---
title: "Instagram Automations"
description: "Fuely AI talks to your Instagram audience through automations — one for every place a conversation can start."
canonical_url: https://chatfuel.com/docs/instagram/instagram-tasks
markdown_url: https://chatfuel.com/docs/instagram/instagram-tasks.md
last_updated: 2026-08-12
lang: en
site: https://chatfuel.com/docs
llms_txt: https://chatfuel.com/llms.txt
---

# Instagram Automations

Fuely AI talks to your Instagram audience through automations — one for every place a conversation can start.

Fuely AI talks to your Instagram audience through [automations](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/automations) — one for every place a conversation can start. Each automation has its own settings, so you can keep one shared behavior across all of Instagram or fine-tune every source separately.

You manage them in two equal ways: at **Fuely AI** → **Automations** in the dashboard, or by asking the [AI Co-Worker](/docs/ai-features/what-the-ai-co-worker-can-do-for-you) in chat — *"Show my Instagram automations."* Both do the same thing.

> **Note:** If you used the old Tasks page: tasks became automations. [Here's what changed](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/tasks).

## The six Instagram sources [#the-six-instagram-sources]

Under **Instagram** in Automations you'll find a source for each way a customer can reach you:

* **Direct messages** — incoming DMs to your account
* **Post & reel comments** — comments on your posts and reels
* **Ad comments** — comments under your ads
* **Story replies** — replies to your stories
* **ig.me links** — conversations started from an ig.me link
* **Ads that click to Instagram** — DMs from people who tapped an ad that opens Instagram Direct

Each source has a **base automation**. It's always there — it can't be renamed or deleted — and it starts off, so [turning AI on for a source](https://chatfuel.com/docs/instagram/how-to-activate-ai-in-instagram) simply means enabling its automation. Sources you leave off stay silent.

## Custom automations [#custom-automations]

On the comment, ad, story, and link sources — everything except direct messages — you can add up to 30 [custom automations](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-create-a-custom-automation): named rules that react only to specific content, like a keyword, a particular post or ad, selected stories, or one ig.me link. On the comment sources, rules also control the **Public reply** under the comment and the **Private reply** sent to DMs — see [Instagram comment autoreply](https://chatfuel.com/docs/instagram/instagram-comment-autoreply).

When several automations could answer the same comment or message, [a priority order picks one](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/which-automation-replies-to-a-message-or-comment): rules targeted at the specific post or ad win over general rules, and general rules win over the base.

## Your comments and DMs in one place [#your-comments-and-dms-in-one-place]

When someone comments and Fuely AI replies, you'll see both the public comment thread and the private reply in the **Chats** tab. Story replies appear in chats with a preview of the story (or a "no longer available" state once the story expires). In DMs, the AI knows which post or ad the conversation came from, so its answers stay in context.

## Contact properties [#contact-properties]

Contacts created by Instagram automations carry source properties so you can see where each person came from.

| Contact action                              | Original source / Last source      | Original source details / Last source details |
| ------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| Messages in Instagram direct                | Instagram direct                   |                                               |
| Messages in Instagram direct via ig.me link | ig.me link                         | `{ig.me link}`                                |
| Comments from ads                           | Instagram ad comment               | `{ID ad}`                                     |
| Comments from posts and reels               | Instagram comment                  |                                               |
| Messages from Instagram Direct CTA ads      | Ad that clicks to Instagram direct | `{ID ad}`                                     |
| Reply to Instagram story                    | Instagram story reply              |                                               |

## Messaging limits [#messaging-limits]

Instagram restricts who you can message and how often — see [messaging rules for Instagram](https://chatfuel.com/docs/instagram/messaging-rules-for-instagram) for full details.

* **New contacts** — 1 DM after they comment, then wait for them to reply.
* **Existing contacts** — 24 hours to message after their last message.

## Where your DMs end up [#where-your-dms-end-up]

* If someone **follows you** — your DM goes to their main inbox.
* If they **don't follow you** and have never messaged you before — it goes to their message requests folder, with no notification.

DMs in the requests folder are easy to miss. On comment sources, use the public reply to point new commenters at their inbox:

> *Thanks for your comment! Just sent you a DM.*
>
> *Appreciate your interest! Check your inbox.*