Skip to main content

​
Reply to incoming messages

  1. Create an automation and choose the message trigger for a connected Instagram account or Facebook Page.
  2. Choose specific keywords or any message. Keywords match substrings without regard to capitalization; keyword automations take priority over the any-message fallback.
  3. Write the reply, add optional buttons, preview, and activate. Test by sending a new text message from another account.
A message trigger does not send a public comment reply. Story replies use story targets. Empty, unsupported, and your own messages do not trigger a reply. Overlapping keyword triggers and duplicate any-message fallbacks on the same account can prevent activation; adjust the conflicting automation. Replies still depend on the messaging window, connection permissions, and workspace allowance. Replier may mark a conversation as seen and show a typing indicator while sending. These indicators are automatic, are not guaranteed to appear, and do not add an artificial typing delay. Initial private replies to comments do not use these indicators.

​
Add a photo to a reply

You can also add a photo to comment and story automations. Send it as a Card or as a Photo.
  1. In the message field, choose Add photo and upload one JPEG or PNG, up to 8 MiB. It’s added uncropped, as a Photo.
  2. To send it as a card instead, choose Card next to the photo, then adjust the crop and zoom. Instagram uses a square crop; Facebook uses a wide 1.91:1 crop. For both channels, review each crop before applying.
  3. Write the text. A card needs a Card title of 1–80 characters. A photo can have a Message after the photo of up to 640 characters.
  4. Add up to three buttons if you want them.
  5. Preview and save. Use Adjust crop to change a card’s framing later.
  • Card crops the photo to fit and puts your title and buttons on the card. Instagram cards are intended for the mobile app; desktop rendering is not supported, so check the received card on a phone.
  • Photo sends the photo uncropped, at its original shape, like any photo in a DM. Your text arrives as a separate message right after the photo, with your buttons. Buttons need text, but a photo on its own is fine.
Switching from Card to Photo keeps your photo as it is. Switching from Photo to Card opens the crop dialog for any channel without a crop; if you cancel, it stays a photo. Canceling the crop dialog leaves the current draft photo intact. If you add a channel later, adjust its crop too; otherwise the card may use the original image. A commenter can get only one message before they reply, and a photo with text is two messages. When a photo with text is the first DM to commenters, in a comment automation or as a flow’s first message, turn on the Opening message or Ask for email. Until you do, the editor shows Turn on opening message and Use card, and you can’t save. Follow Gate doesn’t count, because people who already follow you skip it. Story replies, message triggers, and flow messages sent after a tap don’t need this. Text-only replies and the message after a photo allow up to 640 characters; Instagram text without buttons must also fit within 1,000 UTF-8 bytes, so some languages reach the limit sooner.