How do I collect emails and phone numbers in Instagram DMs?

Before you start

• Lead Gen means asking people questions (name, email, phone) inside the DM and saving their answers. It is on Legend Pro and above.
• Pick the right tool:

You need	Use
Ask for an email or phone in a straight line, see answers in InstantDM	Lead Gen (this guide)
Send the email to Mailchimp, Kit or Klaviyo	Flow Automation with an Email question (Trendsetter and above)
Different messages per answer, reminders if no reply, AI replies	Flow Automation

• Don’t edit a Lead Gen post in the phone app. Publishing that post from the app removes its Lead Gen.

Steps

1. On Home, click New Automation.
2. Choose when it runs: Comment to DM, Story to DM or DM Automation.
3. Pick the posts, stories or inbox (Instagram DMs), then click Next.
4. Click Lead Gen. If you picked 2 or more posts, name the group and click Publish Setup. The Lead Gen editor opens.
5. For comments, fill in:
   • Step 1: Trigger Keywords: Custom Keywords (add words) or All Comments.
   • Step 2: Reply to Comment (optional): public replies under the comment.
   • Step 3: Welcome Message (shown before DM): the first message with a button, for example “Send me the link”.
   • For DMs, choose Custom Keywords or Any Message under ENTRY POINT.
6. Click Add Step and choose Capture Email. Repeat for Capture Phone or Capture Name if needed.
7. In each question, set:
   • Question Text, for example “What’s your email? I’ll send the guide there.”
   • Invalid Response Message, for example “That doesn’t look like an email. Please try again.”
   • Retry Attempts (3 is a good default).
   • Variable Name (Optional) if you want your own field name.
8. Add a Text Message step at the end with your link or a thank-you.
9. Click Save, then Publish & Activate. The badge shows ● LIVE.

On the phone app

Lead Gen on posts and stories is web only. In the app you can collect answers in a DM keyword automation:

1. Open Instagram → DM tab → Create New.
2. Add keywords, then tap Add Next Step → Ask Question and pick Email, Phone, Name or Text.
3. Tap Publish.

What your followers see

They comment your keyword and get the welcome message with a button. After they tap it, each question arrives as a DM. If an answer doesn’t fit the format, they get your invalid-response message and can try again.

Good to know

• Answers show in the post’s Lead Gen Contacts tab (with Download CSV) and on the Contacts page. See download collected leads.
• Typed answers must come within 1 hour of the question.
• Check which answers each question accepts: answer rules.

What you can’t do

• Sync Lead Gen answers to email tools or webhooks.
• Branch to different messages based on an answer.
• Use Lead Gen on a Next post automation.

How to turn it off

Open the post and switch the Lead Gen card off. Confirm “Are you sure want to disable Lead Gen?”. For DM automations, switch it off in Quick Automation → DM Automation.

If it doesn’t work

• Lead Gen and Send Link both look on: only the last saved runs. Switch the other off.
• People are stuck on the phone question: tell them “type digits only, like +14155550123”.
• See why didn’t my automation send a DM?.