Your first automation

An automation is one rule: something happens, and dmrabbit replies. Here is the shortest useful one.

Build it

1. Go to Automations and choose New automation.
2. Basics. Give it a name you will recognise later, and pick On comment as the trigger.
3. Media. Choose All posts to start with, or pick one specific post if you are testing.
4. Conditions. Pick a keyword, for example price, and set the match to Contains. Anyone whose comment includes that word will match.
5. Actions. Switch on the public reply and write what you want posted under their comment. You can also switch on the DM to send them a message privately.
6. Choose Publish.

What "live" means

An automation does nothing at all until you publish it. Before that it is a draft, saved as you go, and you can come back to it from the Automations list.

Once published it needs two things to run: it must be live, and it must be switched on. The switch on each card is how you pause an automation without deleting it.

Test it

Comment on your own post from another Instagram account using the keyword. Within a few seconds you should see the reply appear, and the activity recorded against the automation.

Commenting from the same account that owns the post will not trigger anything.

Use {{username}} to address people by name

Anywhere in your message, {{username}} is replaced by the Instagram username of the person who contacted you. If we do not know their name, it becomes there, so "Hi {{username}}" always reads correctly.

Drafts count towards your limit

Your plan allows a number of automations, and drafts are included in that number. If you cannot create a new one, delete a draft you are not going to finish.

Next

Keywords, choosing which posts to watch, and what happens when two automations could both answer, are all covered in Automations.