Automate replies to Instagram comments, Story replies and messages from your professional account, through Instagram’s official API. This page covers what Askenly can do on Instagram, the rules Instagram sets and how accounts are managed.
Requirements
- A Business or Creator account. No Facebook Page is needed.
- Allow access to messages turned on in the Instagram app, so Askenly can send DMs.
- Each Instagram account can be connected to one workspace at a time.
What Askenly can do on Instagram
| Where | What happens |
|---|---|
| Comments on posts and Reels | A private DM to the person who commented the keyword, on one post, several posts or any post |
| Story replies | A DM to everyone who replies to your Story with the keyword |
| Story mentions | Content unlocked for people who mention you in their own Story, on Grow your audience |
| Direct messages | Keyword replies, answers to common questions, bookings and email capture |
| Follow check | Instagram confirms whether the person follows you before content is unlocked |
| Buttons | An opening button, and your links as tappable buttons with your own labels |
| Publishing | Posts, carousels, Reels and Stories scheduled from Schedule |
| Inbox | Handed-off chats answered by your team from Askenly, with photos, video, audio or PDFs |
Instagram’s messaging rules
Instagram lets a business message people who contacted it first, and only for 24 hours after their last message. Askenly follows these rules: every automation starts from someone’s comment, Story reply or message, and follow-ups are sent only inside that window. A follow-up that would land after the window closes is skipped.
Messages go out at a steady pace, within the per-minute rate set for your plan, so a Reel that brings in hundreds of comments at once gets answered in order instead of in one burst. Each message is sent at most once. If Instagram doesn’t confirm a send, Askenly checks before retrying, so nobody gets the same DM twice.
People stay in control. Anyone who sends STOP gets no more automated messages until they send START, and a person can always block or restrict your account from Instagram.
Commented on your Reel: PRICE
Thanks for asking. Want the full price list?
Yes, send itYes, send it
Here it is, with every treatment and package.
See the price listInstagram accounts per plan
| Plan | Instagram accounts | Automations | DMs a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 1 | 3 | 1,000 |
| Starter | 3 | 10 | 12,000 |
| Growth | 8 | 30 | 75,000 |
| Scale | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1,000,000 |
Several accounts in one workspace
Each Instagram account keeps its own contacts, conversations, automations and scheduled posts. The switcher in the app header picks the account you’re working on, and Inbox, Automations, Schedule, Contacts, Analytics and Home follow it. An automation only ever runs on its own account, and a post only publishes through the account it was scheduled for.
Contacts added by hand and people who book through your booking page belong to the whole workspace and show under every account.
Disconnect or reconnect
Settings → Channels lists every Instagram account your workspace has used. Disconnecting an account stops its automations and scheduled posts, deletes the stored access token and frees a place on your plan, so you can connect a different account. Its contacts, conversations and history stay, and the header lets you switch to it to look back.
Connect the same account again later and its history comes back. Its automations and scheduled posts stay paused until you review them and turn them on, so nothing old goes out by surprise. If a connection fails, the message in the app says why, and Connect your account lists what to do for each one.
Remove permanently deletes one disconnected account and only its records, 7 days after you confirm by typing its username. You can keep the account until then.
Instagram questions
Do I need a Facebook Page?
No. Askenly connects with Instagram’s own sign-in, so a Business or Creator account is enough.
Can I connect more than one Instagram account?
Yes, up to your plan’s limit: Free 1, Starter 3, Growth 8, Scale unlimited.
Why does someone have to message first?
Instagram only lets businesses message people who commented, replied to a Story or sent a DM, so every automation starts from one of those.
Can Askenly reply publicly under the comment too?
Yes. A comment automation can post a short public reply under the comment as well as sending the DM, so other viewers see that you answered.
Good practice on Instagram
Tell people what to comment and what they’ll get, in the caption and the video. Reply to people who ask follow-up questions; a real reply after the automated one builds trust. Keep the opening DM short, and use Follow to unlock only when the follow really matters to you, because every extra step loses a few people.