Skip to content

The moment it happens

Answer common Instagram DMs and pass on the rest

Questions about prices, shipping and opening hours get an answer straight away, and anything else goes to Slack.

Runs
The moment it happens
Apps
Instagram
AI
Yes, uses the built-in AI allowance
Access
instagram_business_manage_messages

Send this to your assistant

Create a ClickRuntime automation: when I get an Instagram DM, answer it from my FAQ notes if it's about prices, shipping or opening hours. Post anything else to #dms in Slack.

Paste it into your assistant. It tells you what it will send or change before it runs live.

First time? Adding ClickRuntime to your assistant takes about two minutes.

Why use it

Why teams use this automation

A boutique gets thirty Instagram DMs a day, and most ask the same things: are you open on Sunday, do you ship to Canada, is this dress still in stock in a medium? Each one is simple, but each arrives at a random time, and replies that come hours later lose the sale because the shopper has already messaged another store. Meanwhile the occasional complaint or custom order is buried among them.

When a message arrives, ClickRuntime receives it immediately, and built-in AI decides whether it is a common question it can answer from the facts you gave it, such as opening hours and shipping rules. If so, it replies at once. Anything unclear, upset or sensitive is posted to Slack for a person.

It is aimed at small shops and service businesses that get a steady stream of repeat questions.

What you get out of it

  • Shoppers get answers at once

    A reply within seconds keeps a buyer engaged at the moment they are deciding. Waiting until the owner is free often means the customer buys elsewhere or forgets the question.

  • Evenings and weekends are covered

    Instagram customers message at night and on Sundays. Instant answers about hours, delivery and sizes mean the business feels attentive even when the owner is away from the phone. The business looks attentive in every time zone, and owners stop checking Instagram at dinner to catch a hot lead.

  • Humans handle what needs judgment

    Refund demands, angry messages and custom requests are sent to Slack instead of getting an automatic answer. The shop avoids a tone-deaf bot reply to a customer who needed an apology.

  • Your policies are repeated accurately

    Staff sometimes quote the wrong shipping time or return window. Answers built from the facts you provide stay consistent, so customers do not receive two different policies from the same shop.

  • A record of common questions

    Looking at which questions arrive most often shows what to fix on your website or in your bio. If half of your DMs ask about delivery to Canada, a line in your highlights will save them.

How it works

What happens, step by step

  1. When someone sends your business a direct message on Instagram, Instagram passes it to ClickRuntime straight away.

  2. AI checks whether your FAQ answers it, such as prices, shipping or opening hours.

  3. If it does, AI writes a short answer and sends it back in the conversation.

  4. Anything else is posted to your #dms Slack channel so a person can reply.

Before it runs live

  • Connect Instagram
  • Paste your automation's link into the other app's webhook settings

What you get

RunsThe moment it happens
Answer common Instagram DMs and pass on the restjust nowSucceeded
Slack · #dmsInstagram DM needs a person: > Can you do a custom logo order for Acme's offsite?

Build your own

Need it to work differently?

This template is a starting point. Copy the prompt and change it, or describe a different automation from scratch, with your own conditions, more apps or an AI step. Your assistant writes it, tests it and runs it on ClickRuntime.
  • Your own rules

    Conditions, thresholds, filters and exceptions, written the way you'd explain them to a colleague.

  • Any number of apps

    One automation can read from one app and update several others. Over 248 apps are ready, and anything with an API works too.

  • AI where it helps

    Summaries, classification, extraction and drafts use ClickRuntime's built-in AI, with no extra key.

  • On a schedule or on each event

    Runs as often as every 5 minutes, or the moment an app sends an event, and keeps track of what it already handled.

Changes you can ask for

  • Act only on the items that match your own rules, and skip the rest
  • Change what the AI looks for, or how it writes the result
  • Add another app, for example also send it to Slack
  • Combine it with other Instagram steps into one automation

Under the hood

The code that runs this automation

This is the Python script that runs each time the automation starts. Your AI assistant writes it for you when you send the prompt, and you allow each step in your assistant. To change how the automation works, describe the change to your assistant and it updates the script for you. For every function it can use, see the script reference.
ai_dm_inbox_responder.pyexample
from clickruntime import on_event, credentials, http, ai, notify

IG = "https://graph.instagram.com/v21.0"
FAQ = "Prices: mugs $18, sets $45. Shipping: 2-4 days, free over $50. Hours: Mon-Sat 9am-6pm."
SCHEMA = {"type": "object", "properties": {"in_faq": {"type": "boolean"}, "reply": {"type": "string"}},
          "required": ["in_faq", "reply"]}

@on_event
def handle(event):
    for entry in event.json.get("entry", []):
        for m in entry.get("messaging", []):
            text = (m.get("message") or {}).get("text")
            if not text or m["message"].get("is_echo"):
                continue
            r = ai.generate(f"FAQ: {FAQ}\nMessage: {text[:1000]}\nIf the FAQ answers it (prices, shipping, hours), "
                            "set in_faq=true and write a short reply.", json_schema=SCHEMA, max_output_tokens=150).json
            if r["in_faq"]:
                http.post(f"{IG}/me/messages", params={"access_token": credentials.connection("instagram", "work")},
                          json={"recipient": {"id": m["sender"]["id"]}, "message": {"text": r["reply"]}}).raise_for_status()
            else:
                notify.slack(f"Instagram DM needs a person:\n> {text}", channel="#dms")
    return {"ok": True}

FAQ

Common questions

Is there a time limit for replying to Instagram DMs?
Instagram's messaging rules generally let a business reply to a user's message within 24 hours of their last message. Because this replies the moment a message arrives, it stays well within that window for the messages it answers.
What does the AI answer, and what does it send to Slack?
It answers questions that match the information you gave it, such as hours, prices or shipping. When a message is outside that information, emotional, or unclear, it is sent to Slack. You can tell it exactly which topics must always go to a person.
Does it work with Instagram accounts that are personal?
No. Receiving and sending DMs through the API requires an Instagram professional account connected to a Facebook Page, with messaging access granted. Personal accounts cannot use it, so the account must be a Business or Creator type first.
What permissions does it need?
instagram_business_manage_messages. Nothing else in your accounts is used.
Does it need AI?
Yes. It uses ClickRuntime's built-in AI, so you don't need an OpenAI or Anthropic key. Every plan includes a monthly AI allowance.
How many runs does it use?
One run for each event the app sends.
Can I change how it works?
Yes. Describe the change to your AI assistant, for example a different schedule, channel or filter. It updates the automation, tests it and tells you what changed.

Set up “Answer common Instagram DMs and pass on the rest” from your assistant

Copy the prompt above, or connect your assistant first. Free plan, no credit card.