The short version
There are three ways to set up an Instagram auto reply, and they are not the same thing. Saved replies in the Instagram app save you typing but you still send every message yourself. Instant reply, away message and custom keywords in Meta Business Suite send fixed text: one greeting for everyone, or one fixed reply for each of up to five keywords. Keyword-based replies with a tool such as BixoChat read what the person wrote and answer accordingly: "price" gets the price, "shipping" gets the delivery times. This page explains all three, how to set the third one up, and ends with eight complete example messages you can adapt.
1. Saved replies in the Instagram app
In the Instagram inbox, a professional account can save answers it types often and insert them with a shortcut. It is free and built in, and it is not automation: you open every conversation and tap to send every reply. Good for a solo account with a handful of messages a day.
2. Meta Business Suite: instant reply, away message, custom keywords
In Meta Business Suite, the instant reply greets everyone who messages you for the first time, and the away message answers outside the hours you set. Both send one fixed text to everyone, regardless of what the person wrote. A few frequently asked questions can be set up as tappable buttons with fixed answers, and custom keywords (desktop only) binds a fixed reply to up to five keywords or phrases: the match is exact and case-sensitive, a keyword can live in only one automation, and the reply goes out after 15 minutes unless you answer first. This is the right choice if all you need is "we got your message, we reply within the hour" and a reply or two by keyword. It does not scale to a shop answering price, size, shipping and order questions all day.
3. Keyword-based auto replies with BixoChat
In BixoChat the unit is a Direct Automation: one or more trigger words, one reply. When an incoming DM or story reply matches a trigger, the reply goes out from BixoChat's servers; your phone can be off.
Connect Instagram
Click Connect Instagram in the panel and pick your account in Meta's own login window. Your password never reaches BixoChat. The account must be a professional account (business or creator).
Create a Direct Automation
Open Instagram → Direct Automation, create a new automation and name it after its topic.
Add the trigger words
Type the word and choose Contains (anywhere in the message), Exactly (the whole message is that phrase) or a pattern. Add synonyms one by one: price, how much, cost. Up to 10 per automation. Avoid words that appear in every message and never give one word to two automations.
Write the reply
Add the automatic reply: Text (up to 1,000 characters), Image, Video, Audio or Card (up to 10 cards, for several products); a reply can include up to 3 Buttons or 5 Quick replies.
Options and switch on
A Reply delay of 10–30 seconds makes the reply read as if a person typed it. Require a follow before replying asks the person to follow you first; the reply goes out after they confirm. Save, switch it on, test it from another account.
Which topics get their own automation
A shop: welcome, price, shipping, how to order, and often returns and stock and sizes. A service business: welcome plus appointments or quotes, collected as a form in DMs. A creator: welcome plus "link" for the product in the story. Each is a separate automation with its own words; the examples below show the set.
Messages that match nothing
There is no "any message" trigger for DMs. Instead, the setting for all other messages at the bottom of the automations list decides: off means no automatic reply to unmatched messages; the AI replies option on means the AI assistant answers them from your business description. It replies with text only, so read its first replies and refine the description. Details: Instagram chatbot with the AI assistant.
Eight auto reply examples
The messages below are written for a fictional boutique; change the name, prices and times to yours. Each one is a separate Direct Automation; the trigger words are in parentheses. Do not use everyday words ("info", "thanks", "hi") as triggers, and do not give one word to two automations.
Welcome (Exactly: hi, hello, hey, hiya)
Hi, welcome! 👋 We got your message. Nora Studio replies between 9 am and 7 pm, usually within the hour. Want an answer right away? Type "Price", "Shipping" or "Order".
Price (Contains: price, how much, cost)
Hi! Thanks for asking! 💜 Our linen shirts are $79 and dresses start at $95. Shipping is free over $80. Type "Order" and we'll send the steps, or ask about colors and sizes right here.
How to order (Exactly: order; Contains: how to order, how do i order, place an order)
Great, let's do it! 🛍️ Send these in one message: 1) product name or code, colour and size, 2) full name and delivery address, 3) phone number. Payment: card link or bank transfer. We ship within one business day, and shipping is free over $80.
Stock and sizes (Contains: in stock, in my size, still available, any left)
Hi! The linen shirt is in stock in S, M and L; XL is back next week. Colors: white, sand, olive. Tell us your size and colour and we'll hold it for you. Size guide: norastudio.com/size-guide
Shipping (Contains: shipping, delivery time, when will it arrive, where is my order)
Hi! Orders ship within one business day and arrive in 2–4 business days nationwide. Shipping is free over $80, otherwise $6, with UPS. To track an order, send your order number and someone from the team will send the tracking number.
Returns and exchanges (Contains: return, exchange, refund)
Hi! Returns and exchanges are accepted within 14 days of delivery on unworn items with the tags attached; exchanges ship free. Send your order number and whether you want a return or an exchange, and someone from the team will send the label and the steps.
Opening hours and address (Contains: are you open, opening hours, your address, where are you located)
Hi! We're at 418 Main Street, open Monday to Saturday 10 am–8 pm, closed Sundays. Map: maps.app.goo.gl/… Anything you'd like us to set aside before you come in? Just say so here.
After the sale (Exactly: it arrived, just arrived, love it, loved it)
That's wonderful to hear, thank you for choosing us! 🥰 Share a photo and tag us and we'll feature it in our stories. Next time, use AGAIN10 for 10% off.
The after-sale thank-you goes on Exactly because it should answer only a message that says nothing else. With Contains, "just arrived" would also thank someone who writes "it just arrived and the strap is broken", and "so happy with" sits inside "not so happy with the quality". The bare word "order" is on Exactly for the same reason: with Contains, "where is my order" would get the ordering steps. A few words stay out on purpose. "Size" and "address" appear in every order (the order reply asks for both), so the stock and address automations use "in my size" and "your address". "Do you have a" would fire on "do you have a return policy?", and "where are you" on "where are you shipping from?".
A first reply for support requests, which says it is automatic and asks for the order number, belongs with these too; the comment-to-DM setups ("comment LINK and I'll send it") are in Instagram comment-to-DM automation, and six welcome variations in Instagram welcome message.
Which option fits you
- A solo account with a few messages a day: saved replies.
- A business that only needs "we got your message" and a reply or two by keyword: Meta's instant reply, away message and custom keywords, free.
- A shop or service answering the same questions all day: keyword-based automations, with the AI assistant for everything else. The full setup with the panel's labels: How to use BixoChat.
Limits and safety
An automation answers the person who wrote to you and nobody else; it never sends bulk messages, which is what keeps an account safe. Payment cannot happen inside the DM, and the automation does not see your stock, so update prices and sizes by hand. Set Hourly send limits on the account page so a busy day never looks like spam; see Why Instagram restricts accounts.