Instagram bot blocks

An Instagram bot is built in the same flow builder as a WhatsApp bot. This page shows what can start an Instagram bot, which steps you can use, and how they look to your customer on Instagram.

To create an Instagram bot, see Instagram bots. In short: in the left sidebar click AI Agents & Bots, then Create agent, Workflow bot, and pick Instagram as the channel. The builder shows an Instagram badge next to the bot name.

Choose what starts the bot

Open the On message step
Every bot starts with the On message step. Under Start this flow when, pick one of four triggers:
- Any direct message: every new DM. Story replies are not included.
- A DM with a keyword: only DMs that match your keywords.
- A reply to your story: when someone replies to one of your stories.
- A comment on your post: sends a private reply to people who comment.
The four Instagram triggers
Add keywords (for keyword DMs)
For A DM with a keyword, type each keyword under Keywords and press Enter or type a comma. Under How to match, pick Whole message (the DM must be exactly the keyword) or Contains keyword (the keyword can be anywhere, like "what is the price?").
Choose who it runs for
Under Who it runs for, pick Every matching message, New contacts only (their very first message) or Resolved chats only (a resolved chat gets a new message).

A comment on your post

Tap each post under Posts to pick it. The count shows how many you picked. Keywords are optional here: leave them empty to answer every comment on those posts.

Two rules to know:

The first step after the trigger must send something (text, media or buttons). Instagram only allows one private reply to a comment, straight away. If the first step is a Condition or a Delay, the person never gets a DM.
Comment rules come first. If a comment rule covers the same post and keyword, the rule answers and this bot is skipped.

Story replies

For A reply to your story, you can paste Story IDs to answer only certain stories. Leave it empty to answer replies to any story.

Steps you can use on Instagram

The step list on the left only shows steps that work on Instagram.

Group	Steps on Instagram
Send messages	Send text, Send media, Ask button message, and Send WhatsApp template (Instagram bots only)
Ask and collect input	Ask question, Ask choice, Ask text, Ask number, Ask phone, Ask email, Ask date, Ask URL, Ask media
Logic and flow control	Condition, Delay, Jump to flow, Stop
Variables and data	Set variable, JSON extract, HTTP request
AI and automation	AI agent, AI generate text
Other groups	Contact management, Integrations and Notes work the same as on WhatsApp

Not available on Instagram: Ask list message, Send CTA, Send template, Send carousel, the catalog steps, Ask file and Ask location.

Send WhatsApp template moves an interested customer from Instagram to WhatsApp, for example after Ask phone. See Instagram bots.

How steps look on Instagram

Step	What the customer gets on Instagram
Send text	A normal DM
Send media: image, video or audio	The photo, video or audio in the chat
Send media: document	A PDF file
Ask button message	Tap buttons under your message (quick replies). The bot follows the button they tap

A caption is sent as a separate text message, because Instagram files do not carry a caption.

If the customer types instead of tapping a button, the bot asks again (with your error message, if you wrote one), or skips the question if you marked it as optional. It never picks a random next step.

Steps only ready-made automations use

The automations use some Instagram-only steps that the flow builder does not show yet:

Step	What it does
Quick replies with branches	Up to 13 tap buttons, each leading to its own reply
Cards and product cards	Swipeable cards with an image, title and up to 3 buttons, or up to 10 products
Opt-in request	Asks permission to send daily, weekly or monthly updates after the 24-hour window
React and typing	A heart reaction, or "typing" and "seen" while the bot works
Hand off	Passes the chat to your team and stops the bot
Story mention and taps	Starts when someone mentions you in their story, taps an ice breaker or menu item, or arrives from an ig.me link

Instagram buttons can only open a link or send a tap back to your bot. There are no call buttons.

When a step cannot send

If Instagram refuses a message, the bot skips that step and moves on. It does not stop halfway and leave the customer waiting. The most common reasons:

the messaging window has closed (more than 7 days since their last message),
Instagram is not connected, or its access has run out,
the step does not work on Instagram.

See Messaging windows for what you can send when.