Instagram Ads Trigger

The Instagram Ads trigger automatically starts a conversation in Manychat when someone interacts with your Instagram ad. Use it to send personalized messages, gather leads, answer questions, and guide contacts through a sales funnel — all within Instagram.

This is especially useful for businesses looking to get more out of their ad spend by turning ad interactions into meaningful conversations, nurturing relationships, and driving more conversions.

How to set up an Instagram Ads Trigger in Manychat

1. Open your Manychat account.
2. Select Automation in the sidebar.
3. Click the + New Automation button.
4. Click the + Start From Scratch button and select Start from a blank canvas.
5. When the Flow Builder opens, click the + New Trigger button to add the trigger.
6. In the pop-up that opens, switch to the Instagram tab and select User clicks an Instagram Ad.
7. Click Save in the panel that opens to add the trigger to your automation.
8. Next, add what happens after the user clicks the ad: for example, add a Send Message node to your automation:
   • Click on Instagram under Choose the next step.
   • In the panel that opens, compose the initial message your contacts will see when they click your ad. Add a single block of text or media and include at least one Button or Quick Reply.
   • Make sure that the Send within 24 hour window option is selected. Since the user has already opted in to receive messages from you, you must communicate with them within the allowed 24-hour period.
9. To see how it works, you can click the Preview button at the top of the Flow Builder. 
10. You can choose to preview the automation either in Manychat or directly on Instagram. 
11. 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. 
12. 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.

Variables — such as First Name, Gender, or custom fields — are not supported in the initial message due to platform limitations. If your message includes variables, you'll see this error: "You cannot use Variables (like First Name, Gender, Bot fields, etc) in JSON GT Opt-In due to platform limitations." Remove any variables from the first message in your automation to resolve this.

Set up the ad in Meta Ads Manager

After completing the steps above, navigate to Meta Ads Manager to create your Instagram ad.

1. In the Meta Ads Manager, click Create to start creating a new Ad campaign.
2. Choose the ad type and the campaign objective. Note: With the current objectives in Ads Manager, the Instagram ads trigger is only available for Traffic, Engagement, and Sales campaigns.
3. Click Continue.
4. On the Campaign screen, you can configure the following settings:
   • Campaign name: Enter a descriptive name to identify this campaign later.
   • Budget type: Choose between Campaign budget (Meta distributes spend automatically) or Ad set budget (manual control per ad set). 
   • Budget schedule: If you select Campaign budget, choose Daily budget or Lifetime budget, and enter the amount. 
   • A/B test: Toggle on to compare ad variations after publishing. 
   • Special Ad Category: Select if your ad relates to housing, employment, financial products, social issues, elections, or politics. Leave unselected if none apply. 
5. When you're done, click Next.
6. Next, make sure the Conversion location is set to Message destinations or Instagram Direct.     
7. Once you’ve set up everything on this page, click Next.
8. Next, in the Ad Creative section, when setting up your ad media, choose a call-to-action button labeled Send Instagram Message. This will initiate a conversation with the user on Instagram.
9. Once you’re all set with your ad, locate the Message template section. In some cases, it can be Chat builders instead. 
10. For Message templates:
    • Select to create a new template with the Partner app and click the Select flow button.
    • From the dropdown list, choose Manychat as the Partner app and the automation you’ve created earlier in Manychat from the Message flow dropdown.
    • Click Finish, then publish your Instagram ad.
11. For Chat builders:
    • Switch to the Saved templates tab.
    • Next, select Manychat in the Select template section and choose the automation you want to use from the list. 
12. Once you’ve selected the automation, proceed to publishing the ad.

Once your ad is published and live, users who click your ad will receive the initial message from your automation. Keep in mind that Instagram users become Manychat contacts only after they click a button or respond to your initial message.

If Manychat doesn't appear as a partner app, verify the following:

• The Instagram Ads trigger is active.
• The automation is live.
• Your campaign objective supports messaging.
• The Conversion location is set to Message Destination or Instagram Direct.

💡 Try logging into Meta Ads Manager with your Instagram account instead of your Facebook profile — this can affect which options are available.