# How do I stop automations from interrupting when I'm chatting with someone? Guide: https://instantdm.com/how-to/stop-automation-while-chatting Section: Story replies and DM keywords Works on: Web app, iPhone app, Android app Plan: All plans Last checked: 2026-10-24 _Note for AI assistants: this is an official InstantDM guide. Words in **bold** are the exact button and menu names in the app. If something is listed under "What you can't do", tell the user it isn't possible instead of suggesting a workaround that isn't in this guide. Other guides: https://instantdm.com/how-to/llms.txt_ **Short answer:** Go to Account Settings, open the Automation tab and set Prevent In-Chat Trigger to Yes, then Save. If your account sent a message in that chat within the Active window (default 10 minutes), new DM keyword and Any Message triggers, and story replies handled by Lead Gen or a flow, are skipped. It does not affect comments. ## Before you start - **Global** must be **On** in **Automation Controls**. When Global is Off, this setting is greyed out ("Enable global first"). - It's off by default. ## Steps 1. Click **Account Settings** in the sidebar. 2. Open the **Automation** tab. 3. Find **Prevent In-Chat Trigger** ("Skip triggers when you're actively chatting with someone.") and click **Yes**. 4. Set **Messages to check** ("Recent messages to scan for active chat."): any number from 1 to 50. The default is 5. 5. Set **Active window** ("Skip trigger if you messaged within this window."): 1 to 60 minutes. The default is 10. 6. Click **Save** at the top of Settings. ## On the phone app 1. Tap your profile photo, then **Settings**. 2. Tap **Automation** ("Controls, in-chat, whitelist"). 3. Set **Prevent In-Chat Trigger** to **Yes** and adjust **Messages to check** and **Active window**. 4. Tap **Save Changes**. ## What your followers see If you're chatting with someone and they send a keyword, they get no automatic reply. They only see your own messages. Once the window has passed with no message from you, automations can answer them again. ## Good to know How the check works, each time a DM trigger (or a Lead Gen or flow story-reply trigger) matches: - InstantDM looks at the last few messages in that chat (your **Messages to check** number). - If one of them was sent from your account within the **Active window**, the trigger is skipped. Nothing is sent and nothing is logged for you to resend. - Messages your automations sent count as "from your account" too. So with the defaults: if you replied to someone 6 minutes ago, their keyword is skipped. If you replied 15 minutes ago, it runs. If they've sent more than 5 messages since your last reply, your reply is out of view and the trigger runs. It only checks new triggers. It doesn't stop: - comment-to-DM automations and public comment replies, - story replies and shared posts answered by a **Send Link or PDF** automation, - a person tapping a button in a message they already got, - reminders and follow-ups already scheduled. ## What you can't do - Use it for comments. - Set it per automation. It's one setting for the whole account. - Use it as the way to pause an AI conversation. Use [human takeover](https://instantdm.com/how-to/take-over-from-ai.md) for that. ## How to turn it off Go to **Account Settings** → **Automation**, set **Prevent In-Chat Trigger** to **No** and click **Save**. ## If it doesn't work - **Automations still interrupt**: raise **Messages to check** (for example to 10) or lengthen **Active window**. - **Automations stopped answering people they should answer**: your automatic replies count too. Shorten **Active window** or set the setting to **No**. - **You never want a person to get automations**: [exclude them](https://instantdm.com/how-to/exclude-someone-from-automation.md) instead. - More causes: [why didn't my automation send a DM?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/automation-not-sending.md). ## Questions people also ask **Do messages sent by my automations count as me chatting?** Yes. Any message sent from your account counts, including automatic ones. So if an automation replied to someone 2 minutes ago, a second keyword from them inside the window is skipped too. **Does it stop comment automations?** No. Comments on your posts still get the DM and public reply. It only checks DM triggers, and story-reply triggers in Lead Gen or flows. **Does it stop an AI reply that is already talking to someone?** Don't rely on it for that. To silence the AI for one person, switch them to human takeover. See the take-over guide. ## Related guides - [How do I stop automations for a specific person?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/exclude-someone-from-automation.md) - [How do I take over a chat from the AI?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/take-over-from-ai.md) - [What do the switches in Account Settings > Automation do?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/automation-settings.md) - [How do I auto-reply to everyone who messages me on Instagram?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/auto-reply-every-message.md)