⏱ 5 minutesPro plan and aboveNo Facebook Page needed
Connecting takes two clicks once your Instagram is set up right. Here's exactly how, from a personal account to an AI answering your DMs.
Before you start, have these ready
- An Instagram account for your business
- Nothing else — no Facebook Page is needed
- An AutoReply AI account on the Pro or Business plan
01
Switch Instagram to a professional account
- Open Instagram → your profile → ☰ menu → Settings and privacy.
- Tap Account type and tools → Switch to professional account.
- Choose Business (or Creator), pick your category, done. It's free.
02
Allow access to messages
- In Instagram: Settings → Messages and story replies.
- Turn on Allow access to messages. Without this Instagram never delivers your DMs to us, and nothing gets answered.
- In Message controls, set message requests from everyone to allowed so new customers reach you at all.
You can switch this off at any time and the AI stops receiving DMs immediately.
03
Connect it to AutoReply AI
- In your dashboard, open Connect → Instagram → Continue with Instagram.
- Sign in to Instagram with your business account and tap Allow. You are never asked for a Facebook Page.
- You land back on the Connect page and the Instagram tile shows Live. Your FAQs and tone from your other channels apply straight away.
To check it, DM your business account from a different Instagram account — the reply arrives within seconds and the chat appears in Chats.
Common questions
Nothing is being answered — what do I check?
Almost always it is step 02: Allow access to messages is off, so Instagram never sends the DMs to us. Also check the account is Professional (Business or Creator) and that Instagram shows Live on your Connect page.
Will story replies be answered too?
Yes — DMs and story replies both flow into the same AI with the same FAQs.
Which plans include Instagram?
Pro and Business, at no extra cost.
Do I need a Facebook Page?
No. The connection runs against your Instagram account itself.
What happens once it's connected
- It answers from your FAQs first. The AI only improvises when nothing matches, so the answers customers get are the ones you wrote.
- It knows when you're closed. Set your opening hours in Settings → Reply settings and pick your timezone; outside those hours you choose whether it still replies.
- It hands over when it should. Ask for a human, or say something it cannot safely answer, and the chat is flagged for you instead of guessed at.
- Photos and voice notes reach you. The AI does not read attachments, so when a customer sends one it is saved to your inbox, labelled, and marked as needing you — the customer gets a short note saying you will look.
- STOP is honoured. A customer who replies STOP stops getting automatic replies, on every channel, until they say START. You can still answer them by hand.
- You can take over any chat. Reply yourself and the AI steps back for that conversation. "Stop AI replies" keeps it out until you say otherwise.
Getting better answers out of it
- Write FAQs the way customers type. "cake price?" earns its keep more than "What is your pricing structure?".
- Put the numbers in. Prices, delivery charges, timings. A vague FAQ produces a vague reply — the AI will not invent a figure you did not give it.
- Ten to fifteen FAQs is the sweet spot. Five is enough to go live; beyond fifteen you are usually better off improving the ones you have.
- Read the first day's chats. Every question it handled badly is an FAQ you have not written yet.
Ready when you are.
Set everything up on the Free plan — pay only when you flip a channel live.
Create your account →