Your first comment-to-DM automation
From a post your audience already comments on to a live automation that answers every one of them, in about five minutes.
Before you start
- An Instagram Business or Creator account (switching is free and takes a minute)
- A post or reel your audience asks questions on
- The link you want to send (product, guide, booking, anything)
The steps
Connect your Instagram
Sign up and tap Connect Instagram. You'll land on Instagram's own login, inDM never sees your password, and confirm the account. That's the whole handshake.
Pick the post
Open My Content and find the post with proof of demand: the one where people already ask for the link, the price, the details. Tap Automate this.
Choose the trigger keyword
Pick one natural word (LINK, GUIDE, PRICE) or trigger on any comment for launch-day posts. Keywords match case-insensitively, so LINK, link, and Link all fire.
Write the public reply and the DM
The public reply is one short line for the comment section ("Sent, check your DMs"). The DM is the real delivery: a warm line in your voice, then your link on a titled card.
Need wording to start from? Instagram DM templates has ready-to-copy versions of the comment reply, the link message, the follow and email asks, and story replies.
Check the live preview
The phone preview on the right renders the whole exchange (the comment, the opener, the button tap, the link card) exactly as Instagram will show it. Read it once as your audience will.
Set it live
Tap Set live. From this moment, every comment with your keyword gets the reply pair within seconds, and each commenter lands in your contacts.
Test it from a second account, not your own, automations skip the connected account's own comments, which is the most common way a working setup looks broken. If nothing fires, why isn't my Instagram DM automation working covers the rest of the causes in order.
Some posts carry rules beyond this setup. If you are running a prize draw, Instagram requires specific things in your terms: how to run an Instagram giveaway with comment automation sets them out.
Keep the thread tidy while the offer runs: how to hide comments on Instagram covers Hidden Words, Restrict, and when to turn commenting off.
A live automation on a real post: every keyword comment gets your public reply and your DM with the link, and every commenter becomes a tracked contact. When you want a second message for the people who never came back, [set up a follow-up DM](/guides/set-up-a-follow-up-dm) takes about two minutes more. The five minutes here is the walkthrough itself. For the whole clock, from creating an account to the automation running, [how long Instagram DM automation takes to set up](/blog/how-long-to-set-up-instagram-dm-automation) has the measured medians.
Questions, answered plainly
Do I need to keep the app open for it to run?
No, automations run on inDM's side around the clock. Post, close the app, and the answering happens whether you're online or asleep.
What if someone comments without the keyword?
Nothing is sent, the automation only answers the keyword (unless you chose any-comment mode). Their comment still sits in your comment section for a human reply.
Can I edit the automation after it's live?
Yes: pause it, change the keyword, DM, or link, preview again, and set it live again. Changes apply to new comments from that moment.