Instagram Comment to DM Automation
Someone comments a word on your Reel. They get the link in their DMs seconds later, without you opening your inbox. Keyword triggers on posts and Reels, unlimited automated DMs on every plan, and a free plan that runs in production.
No credit card required · Setup takes about five minutes
What comment-to-DM actually does
Comment-to-DM automation watches one Instagram post or Reel for a keyword in the comments and sends whoever typed it a direct message. You say "comment LINK for the guide" in the video, and the tool does the rest: it spots the comment, waits the delay you set, and delivers the thing you promised.
The reason it works is that the two halves do different jobs. The comment is public, so it is social proof and it feeds the algorithm. The DM is private, so it is where the link, the price or the booking actually happens. Asking for a comment is also a far smaller request than asking someone to leave Instagram and find your bio link, which is why a Reel with a keyword prompt converts better than the same Reel saying "link in bio".
The work it removes is the dull part. One Reel that lands can pull four hundred people asking the same question, and answering them by hand means four hundred copy-pastes, with the ones who asked at 2am getting an answer at noon. The automation replies to all of them at the same speed.
How to set up comment-to-DM in about five minutes
Five steps, and the last one is the one people skip. Read the longer walkthrough →
Connect Instagram
You authorise Liffio on Instagram's own consent screen through Instagram Login. No password is shared with Liffio, and you can revoke access from Instagram whenever you want.
Pick the post or Reel
Choose the post the automation should watch. One post, one keyword is the right way to start, because it keeps the reporting readable while you learn what converts.
Set the trigger word
Type the keyword exactly as you want it matched. Most people use contains matching so GUIDE also catches a comment reading 'guide please'. Add excluded keywords if the word is common enough to misfire.
Write the DM
Two or three short lines. Name the thing they asked for, then give the link, on its own line or as a DM button. Set the delay between 10 and 60 seconds.
Test before you promote it
Comment from a second account and check three things: the DM lands, the link opens on a phone, and the public reply reads the way you meant it. Then push the post.
What you can trigger and what the reply can carry
Every item below is on every plan, free included.
- Keyword triggers
- The word a commenter types to start the automation.
- Excluded keywords
- Words that stop an automation firing, for keywords common enough to catch unrelated comments.
- Any comment trigger
- Fires on every comment on a post, for when you do not want to ask for a specific word.
- Public replies
- A visible comment back under the original comment, so the commenter knows a DM is coming.
- Reply variants
- Several versions of the public reply, rotated, so the comment section does not read as one repeated line.
- DM button
- A tappable button in the DM instead of a bare URL.
Paid plans add a multi-keyword trigger builder, a follow-before-DM gate, and the option to turn Liffio branding off. See what each plan includes →
What comment-to-DM costs
The DMs themselves are not metered. Automated DMs are unlimited on every Liffio plan, free included, and there is no per-contact fee, so a Reel that outperforms does not produce a bill you did not plan for. What the plan decides is how many automation workflows you can have running at once: 3 on Free, 25 on Starter, 100 on Growth, and 250 on Business and Agency.
Paid plans start at $9 a month, or Rs.499 with native INR billing and GST-friendly invoices through Razorpay. The free plan is not a trial: it has no expiry and asks for no card.
What unlimited DMs means in practice → · Compare Liffio with other comment-to-DM tools →
It runs on the official Instagram API
You connect through Instagram Login, which means you approve the permissions on Instagram's own consent screen. Liffio never asks for, sees or stores your password, and you can revoke access from Instagram at any time without talking to anyone.
That distinction matters more than any feature on this page. The tools that get accounts restricted are generally the ones that sign in as you and drive the app in a browser, because to Instagram that traffic is indistinguishable from a bot operating your account. An automation running on the documented API is doing something Instagram built an endpoint for.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Instagram comment-to-DM automation?
- Comment-to-DM automation watches a chosen Instagram post or Reel for a keyword in the comments, then sends that commenter a direct message automatically. You tell people to comment a word such as LINK or PRICE, and whoever comments it receives the link, guide, price list or code in their DMs without you typing anything. It is the standard way creators and small shops answer the same question hundreds of times from one post.
- Can I do comment-to-DM for free?
- Yes. Liffio's free plan includes comment keyword triggers on feed posts and Reels, public comment auto-replies, and unlimited automated DMs, with no credit card and no trial expiry. The free plan runs 3 automation workflows at a time, which covers one keyword each on three posts. Paid plans start at $9 a month (Rs.499 in India) and raise that to 25 workflows, then 100, then 250.
- Does comment-to-DM work on Reels?
- Yes, on both feed posts and Reels, and the behaviour is the same on each. Reels are where most comment-to-DM volume comes from, because a Reel reaches people who do not follow you yet and a comment is the lowest-effort thing they can do. If a Reel takes off, the automation keeps sending whether it draws 50 comments or 50,000, because automated DMs are not capped on any Liffio plan.
- How quickly does the DM arrive?
- You choose the delay, anywhere from 10 to 60 seconds. Instant replies can read as robotic and a short pause gives the message a conversational rhythm, so most creators sit around 15 to 45 seconds. The delay is set per automation, so a time-sensitive drop can run faster than an evergreen guide.
- What if the same person comments the keyword twice?
- Turn on the public reply. A visible comment back, something as plain as 'Sent you a DM with the link', tells the commenter the automation worked and stops them commenting five more times because they assumed it broke. Reply variants let you rotate the wording so a post's comment section does not read as the same sentence forty times over.
- Which keyword should I use?
- Short, obvious, and the exact word you said out loud in the video. LINK, GUIDE, PRICE and YES work because they are easy to spell on a phone and easy to remember from a five-second hook. If the Reel says 'comment MENU', do not set the trigger to DOWNLOAD, because people comment what they heard. Excluded keywords are there for the cases where a common word would otherwise fire on unrelated comments.
Set up your first keyword today
Connect Instagram, pick a post, type a word. The free plan runs three automations with no card and no expiry.
Start freeUnlimited automated DMs on every plan · No per-contact fees · Official Instagram API