Instagram Live Comments Trigger

The Instagram Live Comments trigger helps you turn real-time engagement into ongoing conversations.

When someone comments during your Instagram Live, you can automatically send them a personalized DM, so the interaction doesn’t stop when the live ends.

Whether you’re promoting a product, answering questions, or simply connecting with your audience, this trigger makes it easy to follow up instantly and turn live viewers into engaged contacts.

Set up the Instagram Live Comments trigger

1. Open your Manychat workspace and click the Automation tab in the sidebar.
2. Click the + New Automation button.
3. Click + Start From Scratch. 
4. Select the Start with a blank option.
5. Once the Flow Builder opens, click the + New Trigger button.
6. Select the User comments on your Live trigger from the Instagram tab.
7. Next, select the keyword that will trigger the automation. You can choose from the following options:
   • Any message or reaction: any comment or reaction during your Live will trigger a message.
   • Message is: the automation will trigger only when a comment exactly matches the keyword you set.
   • Message contains: any comment that includes your keyword will trigger the automation.
   • Message contains full word: the automation will trigger only when the full keyword is used (for example, “link” will match “Send me the link”).
   • Message begins with:  only comments that start with your keyword will trigger the automation.
8. Once you’ve added the keywords, click Save to add the trigger.

Set up an automated private reply in DMs

The Live Comments trigger is just the starting point. To turn live engagement into a real conversation, you need to send a private message.

That’s why the next step is to add at least one Instagram message to your flow. This is what brings the automation to life and allows you to publish and run it successfully.

To add a private response to your automation:

1. Go back to the automation containing your Instagram Live comments trigger.
2. Add a next step: select Instagram to add a Send Message node to your automation.
3. Make sure to select the Send as a Private Reply option, otherwise you won’t be able to continue with the automation. 
4. You can add a Quick Reply button to start the conversation, or simply add a button with a link you’d like to send those users who replied under your post or reel. 
5. Keep in mind some of the limitations:
   • The first private reply node can only contain a single content block (text or image, with buttons or Quick Replies).
   • You can’t use User input, Instagram DM Lists, Typing delays, and Dynamic blocks.
   • There should not be Next Steps in this node.
6. After configuring the first private reply, you can continue building the rest of your automation as needed.
7. To see how it works, you can click the Preview button at the top of the Flow Builder. 
   • You can choose to preview the automation either in Manychat or directly on Instagram. 
   • The second option lets you see everything exactly as your audience will experience it. Click the arrow icon next to the Preview to select the preview mode. 
8. Once you’ve finished setting up the automation, click the Set Live button if you’re creating a new automation or Update if you’re making changes to the existing one.

If you co-host an Instagram Live, the automation will trigger only for comments on the primary host’s account. Also, keep in mind that if comments or requests to join the Live are turned off, the automation won’t run.