# How to create an automation

> Open Automations, click “New automation”, name it, pick a trigger, set your keywords and write the DM. Then click “Save & activate” and it starts replying on its own.

- Topic: Automations
- Plans: Free: limited · Pro: included · Scale: included. Free: 2 active automations and 1,500 DMs a month. Pro and Scale: unlimited.
- In the app: Open Automations — https://app.replavia.com/automations
- Last checked: 2026-10-29
- Web page: https://replavia.com/help/create-an-automation

## Before you start

You need a connected Instagram account. If you have not connected one yet, see [How to connect your Instagram account](https://replavia.com/help/connect-instagram).

> Short on time? On an empty new automation, Replavia offers four ready-made templates — Link in comments, Price enquiries, Email waitlist and Story replies. Pick one, add your own link, and save.

## Steps

1. Go to **Automations** in the menu and click **New automation**. If you have more than one Instagram account, choose which one this automation is for.
2. **Name your automation.** The name is only for you, so use something you will recognise, like “Recipe reel”.
3. **Select a trigger.** This is what starts the automation: a comment, a reply to your story, a mention in someone’s story, a comment on your live, or a DM. See [Which trigger should I use?](https://replavia.com/help/choose-a-trigger)
4. **Which posts?** For a comment trigger, choose every post and reel, or pick the posts you want.
5. **Set up keywords.** Type the words people will comment, like RECIPE. Choose **Contains keyword** or **Exact match**, or tick **Any keyword** to answer every comment. See [Keywords and matching](https://replavia.com/help/keywords-and-matching).
6. **Public comment replies.** Write the reply people see under their comment, like “Sent you a DM 💛”. Add a few versions so the replies do not all look the same. Short on ideas? Click **Fill with ready-made replies**.
7. **Response flow (DM).** Write the DM. You can turn on **Use a tappable button** so the person taps once to get the rest, and add a link with **Send a link button**.
8. Optional: **Invite them to follow**, at the end, after they get what they asked for. See [The follow invite](https://replavia.com/help/follow-invite).
9. Click **Save & activate**. Click **Save draft** instead if you are not ready yet.

## Make the DM sound like you

**The opening message.** With the tappable button on, the **Opening DM** carries the button, so it must have text. With the button off, tick **Send an opening message** to send a short hello first. For story replies, mentions and DMs, this step is called **Auto-reply**.

**Say it more than one way.** Under the opening message, open **Say it more than one way** and click **+ Add another version**. You can add up to 4 more versions. Each person gets one at random, so a hundred people do not all get the same line.

Each version needs at least 10 characters, and no two can be the same. Your main message counts as **Version 1**.

**Fill with ready-made replies.** In **Public comment replies**, this button adds tested replies, up to 20 in total. Your own replies are kept. Click **Try a different set** to swap the ready-made ones. One reply is picked at random each time, so many ready-made replies make yours appear less often.

## Does it say it is automated?

If your opening message does not say it is automated, Replavia asks **Does this say it is an automated reply?** Instagram asks automated messages to make that clear, and in some places it is the law.

The ready-made openers start with “Hey! This is an automated reply”. Add something similar in your own words. The check never stops you saving, and it only reads Latin letters, so ignore it if you already said it in another script.

## Test it

Comment your keyword on the post from a **different** Instagram account — not the account you connected. Replies arrive a few seconds later, not instantly. Replavia waits a short, random time on purpose, so it reads like a person and not like a bot.

## Good to know

- Instagram allows one automated DM per comment. If two live automations want to answer the same comment, only one will. When you pick posts, Replavia marks the posts another automation already uses.
- Each comment is answered once. The same person can get a reply again from a new comment on a different post.
- If your Instagram account is disconnected, the automation cannot be switched on until you reconnect it.
- After you save, you can pause, edit or delete it from the list. See [How to pause, edit or delete an automation](https://replavia.com/help/pause-edit-or-delete-an-automation).