---
title: "How to Create a Custom Automation"
description: "Create a custom automation in Fuely AI → Automations to give a specific post, ad, story, keyword or link its own instructions instead of the base automation."
canonical_url: https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-create-a-custom-automation
markdown_url: https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-create-a-custom-automation.md
last_updated: 2026-09-09
lang: en
site: https://chatfuel.com/docs
llms_txt: https://chatfuel.com/llms.txt
---

# How to Create a Custom Automation

Create a custom automation in Fuely AI → Automations to give a specific post, ad, story, keyword or link its own instructions instead of the base automation.

A custom automation is a named rule that reacts only to specific content — comments with a certain keyword, a particular post or ad, selected stories, or an ig.me link. It sits on top of the source's base [automation](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/automations): when a message matches your custom rule, the custom answers; everything else falls through to the base.

Custom automations are available on comment, ad, story, and link sources — for example Instagram post comments, Instagram ad comments, story replies, ig.me links, Facebook post comments, m.me links, WhatsApp ads, TikTok comments. Direct-message sources and Main bot don't take custom automations; to change behavior there, edit the source's own settings. You can have up to 30 custom automations per source.

## Set it up in Automations [#set-it-up-in-automations]

1. Go to **Fuely AI** → **Automations**.
2. Open the source you want the rule on — for example **Instagram** → post & reel comments.
3. Add a new automation and give it a name you'll recognize later — the keyword it reacts to or the campaign it serves, like *"Price"* or *"Reels discount"*.
4. Set the targeting: [keywords, specific posts, ads, or stories](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-set-up-automation-for-specific-posts-or-ads).
5. Set how it replies — on comment sources that's the **Public reply** under the comment and the **Private reply** sent to DMs.
6. Turn the automation on.

A new custom automation starts turned off and inherits its settings from the source's base — nothing goes live until you enable it.

## Or ask the AI Co-Worker [#or-ask-the-ai-co-worker]

Tell it what you want in chat:

*"When someone comments 'price' on my reels, reply publicly and send the price list in DM"*

It creates the rule, names it, sets the keyword and replies, and asks before turning it on.

## Turning off vs. deleting [#turning-off-vs-deleting]

* **Turn off** when you might need the rule again — a paused promo, a seasonal campaign. The settings stay saved.
* **Delete** only when you're sure: deleting is permanent and removes the rule's targeting and reply settings with it.

You can rename a custom automation at any time. Base automations can't be renamed or deleted — they are each source's permanent catch-all.

> **Note:** If you turn off a source's base automation and have no enabled custom rules there, that source goes silent — nothing will answer. Check [which automation replies to what](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/which-automation-replies-to-a-message-or-comment) if you're not sure what's active.