Instagram DMs, answered.
The DMs that vanish into the app land in a queue instead. No Facebook Page required.
What this channel adds
Instagram messaging for business uses Meta's messaging API for professional accounts. Otobiz connects through Instagram login, brings every DM into the same inbox as your other channels, and lets AI agents answer from your product, policy, and customer information.
What customers can do on Instagram
Start with the jobs that matter in a real conversation.
Direct messages in the same inbox
Instagram DMs land beside WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram in one queue. The same assignment, statuses, and notes apply, while records are linked only when the customer's identity is known.
- Instagram threads beside every other connected channel
- Images, video, audio, and shared location cards read on the way in
Replies tied to what you actually sell
AI agents answer from your knowledge base, website, Q&A pairs, and the contact's history. The reply keeps its sources and stays in review when the information is missing or sensitive.
- Product and policy answers from your own content
- Draft sources shown to the reviewer every time
Buttons and cards, not walls of text
Instagram supports quick replies, a link button, and a swipeable card carousel. Otobiz sends all three, so a size question or a booking can be answered with a tap instead of a paragraph.
- Quick replies for fast branching questions
- A call-to-action button that opens a link you control
More on Instagram
Ad clicks and referrals attributed
When a message starts from an Instagram ad or a referral link, Otobiz records where it came from on the contact, so the conversation is countable against the campaign that produced it.
Follow-ups to people who messaged you
You can send a targeted follow-up to contacts who wrote in recently, using the same segment builder and the same consent screening as every other channel. Instagram has no template concept, so eligibility is the window itself.
Comment replies that move to DM
A comment on a post can be matched against your rules, answered publicly, and continued in a private message to the person who left it, so a public question becomes a private conversation without anyone copying a handle.
A longer window for human agents, Soon
Meta offers a longer reply window for threads a person is actively working, which is useful when a customer writes overnight and your team answers in the morning. Meta has to approve it first.
What it takes to connect
You sign in to Instagram, review the access Otobiz requests, and choose the professional account to connect. Messages, reactions, referrals, and read status can then appear in the shared inbox.
- An Instagram professional account, either business or creator
- Message controls in the Instagram app set to allow access to messages
- Someone who can sign in to that Instagram account to approve the integration
Before you connect
- The 24-hour window, with no template escape
- Instagram allows a business reply for 24 hours after the customer's last message. Unlike WhatsApp, there is no approved-template path that reopens it. Otobiz blocks the send and tells you the customer has to write again.
- No document attachments
- Instagram DMs carry images, video, and audio. They do not carry PDFs or other documents. Otobiz refuses the attachment with a clear message rather than sending a broken file.
Full setup details
A teammate with permission to connect channels in Otobiz
No lists, and captions arrive separately
Instagram has no list message, so options render as quick replies. It also has no caption field on media, so a caption is sent as a follow-up text message right after the file.
Story replies are read as attachments
A reply to your story arrives as a message with an attachment. The conversation works, but Otobiz does not show which story it referenced.
It cannot post, and cannot read your insights
The integration asks only for what messaging needs. Otobiz does not request permission to publish to your account or to read its insights, so it cannot do either.
Questions buyers ask
Do I need a Facebook Page to connect Instagram?
No. Otobiz uses the direct Instagram login path, so a professional Instagram account connects on its own. If you also run a Facebook Page, connect it separately as its own channel.
What kind of Instagram account is required?
A professional account, either business or creator. A personal account cannot be connected, because Meta does not expose messaging for personal accounts.
Which permissions does Otobiz ask for?
Only the access needed to identify the account and manage its messages. Publishing, comments, and insights access is not requested, so the integration cannot post on your behalf.
Can we reply to a DM from three days ago?
Only if the customer has written since. Instagram allows a business reply for 24 hours after the last customer message, and there is no template that reopens the window.
Ready to put this to work?
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