Instagram DMs

Connect Instagram Direct Messages with a single secure Instagram sign-in. You authorize your Instagram professional account directly, with no Facebook Page to link first. Once connected, your agent answers DMs both ways with text and media, and story mentions and shared posts land in the same conversation. It's a 1:1 DM channel, one thread per person, no group chats.

Before you start

• An Instagram professional account, either a Business or a Creator account. Personal accounts can't connect. (Switch in the Instagram app under Settings → Account type.)
• The Instagram login for that account, so you can approve the connection.
• Decide which agent should answer these DMs before connecting, so replies start immediately.

You do not need a Facebook Page, a Page access token, or Meta Business Manager. The older Page-linked flow is gone.

Connect

1. In your space, open Channels → Instagram and start setup.

2. Choose Sign in with Instagram. You're sent to Instagram's own consent screen.

3. Log in and approve the two permissions AnyBot asks for: read your basic profile and manage your messages.

4. Instagram sends you back to AnyBot, which stores the connection and flips the status to Connected. Your agent now answers your Instagram DMs.

The connection uses a long-lived (~60-day) token. When it nears expiry, reconnect the account from the channel to refresh it.

On this channel

Your agent handles the everyday Instagram DM types:

• Story mentions & shared posts: when someone mentions you in their story or shares a post into the DM, it comes through as a message your agent can respond to (the attached media arrives when Instagram includes a URL).
• Reply context: if a customer replies to a specific earlier message, the agent knows which message they're threading off of.
• Quietly skipped: the account's own outgoing echoes and delivery/read receipts are always ignored so they don't create noise. Unsupported attachment types (such as reels) are skipped too, unless they arrive with text the agent can act on.

DMs only

Instagram DMs are 1:1. There are no group threads on this channel. You can connect more than one Instagram account to the same space, and every account flows into the same inbox.

Channel settings

Instagram shares the standard channel settings block (auto-reply, a greeting, business hours, an out-of-hours message, and a reply rate limit) applied at the same inbound checkpoint as the other trait channels. See Channel settings for the full list and what each control does. Every conversation also lands in the unified inbox, where a teammate can take over, hand back, and mute the AI per contact.

Troubleshooting

• "Personal account" / can't connect: the account isn't a professional one. Switch it to Business or Creator in the Instagram app, then retry.
• Replies don't send: Instagram only allows free-form messages within 24 hours of the customer's last message, a standard Instagram messaging rule, not an AnyBot limit. If the window has closed, the customer needs to message again first.
• Connected but nothing arrives: confirm the DM is a direct message to the connected account (mentions in comments aren't DMs), and that the agent's auto-reply is on in Channel settings.
• Media didn't come through: some shares arrive without a downloadable URL from Instagram; the agent still sees the message, just not the attached file.

FAQ

Do I need a Facebook Page? No. You sign in with Instagram directly, no Page, no Business Manager.

What account type works? An Instagram Business or Creator (professional) account. Personal accounts can't connect.

Do story mentions come through? Yes, as a conversation your agent can reply to.

Can I connect more than one account? Yes, connect several, all into one inbox.

Is this the same as Instagram posting? No. This channel is DMs. Publishing posts and comments is a separate Instagram integration.

Next

• Tune replies in Channel settings.
• See every option in the Channels overview.