Instagram comment-to-DMwith an AI agent

Last updated October 8, 2026

Instagram comment to DM sends a private message to anyone who comments a keyword on your post or Reel. In SimplyBoost you set rules on chosen posts or all of them, keywords match as whole words, and each rule can send a private reply with a link button, post a public reply under the comment, invite people to follow you and send up to 6 follow-ups that stop as soon as the person replies. Then an AI agent answers their questions from your own content. It is included on every plan, from €39 a month.

This guide covers the comment-to-DM flow in depth. For the full product, see SimplyBoost Instagram DM automation.

Instagram comment to DM automation solves two problems for brands and creators. The first is volume: more comments and DMs than one person can answer while people are still interested. The second is depth. Once someone is in your DMs they usually have a real question, and a menu of preset buttons doesn't always cover it.

SimplyBoost handles both. Keyword rules send the DM, and an AI agent answers the questions that follow from your own content.

Say someone comments on your Reel, gets the link, and then asks whether the product comes in their size. The agent answers from your catalogue and product pages, and with Shopify connected it can send a product card right in the DM.

How Instagram comment to DM works in SimplyBoost

Most Instagram DM automation starts with comment to DM. Someone comments a keyword like "LINK" on your post and receives a DM with the link. ManyChat made this popular, and it works well.

What happens after the link arrives is usually the harder part.

In SimplyBoost you create a comment rule for one post, a hand-picked set of posts, or all posts including future ones, and you can leave individual posts out. Keywords match whole words and ignore capital letters. The DM can greet people by {username} and carry one link button, and you can add a public reply under the comment if you like.

If the person goes quiet, you can send up to six follow-up DMs within Instagram's 24-hour window, and they stop as soon as the person replies. You can also ask people to follow you first. It's a gentle ask: only people who don't follow you yet see it, at most once a day, and they get the link either way.

Story replies and the questions that follow

Replies to your stories and new messages arrive as DMs, often late at night. The AI agent answers them from your knowledge base whenever they come in.

It replies in the tone you've set, answers the question, and shares the right product link while the person is still interested.

For brand accounts, the same agent handles routine questions about opening hours, shipping and stock, which leaves your inbox for the conversations that need a person.

One AI agent for Instagram and your other channels

The agent works from your website pages, documents, FAQs and Shopify catalogue. The same agent and knowledge base also answer on WhatsApp and your website widget, and your team handles handovers from one inbox.

Instagram plans start at €17 a month for 500 messages, with unlimited contacts and leads and the AI agent on every plan, and you can connect more than one Instagram account per team. To set it up, connect your Instagram Business or Creator account through Instagram's own login, then add your product information or connect Shopify. SimplyBoost is registered in the Netherlands (KVK 87456346).

If your DMs are busy and full of real questions, start with a 7-day free trial, connect Instagram, create your first comment rule and read the first conversations as they arrive. Our Instagram automation page walks through every feature.