An AI assistant for Instagram: DMs answered day and night
It answers in Direct within seconds, day and night, remembers what was said and sends the owner a ready-to-act lead in Telegram instead of “you have a new message”.
In-house buildRuns on Instagram @step.automations
- Official Meta API
- Merges messages
- Steps aside for the owner
01A client writes in Direct: the bot recognises them, and the owner gets a ready-to-act lead in Telegram
01Before
Sales happen in Direct: questions about prices, availability and bookings. The admin is busy, asleep at night and off at weekends, but clients don't like to wait and go to whoever answers first. Messages pile up, and nobody moves what matters into the CRM.
02What changed
- A reply in seconds
the client instantly sees “seen” and “typing…”, and a relevant answer follows in seconds.
- It handles real-life chat
people write in short bursts on Instagram, so the bot waits and answers everything in one meaningful message.
- It remembers the client
it recognises them by account, and if they wrote on Facebook or the website before, it finds them by phone or email and picks up the same conversation.
- The owner stays in charge
the owner gets a ready request in Telegram; when they reply themselves the bot goes quiet, and it can be paused.
03How it works
- 01
A client writes in Direct
- 02
The assistant answers and clarifies what's needed
- 03
A ready request goes to the owner's Telegram, the chat to the CRM
Sample data: the contact in the dialogue is redacted; the request and card belong to a fictional client.
The same approach, built for your task
Here it's my own account. An assistant like this suits any niche where sales happen in Direct.
- 01Beauty and wellness
bookings, prices, free slots and answers to common questions.
- 02Fashion shops and brands
sizes, stock and delivery; hot leads go to a manager.
- 03Cafés, restaurants, bakeries
cake orders, table bookings and menu questions.
- 04Experts and courses
answers about the programme and pricing, plus consultation bookings.
Message @step.automations on Instagram and this very bot will reply.
Under the hoodTechnical details for specialists
- The official Meta API
the bot works through a Meta app, with no grey services and no risk to the account.
- A 5-second window
messages collect in a Redis buffer and reach the model as one batch.
- It never mistakes itself for the owner
the bot identifies its own replies by the app tag, and the owner's manual replies by its absence.
- Long replies in parts
text is split into 900-character parts, within Instagram's limit.
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