How-to
Instagram story reply automation
When someone replies to your story, send the link in a DM — without making them comment on a post from last Tuesday.
23 August 2026 · 3 min read
Stories die in 24 hours. The offer should not die in the caption of a post they already scrolled past. Story reply automation sends the DM when they react or reply — while the sticker is still on their mind.
Xuios includes story triggers on Free. The product walkthrough is Instagram auto DM.
Why stories convert differently
A story is a poke. A feed post is a billboard. People reply to stories with a single emoji or “link?” because the UI is a keyboard on a full-screen video. They will not hunt a keyword you buried in a reel from Thursday.
If your offer lives in stories — a waitlist, a drop, a booking — the automation should listen to story_reply, not only comments.
Setup
- Connect a professional account that can receive story reply events.
- Create the Xuios “Story reply → link” template.
- Keyword mode: any, unless you only want replies that contain
link. - Write a DM that mentions the story: “From the story — here’s the list.”
- Reply to your own story from a tester and confirm the inbox.
If story events do not arrive, the account type, permissions, or app review is the problem — not the sentence you wrote.
Keywords on stories
You can still filter. price on a story reply can share an automation with comment price if you want one rate card. More often you want a dedicated story automation so the DM can say “from the story” and use a different tracked link. That is how you learn whether stories or reels actually sell.
Follow gate on a story
Yes, you can ask non-followers to follow before they get the drop. Use it for freebies, not for a paid checkout. See follow gate.
What not to do
Do not promise “every story viewer gets a DM.” Viewing is not an inbound message. Official APIs do not let you cold-DM your viewers. Reply and mention events are the door.
Do not run unofficial “story scraper + blast” tools. That is the bot path.
Pairing stories with comments
A weekly rhythm that works: Monday reel with LINK, daily stories that say “reply LINK for the same list.” Two automations, two tracked links. At the end of the week you know which surface moved.
Do not point both at the same short link if you care about the lesson. Do point both at the same destination page.
Creative that makes people reply
- A screenshot of the product with “reply if you want this”
- A countdown with “reply WAIT”
- A poll that is a decoy — the real CTA is still a reply keyword
- You, on camera, saying the word twice
Stories that only say “link in bio” train people to leave Instagram. Stories that say “reply and I’ll send it” train people to stay in the thread you can automate.
Plans
Some tools lock story triggers on a mid tier. We do not. Free already has stories, follow gate, and 1,000 DMs. Creator is unlimited at $4.99. Pro adds AI for the inbound DMs that do not match a keyword.