-DM automation replies under the comment and sends that person a private message straight away, so the question turns into a conversation in your inbox. Here is what Instagram can do on its own, how to set up comment-to-DM step by step, the limits Meta puts on it, and ready-to-copy replies in English and Gulf Arabic.
What Instagram and Meta Business Suite can do on their own
Instagram’s own tools for professional accounts are built around messages people send you. You can store saved replies and insert them while you type, and set frequently asked questions that new visitors can tap when they open a chat with you. Meta Business Suite’s inbox adds automated responses, such as an instant reply to someone’s first message, an away message and answers to common questions.
They are free and worth setting up, but every one of them sends text you wrote in advance. They don’t read what the customer actually asked and answer it from your price list, they don’t carry on the chat, and the Instagram app doesn’t send a private message to someone because they commented “price” on a reel. For that you need comment-to-DM automation on Instagram’s official API.
Built-in tools or comment-to-DM automation?
| Instagram and Meta Business Suite on their own | OrcaFlo | |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed replies you write | Saved replies, FAQs and automated responses | Templates and keyword replies, plus answers written for each question |
| A comment becomes a DM | You open each comment and message the person yourself | A public reply under the comment and a private message, automatically |
| Answers the real question | No, the same text for everyone | Yes, from your own prices and information, in Arabic or English |
| After the first message | A person has to take over | The assistant carries on the chat and hands over to your team when needed |
| Stories and ads | Manual | Story replies, story mention thank-yous and a greeting for each click-to-Instagram ad |
| Cost | Free | From $14.99/month + 2¢ per message, 14-day free trial |
What you need before you start
An Instagram professional account (Business or Creator). A personal account can’t use the official messaging API, so switch it to professional first in the Instagram app.
Then connect it to OrcaFlo: in the left menu open Channels, click Connect Instagram and sign in with Instagram. You don’t need a Facebook Page for Instagram. New DMs then appear in the same inbox as your WhatsApp chats, with an Instagram icon. If you don’t see the Instagram card or the comment option in your panel yet, email support and we’ll switch it on for your business.
Set up comment-to-DM in OrcaFlo, step by step
Open Comment auto-replies
In Channels, under your Instagram account, open Comment auto-replies and click Add rule, or pick a template: Price in DM, Link in DM, Giveaway entry or Book now.
Choose the posts
Every post and reel, or Only the posts or ads I pick and tap the posts. For an ad, paste the ID of its post.
Choose the words (optional)
Only reply when the comment contains words like price, how much, info, السعر. Leave it empty to answer every comment. Upper or lower case doesn’t matter; the word only has to appear somewhere in the comment, and Arabic letter variants aren’t matched for you, so add each spelling people use (for example أسعار and اسعار).
Write the replies
A short public reply under the comment (optional) and the private message. Use {name} to greet the person by name. Click Save replies.
Check it from a second account
Comment one of your keywords on the post from another Instagram account. You should see the public reply, then the private message, and the chat in your inbox.
How the rules behave
One reply per person per post
Someone who comments five times on the same post gets one private message, not five.
Only comments on your post
Replies to other people’s comments don’t trigger a rule, so threads under a comment stay quiet.
Specific posts win
A rule for a post you picked is used before a rule for every post, so a launch post can have its own message.
Opt-outs are respected
People who asked you to stop messaging them get the public reply under their comment, but no private message.
Answers become chats
If the person answers the private message, it becomes a normal chat in your inbox, and the assistant already knows what it sent them.
Posts and reels
Comment rules work on Instagram posts and reels. Facebook Page posts aren’t supported yet.
Meta’s rules for automated Instagram replies
- One private reply per comment, within 7 days. Meta lets a business send one private message in answer to a comment, and only within 7 days of it. Send it the moment the comment arrives, as automation does, and you never miss the window.
- 24 hours after the customer’s last message. Once someone writes back, you can reply for 24 hours after their latest message. Each new message from them opens the window again.
- A professional account. Business or Creator. Personal accounts can’t be connected.
- No broadcasts on Instagram. OrcaFlo replies to people who comment or message you; it doesn’t send bulk messages on Instagram. For offers to a list, use WhatsApp.
- The official API. OrcaFlo connects to Instagram through Instagram’s official API with your Instagram login, and you can disconnect it at any time from the card in Channels.
8 example comment replies and DMs in English
| Use | Keywords | Public reply | Private message |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | price, how much, cost | Sent you the prices in DM 💬 | Hi {name}! Thanks for asking. Which size or package are you interested in? I’ll send you the price and what’s included. |
| Link | link, shop, where | Check your DMs, {name} 👀 | Hi {name}, here’s the link to order: [your link]. Tell me if you need help choosing. |
| Giveaway | win, giveaway, me | You’re in! Good luck 🍀 | Hi {name}, your entry is in. To complete it, follow us and tag a friend under the post. We announce the winner on [date]. |
| Booking | book, appointment, available | Sent you the free slots 📅 | Hi {name}! Which service would you like, and which day suits you? I’ll send you the times we have. |
| Location | where, location, branch | Details in your DMs 📍 | Hi {name}, we’re at [area, building]. Here’s the map: [link]. Open daily from [time] to [time]. |
| Stock and sizes | size, available, stock | Checking for you in DM ✅ | Hi {name}! Which size and colour do you need? I’ll check what we have right now. |
| Delivery | delivery, shipping, deliver | Sent the delivery details in DM 🚚 | Hi {name}, we deliver across the UAE. Which emirate are you in? I’ll tell you the cost and timing. |
| Ad offer | offer, deal, discount | Offer details in your DMs 🎁 | Hi {name}! Here are the details of the offer in the post: [offer]. Want me to reserve it for you? |
The same examples in Gulf Arabic
| Use | Keywords | Public reply | Private message |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (AR) | السعر، بكم، كم | أرسلنا لك الأسعار في الخاص 💬 | هلا {name}! شكراً على سؤالك. أي مقاس أو باقة تبي؟ بنرسل لك السعر وشو يشمل. |
| Link (AR) | رابط، اطلب، وين | شيّك على الخاص يا {name} 👀 | هلا {name}، هذا رابط الطلب: [الرابط]. إذا تحتاج مساعدة في الاختيار قول لنا. |
| Giveaway (AR) | سحب، مسابقة، أنا | تم تسجيلك! بالتوفيق 🍀 | هلا {name}، مشاركتك وصلت. عشان تكتمل تابعنا ومنشن صديق تحت البوست. نعلن الفايز يوم [التاريخ]. |
| Booking (AR) | حجز، موعد، متوفر | أرسلنا لك المواعيد المتاحة 📅 | هلا {name}! أي خدمة تبي، وأي يوم يناسبك؟ بنرسل لك الأوقات المتوفرة. |
| Location (AR) | وين، الموقع، فرع | التفاصيل في الخاص 📍 | هلا {name}، موقعنا في [المنطقة، المبنى]. هذا اللوكيشن: [الرابط]. نفتح يومياً من [الوقت] إلى [الوقت]. |
| Stock and sizes (AR) | مقاس، متوفر، موجود | نشيّك لك في الخاص ✅ | هلا {name}! أي مقاس ولون تبي؟ بنشوف لك المتوفر الحين. |
| Delivery (AR) | توصيل، شحن، توصلون | أرسلنا لك تفاصيل التوصيل 🚚 | هلا {name}، نوصل لكل الإمارات. في أي إمارة أنت؟ بنقول لك التكلفة والمدة. |
| Ad offer (AR) | عرض، خصم، تخفيض | تفاصيل العرض في الخاص 🎁 | هلا {name}! هذي تفاصيل العرض اللي في البوست: [العرض]. تبينا نحجزه لك؟ |
Keep the conversation going after the first DM
The private message is only the opening. When the person answers, OrcaFlo’s assistant replies within seconds from your own prices, services and opening hours, in the language they write in: Gulf Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic or English. It understands photos and voice notes, offers real free slots and books them, and hands the chat to your team, with an alert, when someone needs a person.
The same Instagram settings cover the other ways chats start. Keyword replies answer “DM us PRICE” posts instantly. Story replies can have their own keyword rules, and anything else is answered by the assistant, which knows it was a story reply. A story mention can get an optional thank-you, at most once a day per person. Up to 4 ice breakers give new visitors questions to tap. And people who tap a click-to-Instagram ad are greeted about that offer and asked up to 3 of your qualifying questions. Product cards (products as cards with photo, price and an order button) are coming soon.
Mistakes to avoid
- Answering every comment with the same DM. On a busy post, limit the rule to buying words like price, link or book, so “love this” doesn’t get a sales message.
- Promising a DM without a public reply. People don’t always check message requests. A short public reply (“Check your DMs”) tells them where to look and shows other followers that you answer.
- Putting the price in the public reply. Competitors read your comments too, and a private chat is where you can ask which package they want.
- A DM that ends the conversation. Finish the private message with a question (which size, which day) so the person has a reason to answer and the 24-hour window opens.
- Forgetting your ads. Comments on ads are some of the warmest. Pick the ad’s post in the rule by pasting its post ID.
- One rule for everything. A giveaway post and a launch post need different messages. Rules for picked posts win over the every-post rule.
- Never reading the chats. Look through the first week of conversations and adjust the wording or the assistant’s instructions where customers got stuck.
Price and where to go next
Instagram is included on every OrcaFlo plan and its messages are counted like your other channels. No plan fee for 14 days and your first 500 messages free, then from $14.99 a month + 2¢ per message. No setup fee. Every invoice comes with a payment processing fee, shown as its own line. See pricing for both plans.
Everything Instagram can do in OrcaFlo is on the Instagram channel page, the exact screens are in the help article on comment auto-replies, and UAE examples by industry are in Instagram DM automation for UAE businesses. This guide is also in Arabic.
Questions
Not with a private message. Instagram’s own tools give you saved replies and FAQs for chats people start, and Meta Business Suite adds automated responses to messages. To send a DM automatically when someone comments, you need a tool on Instagram’s official API, such as OrcaFlo.
Meta allows one private reply per comment, within 7 days of the comment. OrcaFlo also sends one private message per person per post, however many times they comment. If they answer, you can keep chatting for 24 hours after each of their messages.
Yes, on Instagram posts and reels, including ads: pick the ad’s post by pasting its post ID. Facebook Page posts aren’t supported yet.
The public reply and the private message are the text you write, so write them in Arabic, English or both. When the person answers, the assistant replies in the language they use, including Gulf Arabic. Add each spelling people use as its own keyword, for example أسعار and اسعار.
No. OrcaFlo replies on Instagram to people who comment or message you, within Meta’s limits, and doesn’t send broadcasts there. For offers to a customer list, use WhatsApp broadcasts.
Instagram is included on every plan and its messages are counted like your other channels: From $14.99/month + 2¢ per message, 14-day free trial. The trial includes your first 500 messages free.
Stop losing customers to slow replies.
No plan fee for 14 days and your first 500 messages free, then from $14.99 a month + 2¢ per message. No setup fee. Let OrcaFlo answer tomorrow’s messages.