Create a keyword DM automation

Step-by-step: pick accounts, delivery scope, keywords, template, and optional Instagram previous-comment backfill.

draft

Create a rule that sends a private DM when someone comments (or DMs) with your keywords on Instagram or Facebook.

What you'll do

Open New automation (or the link DM sheet)
Choose accounts and Apply automation to scope
Set trigger keywords, template, and CTA link
Optionally enable Instagram previous-comment backfill
Save and verify active / scheduled status

Before you start

Instagram / Meta connected and active
Feature dm_automation and dm_automations → create permission
A tracked link if the button/carousel CTA should attribute clicks

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New automation button on the DM Automations page

Steps

1. Open the create sheet

Go to Dashboard → Social → DM.
Click New automation (wording may be Create).
Or open a link → DM panel / sheet and enable Instagram and/or Facebook there (same form fields).

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Create automation sheet with Instagram account multi-select

2. Choose accounts and platforms

Select one or more Instagram accounts (multi-select creates one rule per account).
Optionally enable Facebook and pick a Page.
Confirm the account shows as connected/active; structured templates need a capable professional account.

3. Set delivery scope

Under Apply automation to:

Option (UI)	Behavior
Only next post	Binds to the first post published after save (or after optional Start listening from). Already-published posts do not trigger.
All future posts	Triggers on every future post on that account.
Specific posts	Pick publication IDs / posts (search by caption, URL, or ID). Publication-scoped rules are comment-only (inbound DMs do not carry a safe post id).

Opening create from a specific post may lock scope to This post only (selected_content).

Overlapping rules. Instagram and Facebook allow one private reply per comment, so only one rule answers a comment:

Two rules with the same reach on the same post and keyword are refused.
A rule pinned to specific posts always wins its posts; it can't take a post an Only next post rule is already locked onto.
A pinned or Only next post rule beside an All future posts rule on the same keyword is allowed: the narrower rule answers on its post, the broader one everywhere else. The save toast (and Delegated's preview) says which rule answers where.

Prefilled from a post or script. The Create DM rule button on an AI Content post or video script opens this form with the keyword and the link filled in.

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Delivery scope selector and selected posts grid

4. Optional: Send to earlier comments

Shown when the platform is Instagram or Facebook and scope is Specific posts (or locked to selected posts):

Check Send to earlier comments.
UI copy: reads comments from the last 7 days on the selected posts and queues DMs for matching keywords (or any comment if keywords are empty). Meta allows one private reply per comment, only within 7 days of it.
On save, backfill runs as an async job (not blocking the save)—Activity may show sends as retroactive.

Skip this if you only want new comments after activation. Details: Retroactive DMs and FAQ.

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Checkbox labeled Send to earlier comments with 7-day helper text

5. Keywords and comment replies

Trigger keywords — leave empty to match any comment/DM; matching is case-insensitive “contains” (accents normalized). Each person still gets only one reply path under Meta one-shot rules.
Add optional public comment replies (random/list of reply texts) unless you enable Don’t reply publicly to comments.
Under compliance / advanced: Stop keywords (default stop, unsubscribe), Exclude keywords, optional expiry (Stop sending after).

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Trigger keywords field with example chips like link and price

6. Template and CTA

Pick Template type: Message · Button · Carousel · Coupon (availability depends on structuredSupported / carouselSupported for the account).
For Button / Carousel: set title, description, image, and CTA from a Pointerly link or (if eligible) a custom URL.
Carousel: up to Meta’s slide limit; you can apply a bundle to prefill slides.
Tune safety: Hard cap / hour, Jitter min/max (ms), Send once per user.

Defaults for hard cap / jitter / default keywords can come from Settings → DM Automation.

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Template type controls and DM preview panel

7. Schedule, save, verify

Optional activate at / start listening time — rule may stay scheduled (paused_reason = scheduled) until cron activates it.
Save.
In the table, confirm active (or scheduled). Toggle off anytime to pause.

Tips

Multiple keywords on one rule: any keyword match fires (OR via contains).
Multiple Instagram accounts: expect one automation row per account.
For old viral posts: use Specific posts + previous-comments checkbox within Meta’s 7-day private-reply window.