How do I make AI reply to my Instagram DMs?

The AI Reply step is a step inside a flow. When a person reaches it, AI answers their messages for you, based on instructions you write.

Before you start

• You need Trendsetter and above and a laptop or computer.
• You need your own API key from OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini) or DeepSeek, with billing set up at that provider. Save it first: add an AI key.
• Write down your prices, links, opening hours and policies. The AI only knows what you tell it.

Steps

1. Save your API key in Account Settings → AI Configuration and click Save.
2. Click Flow Automation in the sidebar, then New Flow Automation, then Instagram.
3. Choose a start:
   • The template AI Receptionist (Claude) in the AI group, then Use this template. It uses your Anthropic key.
   • Or Start from scratch.
4. If you started from scratch, click the purple AI Reply circle in the bottom toolbar. Connect the Trigger card (or a message before it) to the AI Reply card.
5. Click the AI Reply card. Choose the Provider and Model. The icons next to each model show whether it understands images and voice notes.
6. Under Prompt, write your instructions in the Guided fields, or switch to Custom and write a Custom prompt. If you used the template, replace “Describe your business here…” with your own text. Tips: control what the AI says.
7. Decide on Human takeover: On lets the AI hand difficult chats to you. See take over from the AI.
8. Click the Trigger card. To test safely, use DM Reply with Custom Word and a word like “test”. Later you can switch to All Message.
9. Click Set Live, then DM your test word from a different Instagram account.

On the phone app

You can’t add or set up AI replies in the InstantDM app. In the app, Flows → a flow → a contact shows the AI’s activity and the details it collected. Use the web app at app.instantdm.com to build and change the AI.

What your followers see

• A few seconds after their message, one or more short DMs, in their own language.
• Links you put in the instructions arrive as tappable buttons (with Rich Text output).
• Every later message they send gets an AI answer, with no time limit, until a human takes over.
• If the chat goes quiet, the AI may send up to 2 short follow-ups, each within 24 hours.
• With Human takeover on, the AI can say it’s connecting them with your team and then go silent.

Steps after an AI Reply step never run. The AI keeps the conversation. Put welcome messages, questions and tags before the AI step.

Good to know

• What the AI can read: your instructions, the recent messages in that chat, and the person’s saved answers and tags. It can see photos they send. Voice notes are turned into text with your OpenAI or Gemini key. Only Gemini models can watch videos.
• Two bills: your AI provider charges your key for every reply, follow-up and voice-note transcription. InstantDM counts each AI message as a normal DM.
• “Active” in Check Status for OpenAI, Gemini or DeepSeek means the key is valid, not that it has credit.
• Preview stops at the AI step. It doesn’t call the AI. Test with a real DM from another account.
• The AI Receptionist (Claude) template answers every DM your account gets as soon as it’s live.
• To see what the AI did for one person, open Contacts, click the person and read the AI timeline.
• With an AI Reply step, flow integrations (Mailchimp, Kit, Klaviyo, webhook) push data on every answer.

What you can’t do

• Use AI replies without a flow, or inside a Send Link & PDF or Lead Gen automation.
• Use InstantDM’s own AI key for replies. You always use yours.
• Upload files, link your website or train the AI on past DMs.
• Continue to other steps after the AI step.
• Get a notification when the AI hands a chat to you.

How to turn it off

• For everyone: switch off the flow in Flow Automation and click Yes, Unpublish.
• For one person: switch them to Human in Contacts. See take over from the AI.

If it doesn’t work

• “AI API key missing” at Set Live → the key for that provider isn’t saved. Add it in Account Settings → AI Configuration and click Save.
• “AI Reply: Business description is required in Guided mode.” → fill What does your business do?
• The AI doesn’t answer → check in this order: the key has credit with the provider, the flow is Live, the person isn’t set to Human or excluded, you’re testing from a different account, and the AI timeline doesn’t show “AI error”.
• The AI said “I don’t have that info” → add that fact to the instructions.
• Nothing after the AI step happens → that’s how it works. Move those steps before the AI step.