Which Automation Replies to a Message or Comment

When several automations could react to the same comment or message, Chatfuel picks exactly one. Here is the order it checks.

The priority order

Within a source, the winner is decided top-down:

1. Custom automations targeted at the specific content — rules tied to that exact post, ad, or story. A rule aimed at the post always beats a general rule, even if the general rule's keyword is a closer match.
2. General custom automations — rules on the whole source, not tied to specific content.
3. The base automation — the source's permanent catch-all.

Within steps 1 and 2, keyword precision breaks ties: a rule matching the exact text beats a rule matching contains, which beats a catch-all rule that reacts to any comment. If two rules still tie, the older one wins.

Automations that are turned off never compete — they're skipped entirely.

A worked example

Say you have three rules on Instagram post & reel comments:

• "Price" — replies when a comment contains "price", on any post
• "Launch post" — replies to any comment, but only on your launch post
• The base automation — answers everything else

A comment "what's the price?" under the launch post gets answered by "Launch post" — it targets that specific post, so it outranks the keyword rule. The same comment under any other post gets "Price". A comment "love this!" under a regular post falls through to the base automation.

Two things that surprise people

• Turning off the base doesn't silence the source. If an enabled custom rule matches, it still replies even while the base is off. The base is only the fallback for whatever nothing else caught. If you turn off the base and have no enabled customs, the source goes fully quiet.
• Main bot is the master switch. If Main bot is off, nothing replies anywhere — no source, no custom rule, regardless of their own toggles.

Not sure which rule will fire?

Ask the AI Co-Worker: "Which automation will answer a comment saying 'how much' on my latest reel?" — it checks your rules and names the winner. You can also open the rule in Fuely AI → Automations and try it in the Test chat.