> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.ciarem.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Instagram comment-to-DM automations
> Turn comments into conversations: when someone comments a keyword on your post, Ciarem sends them a DM and your AI agent takes it from there.
**Coming soon.** Comment-to-DM automations are waiting on Meta's approval of the comment permission for the Ciarem app. Until then the Instagram page shows a **Coming soon** badge in place of the automations. This page describes the feature as it will ship.
"Comment **INFO** and I'll send you the details" is a common way to get leads from Instagram posts, and it is a supported use of the official Instagram API. Comment-to-DM automations make it work without you watching your posts. When someone comments a keyword on a post, reel, or ad, Ciarem sends them a private message automatically. The conversation opens in your [Inbox](/using-ciarem/inbox), and when they reply your [AI agent](/ai-agent/agent-team) answers like on any other Instagram DM.
## How it works
1. You publish a post with a clear call to action: "Comment **INFO** for prices", "Comment **LINK** and I'll DM it to you".
2. Someone comments the keyword. Ciarem matches it against your automation rules (case- and accent-insensitive, anywhere in the comment).
3. The first matching rule sends its **direct message** to the commenter. Instagram allows one DM per comment. If you chose to, the rule also posts a short **public reply** under their comment ("Check your DMs đŸ’¬") so everyone else sees you answered.
4. The DM opens a conversation in the Inbox with the comment and the post shown at the top as context.
5. When they reply, the conversation is a normal Instagram DM: the AI agent qualifies, answers, and hands off to your team when it should. Nothing else is automated until they write back. A comment does not open the messaging window; their reply does.
## Create a rule
In the sidebar, go to **Channels**, then **Instagram**.
Click **Manage automations** on the Instagram page, then **New automation**.
* **Name**: for your own reference ("Link drop", "GuarderĂa · INFO").
* **Instagram account**: which connected account the rule listens on (only asked when you have more than one).
* **Keywords**: the words that trigger it. Add as many as you like. Leave the list empty to answer **every** comment on the chosen posts.
* **Posts**: by default the rule watches all of the account's posts. Turn on **Only specific posts** to pick from your recent posts and reels, so a rule about a launch only fires on the launch post.
* **Direct message**: the private message they receive, up to 1,000 characters of plain text. Write it the way you would answer by hand: what they asked for, plus one question that keeps the conversation going.
* **Also reply publicly**: an optional comment reply posted under theirs.
It appears in the list switched on.
Rules are listed as cards with their keywords, DM preview, and post scope. The switch on each card turns it on or off without deleting it, and the **⋯** menu edits or deletes it. When several rules could match the same comment, the first one you created wins, so keep specific rules (one post, one keyword) ahead of broad ones.
## In the Inbox
A conversation opened by an automation starts with the comment itself: a card that reads **Commented on your post**, showing the post and the comment, with a link to open the post on Instagram. The DM the rule sent comes next. From there it looks like any Instagram thread: their reply, the AI agent's answer, your team's takeover if needed.
The person is created as a contact like any other Instagram DM, so your funnel stages, tags, and follow-ups apply from the first message.
## Requirements and Meta's rules
* An Instagram **professional account** (Business or Creator) that is **public**, connected to Ciarem. Accounts connected before comment permissions existed need to be **reconnected** once. Ciarem prompts you with **Reconnect your Instagram account** the first time you save a rule; your conversations are kept.
* Comments on **feed posts, reels, and ads** trigger rules. Replies to comments (someone answering another comment) and your own comments do not. Live-video comments are not supported.
* **One private reply per comment**, and only within **7 days** of the comment. Both limits are enforced by Instagram. If the same person comments twice, they get two DMs.
* Instagram allows **750 private replies per hour** per account. On a post that goes viral, Ciarem paces sends under that limit. Comments beyond it are recorded but not answered, rather than risking the account.
* The automated DM does not open the 24-hour messaging window; only the customer's reply does. Until they answer, nothing else is sent, and the AI stays silent.
* Every automated DM counts as one message toward your plan, like any message your team or agent sends. Instagram carries no Meta messaging fees.
Meta's rules are about relevance and consent. Replying to someone who engaged with you, with the content they asked for, is what the API is for. Sending the same message to every commenter, or to people who did not ask, is what gets accounts restricted. Keep keywords specific and the DM useful.
## Good habits
* **Ask for one clear keyword** and say what they will get: "Comment PRICE and I'll DM you the full list."
* **Write the first DM like a person would.** It is a fixed message, so deliver what you promised and end with a question the AI agent can pick up.
* **Turn rules off when the campaign ends** using the switch on the card, instead of deleting them, so you can reuse them next time.
* Watch the conversations it opens in the Inbox for a day or two. The AI's replies to comment-sourced leads are as visible and correctable as any other in the [Evaluation center](/ai-agent/evaluation-center).