How do I reply publicly to comments without looking like spam?

Before you start

• You need a comment automation on the post. See How do I send a DM when someone comments?
• Free plan: up to 3 reply lines per automation. Legend Pro and above: as many as you like.
• Public replies don’t use credits.

Steps

1. Open the post’s editor: Quick Automation → Instagram → Posts → click the post → Send Link or PDF card.
2. Find Reply with comment!. It is on by default.
3. Click Reply Comment, type a line and press Enter. Repeat to add more lines.
   • Write lines that sound different from each other: “Sent, check your inbox”, “Just messaged you”, “It’s in your DMs, enjoy”.
4. Optional: tick Also Include AI Comment Reply (to prevent comment spam). Read what it does below before you tick it.
5. Optional: open Comment Reply for Non-Followers and click Add Fallback Comment to write the public comment used when Instagram won’t let you DM someone.
6. Click Publish.

On the phone app

In the post editor (Send Link or Images → Edit Automation), use the Reply to Comments switch and type each line, then press enter. Include AI-generated replies is the same ready-made-lines option (the app marks it as a paid option). 💬 Comment Reply for Non-Followers holds your fallback comments. Tap Publish.

What your followers see

• Under their comment, one of your lines appears as a reply from your account. Each comment gets one line, chosen at random.
• Everyone who opens the comments can see these replies.
• If they don’t follow you and Instagram refuses the DM, they get a public reply from your Comment Reply for Non-Followers list instead of a DM. If that list is empty, InstantDM uses a built-in line such as “Hey! I tried to send you a DM but it looks like you’re not following me yet. Please follow me first so I can send you the content! 🙏”. The help text in the editor says: “Sometimes Instagram restricts sending DMs to users who don’t follow you. In those cases, we’ll reply with these comments instead of sending a DM.”

What the “AI Comment Reply” box really does

• It adds a fixed set of ready-made lines to your own lines. All of them are in English, use emoji, and many ask the person to follow you.
• It does not read the comment, does not use AI and does not reply in the commenter’s language.
• Your own lines are mixed into a much bigger set, so most public replies will be the ready-made ones.
• It is available on all plans on the web.

If your brand has a careful tone, or your audience doesn’t speak English, leave it unticked and write 5 to 10 lines of your own.

Good to know

• Only top-level comments get a reply. Replies inside a thread are ignored, so InstantDM’s own replies never trigger more replies.
• Someone who comments twice gets two public replies.
• Story automations have no public reply, because story replies arrive as DMs.
• On a very busy post, see What should I do when a post goes viral?

What you can’t do

• Like comments automatically.
• Reply to replies inside a thread.
• Get replies written by AI from this box.
• Choose a different public reply for each trigger word.

How to turn it off

Switch Reply with comment! off and click Publish. Your DMs keep going.

If it doesn’t work

• “Missing Reply comments words” when you publish: Reply with comment! is on but empty. Add a line or switch it off.
• “Reply Limit reached.” instead of the add button: you have 3 lines on the Free plan.
• Replies stopped but DMs continue: check Account Settings → Automation → Automation Controls, where Comments may be off. See What do the switches in Account Settings > Automation do?