Deliver a link
Send a guide, a discount code, a product page or a sign-up form. The opening DM carries a tap-to-continue button, and the content arrives with each link as its own button.
Auto DM everyone who comments your keyword
Pick a post, choose a keyword and write the message once. Everyone who comments that word, replies to your Story with it or sends it in a DM gets your reply in their inbox, with the link as a button they can tap.
Example conversationGUIDE
GUIDE please!
Here’s the free guide you asked for. Tap the button below to open it.
What Instagram comment to DM automation does
Comment to DM automation answers people in their Instagram inbox the moment they comment a word you chose. You have seen it on Reels that end with “comment GUIDE and I’ll send it to you”. The person comments, and a few seconds later a message with the guide is waiting in their DMs.
Askenly runs that reply for you around the clock. It watches the posts you pick, checks each new comment for your keyword, and sends the opening message through Meta’s official Instagram API. It never logs in as you, never scrapes and never messages anyone who didn’t comment, reply or write to you first.
The same automation can start from three places, so one setup covers the ways people reach out:
- a comment on a specific post or Reel, on several posts, or on any post you publish;
- a reply to one of your Stories that uses the keyword;
- a direct message that contains the keyword, such as someone typing PRICE into a new chat.
Everything a comment can turn into
Each automation starts from a goal. The goal decides which steps the builder sets up, and you can switch each step on or off.
Grow your audience
Ask people to follow before the link unlocks. Followers skip the ask automatically, and anyone Instagram can’t check still gets the link.
Get more sales
Ask for an email in the chat, confirm it back to the person, and enrol them in an email follow-up sequence that stops the moment they click.
Book a client
Reply with your next three open times. A reply of 1, 2 or 3 books the slot, and the confirmation email goes out with a link to change it.
Follow to unlock, without punishing your followers
Asking for a follow before sending a freebie is one of the most common ways creators grow on Instagram. Done badly, it annoys the people who already follow you. Askenly checks Instagram’s follow status first: someone who already follows you never sees the ask and gets the content straight away.
People who don’t follow yet get two buttons: one opens your profile, the other says they’re following now. Askenly checks again when they tap it. If they still haven’t followed, it asks once more and then hands the chat to you. If Instagram can’t answer the follow check at all, the link goes out anyway, because a post should always deliver what it promised.
Example conversationFollow check
FREEBIE
Follow us to unlock it, then tap I’m following. [Follow] [I’m following]
How to set up an Instagram auto DM in five minutes
You need an Instagram Business or Creator account connected to Askenly. The docs walk through connecting it step by step.
Choose a goal
Deliver, Grow audience, Get more sales or Book. The goal sets up the steps you need and skips the ones you don’t.
Pick the posts and the keyword
Choose one post, several, or any post. Add one keyword or a few variations. Capitals and extra words don’t matter, so “send me the guide please” matches GUIDE; add plurals such as GUIDES separately.
Write the opening DM and the content
Keep the first message short and give the button a clear label. Add the link, and the follow-up messages if you want them.
Preview it
The preview draws the exact messages and buttons a follower will see on their phone, using your own text.
Switch it on and test
Comment the keyword from a second Instagram account. The DM should arrive within seconds.
Built to stay inside Instagram’s rules
Meta allows automated messages when a person reaches out first. Askenly is built around those rules so your account stays in good standing.
- Only people who commented, replied to a Story or messaged you are contacted.
- Each comment gets one private reply, the way Instagram’s API allows.
- Follow-up messages go out only inside Instagram’s 24-hour messaging window, up to two per conversation.
- Comments from your own account never start an automation.
- When someone asks for a person, automations pause for them for 24 hours.
- Sending is rate-limited per plan so a viral post can’t flood Instagram with messages.
Instagram auto DM limits on each plan
Every plan, Free included, has comment, Story reply and DM keyword automations. Plans differ in volume.
| Plan | Price | DMs a month | Live automations | Instagram accounts | Teammates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 1,000 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Starter | $19 a month | 12,000 | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| Growth | $39 a month | 75,000 | 30 | 8 | 2 |
| Scale | $77 a month | 1,000,000 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 10 |
A DM is any automated message Askenly sends for you. Prices are in US dollars, billed monthly.
Comment to DM questions
Is it safe to auto DM Instagram comments?
Yes, when the tool uses Meta’s official Instagram API and only messages people who interacted first. Askenly does both and never asks for your Instagram password.
Why didn’t someone get my DM?
The most common reasons are a keyword that doesn’t match what they typed, a comment on a post the automation doesn’t cover, or the monthly DM limit. If the person doesn’t follow you, Instagram may place the message in their Message Requests.
Can one automation cover all my posts?
Yes. Point it at specific posts and Reels, or at any post, and use as many keyword variations as you need.
Does it reply publicly to the comment too?
The automation sends the private DM. Your public comment replies stay yours to write.
What happens when someone replies with a question?
The chat moves to your Inbox with the reason, and automations pause for that person for 24 hours so they never get a bot reply in the middle of a real conversation.
Can I collect emails from comments?
Yes. The Get more sales goal asks for an email in the chat, confirms it, saves it to the contact and can start an email sequence.
Start free today
Connect Instagram and publish your first automation in a few minutes. No card needed.