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AskenlyDocumentation
Getting started

Create your first automation

Pick a trigger, choose what happens next and switch it on. This guide walks through a simple one, a free guide sent to everyone who comments GUIDE, and explains each choice on the way.

Build it

  1. Open Automations and create one

    Choose the Deliver goal. The builder sets up an opening DM and the content step.

  2. Choose the trigger

    Comments on a post. Pick the post or Reel, several posts, or any post.

  3. Add keywords

    GUIDE, plus any plural or common misspelling. Matching ignores capitals and the words around it.

  4. Write the opening DM

    One short line and the button label, such as Send me the guide.

  5. Add the content

    Paste the link and give its button a clear label. Check the link opens for someone outside your workspace.

  6. Preview

    The preview shows the exact DM and buttons a follower will see.

  7. Switch it on

    The automation is live on the posts you chose.

Test it properly

  • Comment the keyword from a second Instagram account. Comments from your own account never start an automation.
  • Check the DM arrives, then tap the button and confirm the next step appears.
  • Open the link from the DM on a phone.
  • Open the automation and look at its Activity tab to see the DM recorded.

Optional steps

Follow to unlock asks people to follow before the content arrives, after checking whether they already do. Follow-ups send up to two more messages inside Instagram’s 24-hour window. Email capture, in the Get more sales goal, asks for an address and starts an email sequence.

Each step you switch on appears in the workflow on the automation’s page, with your own text, so you can always see exactly what will be sent.

Automation questions

Why didn’t my test comment get a DM?

Check that you commented from another account, that the post is covered by the automation, and that the comment contains the keyword as a whole word.

How many automations can I run?

Free includes 3 live automations, Starter 10, Growth 30, and Scale has no limit.

What happens to automations over my plan’s limit?

They’re saved as paused until you upgrade. Nothing is deleted.