Instagram DM Automation: Answer Messages from Your Product Catalog

Instagram DM automation means replying to direct messages automatically, based on rules you set. UlakChat goes one step further: when a customer asks about a product, it searches your catalog, sends a product card with the price and offers size or color choices as buttons.

How does Instagram DM automation work?

Instagram passes messages sent to business accounts to authorized apps through Meta's official API. The automation tool receives the message, works out what the customer wants and replies according to the flow you built.

In UlakChat it takes three steps:

1. Connect your account. You connect through Meta's permission screen and never share your password.
2. Upload your products. Import your catalog from a file. Variants and stock are defined once.
3. Build the flow. Design it yourself in the drag-and-drop editor, or describe your business and let the AI build it for you.

Keyword matching vs. AI

Classic auto-reply tools look for a specific word. A customer who writes "price" gets the price list, a customer who writes "how much is it" gets nothing.

In UlakChat, your keywords are checked first. When none of them match, AI works out what the message is asking. "Do you have the cream trench coat?", "is the cream trench still available" and "beige trench in stock?" are understood as the same question and routed to the same flow. Your flow still decides the reply, so you stay in control of what the customer receives.

Answering product questions from your catalog

For boutiques and online stores, the most common DM is "do you have this, and how much is it?". UlakChat handles it like this:

• Finds the product in your catalog and sends a product card with a photo.
• Offers size and color options as quick-reply buttons.
• Sends the price and stock status of the chosen variant.

What the customer sees:

Do you have the trench coat?

Trench Coat799 ₺Choose size

Choose size

Which Color?

CreamBlack

Cream

Which Size?

SML

M

Status of Color: Cream, Size: M: In stock. Price: 799 ₺.

You can try it yourself by sending "Krem trençkot var mı?" to our demo account @ulakbutik on Instagram. No sign-up needed.

Meta's messaging rules

Instagram DM automation works within limits set by Meta. Two rules matter before you start:

Rule	What it means
24-hour messaging window	You can reply freely within 24 hours of the user's last message. After the window closes, the user has to write again before you can send a new message.
Private replies to comments	You can answer a post comment with a DM. The reply must be sent within 7 days of the comment, and only once per comment.

Tools that work outside the official API and ask for your password try to get around these rules and put your account at risk. UlakChat only uses the official API.

Who is it for?

• Boutiques and clothing stores: size, color, stock and shipping questions.
• Clinics and beauty salons: pricing and appointment requests.
• Real estate agencies: questions about specific listings.
• Creators: sending links or resources from comments to DMs.

Facebook Messenger in the same panel

Messages sent to your Facebook Page can be handled from the same panel. Instagram and Messenger conversations land in one inbox, and your product catalog works on both channels.