How to auto-DM people who comment on Instagram

The comment section is a queue of people who already raised their hand. Auto-DMing them is not a growth hack. It is answering the queue.

This is the walkthrough we wish existed before anyone opened a flow builder. It matches what you do in Xuios comment-to-DM.

Before you touch software

Decide three things on paper:

1. The keyword. LINK for a URL. FREE for a download. PRICE for a rate card. One word beats a paragraph of instructions in the caption.
2. The DM. Two sentences and one button. If you need a PDF, the DM holds the tracked link, not the PDF itself.
3. Who is allowed. Everyone who comments, or only followers? If only followers, you want a follow gate.

If you cannot write those three lines, the tool will not save you.

Step 1 — Use a professional account

Official messaging needs a Creator or Business account. Connect through OAuth. If a product asks for your Instagram password, close the tab. We explain why in API vs bots.

In this Xuios build you can use a mock connection to learn the editor before Meta app review.

Step 2 — Create a comment automation

In Xuios: Automations → new → “Send a link for a keyword.”

Set:

• Trigger: comment
• Keyword mode: contains for messy humans (link please), exact for a giveaway word you printed on a story
• Keywords: link (never case-sensitive)
• DM: “Here’s what you asked for.” plus a label like “Get the link”
• Optional public reply: “Sent you a DM”

Attach it to a specific post if this is a launch. Leave it broader if every new reel uses the same keyword.

Step 3 — Write the DM like a person

Bad: “Hey king 👑 tap the FIRST link in bio and join my DISCORD for the SECRET…”

Good: “Got you — the guide is here. If it is the wrong one, reply and I’ll send the other.”

Use {first_name} if you want. Do not write five links. One tracked link tells you if the comment-to-DM converted. See track Instagram DM link clicks.

Step 4 — Comment on yourself

This is the step people skip, then blame the API.

Publish or pick a post. Comment the keyword from your own account (or a tester). Watch the inbox. If it fails, fix permissions, the professional account, or the keyword mode before you tell 40,000 people to comment LINK.

Xuios shows sent and failed in the inbox so you are not guessing.

Step 5 — Tell people the keyword once

Put the word in the reel, on the story, and in the first pinned comment. Do not hide it in line seven of the caption. The keyword is the product.

For launch day, switch the automation to “every comment” so you are not policing spelling. That template exists as “Launch day” in Xuios.

Windows and rate limits (the unsexy part)

You cannot privately reply to a comment from 2019. Meta’s private-reply window for comments is typically seven days. If someone comments during a live, treat live comments as their own rules — they often only work while the live is up.

If a reel explodes, sends may queue. That is safer than a tool that blasts past Instagram’s pacing and then “mysteriously” stops working.

Follow gate, if the freebie is the point

If the comment is FREE and you are giving away a preset, turn follow gate on. Non-followers get a clear ask. Followers get the file. Details: Instagram follow gate.

What this costs

Xuios Free includes 1,000 DMs — twice InstantDM’s published 500, and in a different universe from ManyChat’s 25-contact free plan. Creator is $4.99/mo unlimited. You do not pay extra because the reel did well.

Related

• Instagram keyword DMs
• Story reply automation
• Comment-to-DM product
• Auto DM product