An Instagram DM bot can answer a published product question or deliver a known link. It should not guess today's stock, a private order status, or a discount that your team has not approved. Start by sorting the questions people already send you into answer from a current source, send the right link, and ask a person. Then test each route from a second Instagram account before you invite more messages.
Agentkit's Instagram automations guide covers the controls. The checks below show how to use them for product enquiries and what to watch when the bot is live.
Sort the question before choosing the automation
The same words can require different evidence. "How much is the jacket?" might have a public, current price. "How much for my team of 40?" may need a quote. "Can it arrive by Friday?" needs the buyer's location and a current shipping estimate. A polished reply cannot make missing information true.
Use this decision table with your own products. The messages are illustrative, not observed customer conversations or test results.
| Customer DM | Evidence needed | First response to approve |
|---|---|---|
| "What does the starter kit include?" | Current product page with the included items | Answer the listed items and link to that page. |
| "Send me the size chart" | The correct chart for the product in the post | Send the chart link. Check the page on a phone. |
| "Is the blue medium in stock now?" | Live inventory for that variant | Send the product page or ask a person to check. Do not turn an old catalog page into a stock promise. |
| "Will my order arrive Friday?" | Order identity, destination, carrier status and cutoff | Route to your authenticated order-support process or a person. A general shipping policy cannot confirm this order. |
| "Can you do a better price?" | Approved offer and authority to grant it | Give the published price or hand the request to sales. Do not invent a discount. |
| "I want a refund" | The current policy and the person's order facts | Explain the published policy, then give a human route for the decision about this order. |
For each answer you allow, save the source URL, owner, date checked, exact claim the bot may make, and the condition that sends the conversation to a person. That small answer record is more useful than a long instruction to "be helpful." The chatbot answer-key guide shows a fuller record when your team needs to review answers over time.
Pick one entry point and prepare the source
If most enquiries arrive as ordinary DMs, start with Respond to all DMs or its Only specific keywords mode. All DMs mode asks the AI to answer every message. Keyword matching uses whole words and ignores case. "Price" will not match "prices" without another keyword; Also match by intent broadens matching to messages that mean the same thing. In keyword mode, decide what should happen when nothing matches. Agentkit's fallback reply can cover that case, at most once per contact in 24 hours, or leave the message logged without an automatic reply.
If a post promises a guide or product link, use Comment-to-DM for that post. Its first private message has a button. The person taps it to receive the link in the thread. Test the tap; seeing the opening DM alone does not prove link delivery.
One setup detail matters before any campaign. Connecting an Instagram account switches on Respond to all DMs immediately. Other automations stay in draft until Go live. If your product answers are not ready, turn off Respond to all DMs on Channels → Instagram after connection, then prepare and test the source material. The connection guide lists the Business or Creator account, message-access setting and sign-in choices. It also explains why a connection can look successful while no DM reaches the bot.
Start with an approved product page, policy page or exact Q&A that a teammate can check. Remove expired offers. If a product has variants, write which variant each answer covers. Static sources can explain published facts; they cannot establish live stock, delivery or an individual order state. Assign someone to handle those questions before the automation starts.
Run a second-account acceptance check
Use an Instagram account other than the connected business account. In Agentkit, choose the intended post or DM mode, confirm the saved answer and link, and select Go live for any automation saved as a draft. For Respond to all DMs, confirm whether it is on. Then send the following test messages. Replace the sample product and expected facts with your own approved source.
| Test message or action | Pass condition |
|---|---|
| Ask for the starter kit contents using the words on the product page | The reply lists only the approved items and gives the correct product link. |
| Ask the same question with different wording | The AI answers from the same source, or keyword mode uses the intended fallback. It does not invent an item. |
| Ask whether a specific size is in stock today | The bot does not claim stock from a static page. It points to the product page or a person. |
| Ask for an unapproved discount | The bot does not offer one. A teammate has a clear way to take over. |
| Comment on the selected post, using the trigger word if you set one, then tap the DM button | The opening DM and the promised link arrive; the destination opens to the right item on a phone. |
| Type STOP, then send another routine DM | The configured opt-out confirmation arrives and automated replies stop. Test START after the opt-out check passes. |
| Ask for a person, then have a teammate click Pause AI in Activity → Chat logs and reply | The manual message reaches Instagram, and the bot stays quiet until the teammate deliberately selects Resume AI. |
Record the actual reply, link destination and pass or fail for each case. A preview in the editor cannot prove the Instagram delivery path or the human takeover path. If a DM never arrives, check Allow access to messages, whether another tool owns the inbox, the selected post, the keyword and whether that automation is live. Those checks are in the Instagram connection and automation guides.
The manual reply composer follows Instagram's messaging window. Agentkit shows when a conversation is outside the 24-hour window after the person's last message. Test human takeover on a fresh inbound DM rather than assuming an old thread can receive a reply or follow-up.
Watch the first real conversations
Put one person in charge of Activity → Chat logs for the first launch period. Read actual questions, especially the ones that received a fallback, a link without a reply, or a request for help. Correct the underlying source or routing rule, then rerun the affected test from a separate account. Do not treat a faster reply as a confirmed sale or solved support case.
Agentkit's Results from the last 30 days panel shows automation sends, replies and reply rate. Those numbers can reveal a broken opener or a topic people ignore. The panel does not show link taps, and its counts do not prove a purchase or a correct answer. Check the destination and the business outcome in the system that records it.
If this split between bot, link and person fits your team, connect an Instagram account and run the second-account check on one narrow product enquiry before expanding to more posts. Keep the answer record and the human owner current as prices, policies and inventory paths change.
