How To Create Instagram Chatbot for Free
By Joren Wouters • Updated on
I will show you how to create an Instagram chatbot to turn your DMs into leads and customers.
I’ve helped Instagram accounts of all sizes transform their DMs into real results. For example, with Claire, we moved over 3,000 people to her email list — and many of them became paying customers.
If you follow the steps in this tutorial, you can get similar results.
And you’ll get my FREE template so you can just copy-and-paste it.
Table of Contents
What is an Instagram Chatbot?
An Instagram Chatbot is a program that automatically replies to comments and messages in the Instagram DMs.
Here’s what it can do:
- It can automatically send direct messages to your followers who comment on your posts. This is a great way to engage directly and personally with people interested in your content.
- The chatbot can quickly answer questions about your business. It provides instant info to your followers.
- It’s also a handy marketing tool. It can inform people about new products or special deals. It works around the clock as your marketing assistant.
These chatbots are very beneficial for businesses. They boost sales, generate leads, and automate customer support, all without constant human oversight.
Benefits of Instagram Chatbots
So, why should you use an Instagram chatbot?
In short: Because it will boost your sales, shrink your costs and improve customer experience.
Let’s break it down:
Why Instagram Chatbots Boost Sales & Leads
Most businesses use landing pages to get leads and customers. But landing pages only convert at 6%.
With Instagram, you can set up chatbots, which typically convert at 50% (or more!). That’s because everything happens on Instagram, users don’t need to go to an external website. You can also set automated follow-ups.
Of course, specific results can vary, depending on use case and setup.
How Instagram Bots Can Shrink Your Costs
Research shows that companies save around 30% on customer support after implementing a chatbot.
With my client’s chatbot, in the first month of going live, we automated one third of all customer interactions they had. And because of that, we saved over $4,000/month that they used to spend on manual replies!
How Instagram Chatbotbots Improve Customer Experience
Instagram chatbots are available 24/7, 7 days a week.
This improves the customer experience.
Because customers get a direct answer to their questions, even if it’s outside business hours.
No more wait times!
Check out my full list of Instagram chatbot examples across different industries like coaching, education and digital content:
How to Make a Free Instagram Bot in 3 Steps
Setting up an Instagram DM Bot for your business is super easy. Here’s how you can do it in 3 steps:
Step 1: Create a Free Manychat account and connect it to Instagram
The first step is to create a Manychat account, which is the platform we will use to create our Instagram chatbot.
Manychat is one of the best Instagram chatbot platforms. I have used it for all of my clients for the last 5 years. I use them because it is:
- Easy to use: Manychat is simple, you don’t need to code. You can just drag and drop blocks to build your chatbot.
- 100% Meta-Approved: So you don’t risk getting banned on Instagram
- Cheap: They offer a free plan and their paid plans already start at $15/month
So just click the button below to create your Free Manychat account (and get my 100% discount code):
This will bring you to the Manychat website, where you need to click on Get Started Free:
And select Instagram and login with your Instagram account:
I have another tutorial that explains all the steps you need to do to connect your Instagram Account to Manychat. I highly recommend checking it out, to ensure a good connection:
Step 2: Set up a Instagram DM Triggers
In the rest of this tutorial, we will create a lead generation chatbot that collects emails in exchange for a free guide.
And we will use the example of giving away a free investing guide.
In Manychat, you should go to Automation and click on New Automation:
Each automation in Manychat starts with a trigger, which is an event that starts the automation.
And we want to start the automation when someone comments on our post or sends us a DM.
We will first add the commen trigger, by clicking on Add trigger:
Select Instagram and then choose for User Comments on your Post or Reel:
Next, we should decide which posts to reply to. You have three options:
- A specific post or reel
- All posts or reels
- The next post or reel
In general, I recommend going with all posts or reels. Then, you can create one automation that works on all posts:
Next, we should determine to what words we want to reply.
Since we are giving away a free guide, we can say in our posts:
Comment “GUIDE” below to get my free investing guide!
When they comment, this trigger starts.
So here we will add GUIDe, and also add some misspellings:
And the next step is to set up the Public Reply. This is an automatic comment reply in the comment section of your post.
In this reply, you want to:
- Excite them for what they get (the free investing guide)
- And tell them to go the Instagram DM
So we will add three variations here and click on Create:
- Can’t wait for you to start with investing, please check your DMs! (and message requests)
- Let’s get started with your first investment, just sent a DM! (check your message requests)
- That’s the first step to investing! Check your DMs! (and message requests folder)
By adding three variations, Manychat will randomly pick one of them for each comment. Because of this, it doesn’t look spammy on your Instagram post.
So now our comment trigger is working, the next step is to set up our DM trigger.
Because in your Instagram Stories you can promote your funnel by saying:
DM me “GUIDE” to get your Free Investing Guide!
When setting up keyword triggers, make sure to comply with Instagram DM rules. Otherwise, your automations might not work as expected or could even get restricted.
So you can add a new trigger, select Instagram and choose for User sends a message:
Then we set it to Message begins with and also add GUIDE and some misspellings:
So now every time someone comments “GUIDE” or DMs us “GUIDE”, this automation will start.
Step 3: Create Instagram Chatbot Funnel
Now that our triggers are set up, we can create the first message in our Instagram chatbot funnel.
In this message, you should confirm the user’s interest in the free guide:
Looks like you’re ready to make your first investment and earn some passive income!
Get instant access to my FREE Investing Guide and learn the exact steps to grow your money the right way—without the guesswork.
Just click the button below or reply with “WEALTH” to get your free guide now 👇
P.S. This message should have “Send Message as Comment Reply” at the top, otherwise it doesn’t work.
Then, add a quick reply to this message. A quick reply is a button people can click on in the DMs. When they click, we automatically send the next message.
So add a quick reply with:
✅ YES, send it over!
Pro Tip: People can continue in our funnel by clicking the quick reply or replying with “WEALTH”. This is because on Instagram Desktop and old versions of the Instagram app, quick replies don’t show up. Because of this, we add “or reply with WEALTH”, so people can always continue the flow (even if they don’t see the quick reply).
Because of this, we will create a new automation and connect it to the first one.
In Manychat, go to Automation and click on New Automation:
Here, add a User sends a message trigger:
Set this again to Message begins with and add WEALTH here (and some misspellings):
In the first message, emphasize it only takes two quick steps to get access. And then add a 3-second delay to make it conversational:
Next, we want to collect the user’s name and store it in Manychat.
We can do that by adding a Data Collection element:
Here, we will ask for the first name of the user.
So you can set the Reply Type to First Name and the Data Collection expires to 23 hours:
This ensures that people have 23 hours to respond to this question (otherwise they only have 30 minutes).
Then, scroll down and remove the Skip button text (so users cannot skip this question):
Next, connect this message to a new Instagram message:
By doing this, they will get the next message after they entered their first name.
Here, you want to greet them with the name they just gave:
And add another Data Collection element so we can ask their email address.
Here, set the Reply Type to Email, so Manychat will verify if the entered text is a valid email:
If someone doesn’t give a correct email, Manychat will send the retry message (you will see this if you scroll down):
And again: Don’t forget to delete the Skip button text.
After we got their name and email, we send the link to our free investing guide:
You’re all set, {{first_name}}!
Can’t wait for you to get started with investing!
Just click the button below to get instant access 👇
And add a button with “➡️ Access Free Guide” that links to your guide:
So now your automation should look like this:
And then lastly, we will connect the two automations to each other by using the Start Automation block in Manychat:
And that’s it! The only thing to do left is click Set Live in the upper-right corner, and you’re set!
Free Instagram Chatbot Template
If you want to get started quickly, just enter the form below and get instant access to my Instagram Chatbot Template for free 👇
Your Next Steps
That’s how you create an Instagram chatbot to turn your DMs into leads and customers.
But this is just one of the ways you can reply to DMs on Instagram. The next step is to automatically reply to questions using AI.
You can do that by connecting Manychat to ChatGPT. Click here to learn how:
And if you want to get more familiar with Manychat, please have a look at my Manychat Masterclass.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can create Instagram Chatbots?
Only Instagram Business Accounts and Instagram Creator accounts (with less than 500K followers) can create Instagram DM Bots.
If you currently have a personal account, just go to the Instagram app (it does not work on desktop), go to your profile and click on the menu bar at the top-right:
Click on Settings and privacy:
And then go to “For professionals” and click on Account type and tools:
And click on Switch to professional account:
What if I don’t see my account in the Manychat list of Instagram Accounts?
- Your Instagram account is not connected to a Facebook Page
- You are not an admin of the Instagram Account and/or Facebook Page
If you fix these two things, your Instagram account should show up in Manychat.
What Features Should I Look for in an Instagram Chatbot?
Look for an Instagram chatbot that can talk to customers naturally, understand different questions, send helpful answers, and show your products or services. It’s good if it can learn from chats to get better over time.
Is It Possible to Personalize Interactions Using Instagram Chatbots?
Yes, it’s possible to personalize interactions using Instagram chatbots. They can use a customer’s name, remember past chats, and suggest products based on what the customer likes, making each chat feel special and personal.
Can Instagram bots work for small businesses?
Yes, Instagram bots work well for small businesses. They automate customer responses, streamline sales processes, and handle basic customer service tasks. It allows small business owners to focus on growing their business.
How can I integrate a chatbot with my Instagram account?
To integrate a chatbot with your Instagram account, you’ll need to use a platform like Manychat. Once connected, you can create automated flows that guide users through interactions, answer common questions, and provide a seamless experience for followers.
What is a chatbot flow, and how does it improve user interactions?
A chatbot flow is a sequence of automated messages that guide users through a conversation. It’s a conversation flow that streamlines communication, so followers get the information they need quickly.
Can I use automation to handle customer inquiries on Instagram?
Yes, you can use automation to handle customer inquiries on Instagram. You can automate responses to frequently asked questions, process orders, and provide support. This way, your business runs smoothly even outside working hours.
I like!!!
Can a chatbot be used on my Square space homepage to personalize the experience by asking what the user wants to look at first? I am thinking of a completely automated bot with no human backup. I am planning a complete rebuild. It is a site that will have 2 artists, 2 subject matter options (educational/engagement opportunities) and a store for affordable options. Also how will I know if you answer this question?
Hey Lenore! Yes, you can create a chatbot and place it on your Squarespace homepage.
What service do you recommend for this proposed chatbot? Can it be free or inexpensive?
Wait does this mean i have to pay for ads?
If you want to use ads, you need to pay for them.
We want to make a simple chat bot for our game using Instagram private message like start the game using “!start” Command and “!help” and other commands which will be used. Is there a way we could do it for free?
Currently not… But Instagram is working on opening its platform for chatbots, so hopefully, this will be possible in the coming months!
Is there any way we can reach out for Instagram APIs (any email id)?
Unfortunately, you cannot. It is only possible to apply for the Instagram API through one of the chatbot builders, such as ManyChat, Chatfuel or MobileMonkey. And even then the possibility that you are included in the Beta is really small.
Use the smmbot.net service, you can use it to create a chat bot on Instagram.
Thank you for the suggestion, I will have a look at it 🙂
chat bots can be very helpful for responding on the queries of the customers on time, hi there! thanks for sharing this informative article with us its really very helpful for me.
Thank you 🙂
Hi there! I wish more companies will be allowed to connect IG to their conversational motors, but until then, lets try Manychat or Chatfuel! thanks for this.
Hey Lordee! Yes, I would like that too. But for now, we still need to wait for the official release to come…
Hi there I am doing some self learning about instagram marketing and I must say that this article i very helpful for me, using chatbots can really be very helpful for a brand.
Thank you!
I was reading Instagram marketing, and i got your blog. After reading this whole blog, I got some new information regarding Instagram chatbot. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Thank you, Ruby!
when i reply chat bot still replying with me in the same time
Hey Isaac! What is your question precisely?
Hey, thanks for the article, it was very useful. Can you please answer, what chatbot would you recommend for a small store on Instagram? Smmbot, manychat, maybe other
I would recommend to use ManyChat.
Is this mandate to have account with 10k followers to integrate chatbot. What if its an new account and need to have chat automation. It this possible?
Hey Dinesh! Yes, you can now use Instagram chat automation with every business account, regardless of the number of followers you have 🙂
Excellent tutorial! Thank you.
Glad that you liked it, Derek!
Hello, is there a chatbot where I can send an automatic welcome message to the profile that starts following our Instagram account?
Unfortunately, this is not possible because Instagram doesn’t allow this.
Manychat customer support doesn’t respond. I created workflows but after trial is over credit card payment is not going through. Does not even let me try another credit card. Created tickets but no avail. Is there a faster way to reach manychat support.
Are you using an credit card from India? For some reason, ManyChat doesn’t accept these. I recommend trying out a different card of ask a friend abroad to use their card (if this is the case).