Comment to DM automation: your link by DM on every comment

How Instagram comment automation works

The idea fits in three beats: someone comments, the tool recognizes the keyword, the person gets your message privately. With PlugKit, a comment-to-DM automation comes down to a few choices (PlugKit documentation, read on 24 October 2026):

• The keyword: contained in the comment, matching it exactly, or any comment at all. Case and accents are ignored.
• The posts to watch: one or more posts, or the whole account, including posts published later.
• The public reply: optional, it shows everyone else that the link really arrives.
• The DM: your text, with a button to your link.
• Once per person: so the same follower never gets the same link twice.

A follow-up sequence can start from the automation, but keep Meta’s rule in mind: a second message only goes through once the person has replied. Write the first DM so that it invites an answer.

This is the lead magnet mechanic: a guide, a video or a discount code in exchange for a comment. The comment stays public, the link arrives privately, and a conversation opens with someone who had never written to you.

The real test: the “AUTO” comment

We set this automation up on Occirank’s Instagram account by asking Claude, connected to PlugKit, to send the video link to anyone who comments AUTO. Claude first showed a summary to check, before creating anything.

Then came a real comment from another account. The public reply and the DM arrived within seconds. It is all on film in the video below (Zéro Corvée video 1, in French, published on 22 October 2026).

The next day, we added an option: the link reserved for followers. People who do not follow the account have to follow it to receive the link. You gain followers, in exchange for one more step on their side.

Meta’s native setting

Without a third-party tool, Meta offers a Comment to message template in Meta Business Suite’s inbox automations: a private message goes out when a comment on your posts contains specific keywords or phrases (Meta Business Help Center, read on 24 October 2026). It is a desktop setup: Meta notes that keyword automations are only available in Meta Business Suite on desktop.

If that template is enough, start there. PlugKit becomes useful when you want to run everything by talking to your AI, chain a follow-up sequence after the DM, or apply the same mechanic to a Facebook Page. If you are torn between PlugKit and ManyChat, our ManyChat vs PlugKit comparison puts them side by side.

The rules your automation must follow

They come from Meta and apply to every tool (Meta developer documentation and PlugKit documentation, read on 24 October 2026):

• A single private reply: one message to the commenter, sent within 7 days of the comment. On a live video, only during the broadcast.
• No second message without a reply: a follow-up can only go out if the person responds, and within 24 hours of their response.
• The right inbox: the DM lands in the main Inbox if the person follows your account, in their Requests folder if not.
• Instagram and Facebook only: at PlugKit, private replies exist on Instagram and Facebook Pages, not on TikTok or YouTube.

The most common trap: two automations targeting the same post with the same keyword. The first sends the DM, the second fails, because the private reply has already been used. If you switch tools, turn the old one off on the same posts. The other timing limits are covered on the instagram 24 hour rule page.

Choosing your keyword and your message

• A short, unusual word in your usual comments: GUIDE, AUTO, LINK. With a “contains” match, a word that is too common triggers messages nobody asked for.
• Say it everywhere: in the video, in the captions and in the post text. Nobody guesses a keyword.
• A short DM: who you are, what the link contains, then a question. If the person replies, a new 24-hour window opens and the conversation can continue.
• A button rather than a bare link: that is what PlugKit’s documentation recommends for campaign messages.

One tool and one automation per post: otherwise one of the two DMs will never go out.