Set up Story Reply Automation

What Story Reply Automation does

Story Reply Automation starts when someone replies to one of your Instagram Stories.

You can run the automation for Any story or limit it to Specific stories. You can also add optional keyword rules if you only want certain replies to trigger the automation.

A Story Reply is different from a normal inbox DM. Normal DMs are handled by Direct message automations, while Story replies are evaluated by Story Reply automations.

Story reactions are not configured as Story Reply triggers in ZayDM, so use an actual reply message when testing.

Create a Story Reply automation

1. Open Automations.
2. Select New automation.
3. Under Choose how your automation starts, select Story Reply.
4. Choose which Stories should trigger the automation.
5. Add optional keyword rules.
6. Add at least one response under Send them a DM.
7. Select Save Draft.
8. When the setup is ready, select Start Automation.

Saving the draft does not activate the automation.

Choose which Stories can trigger the automation

Under When someone replies to a story, use Which stories should trigger this automation? to choose the targeting mode.

Any story

Choose Any story when replies to any supported Story on the connected Instagram account should be eligible to trigger the automation.

This is the simplest option for an always-on Story Reply workflow.

Specific stories

Choose Specific stories when the automation should only respond to replies from selected Stories.

You must select at least one Story before saving or starting the automation. If none is selected, ZayDM shows:

Select at least one story or switch back to Any story.

Instagram Stories expire after 24 hours. ZayDM may warn that some selected Stories have expired and will not trigger new replies. For an automation you want to keep running across future Stories, Any story is usually the better option.

Configure keyword matching

Use What keywords trigger this? if you only want certain Story replies to start the automation.

Keywords are optional. If you leave the field empty, every qualifying Story reply can match, including a Story reply that does not contain text.

If you add keywords, the Story reply needs text that matches the selected Match type.

Any keyword

Choose Any keyword when the reply should trigger if it contains at least one configured keyword.

For example, with price and guide, either of these replies can match:

• "Can I get the price?"
• "Send me the guide"

All keywords

Choose All keywords when the Story reply must contain every configured keyword.

If the keywords are price and course, the reply must contain both.

Exact

Choose Exact when the entire trimmed reply must equal one of the configured keywords.

If the keywords are guide and pricing, either guide or pricing can match exactly.

Keyword matching is case-insensitive, and leading or trailing spaces are ignored. Punctuation is not automatically removed, so punctuation can matter when you use Exact.

Build the response

After the Story Reply trigger, configure what ZayDM should send.

The V2 editor includes:

• Before the main response
• Send them a DM
• Follow up

Under Before the main response, you can turn Opening Message On or Off.

If Opening Message is On, ZayDM sends it first and waits for the person to tap Continue before sending the main response.

You can also use Follow Gate when Opening Message is On.

Under Send them a DM, choose Add response, then select Text message or Card message.

Card messages can include a Destination with Paste URL or Upload file. You can also add an image with Paste URL or Upload image.

If Opening Message is Off, the main response is sent after the Story Reply trigger matches.

If Opening Message is On, the flow becomes:

Story Reply → Opening Message → Continue → optional Follow Gate → Send them a DM

Save and start the automation

When you first create the automation, select Save Draft.

After the draft is created, use Save changes while editing it.

When you are ready for the automation to run, select Start Automation.

These actions are separate:

• Save Draft creates an inactive automation.
• Save changes updates an inactive automation.
• Start Automation activates it.
• Stop Automation stops an active automation so you can edit it again.

An automation needs at least one response before it can be saved and started.

Some features can be configured while the automation is inactive even when they are not available on the current plan. ZayDM checks eligibility when you start the automation and shows an upgrade or billing action when needed.

Test the automation

For the simplest test, use Any story and test from another Instagram account.

1. Confirm the correct Instagram account is connected and healthy in ZayDM.
2. Confirm the automation has been started.
3. Publish or use an active Instagram Story.
4. From another Instagram account, reply to that Story through the Story reply interface.
5. If you configured keywords, make sure the reply matches the selected Match type.
6. If Opening Message is On, tap Continue.
7. Complete Follow Gate if it is enabled.
8. Confirm the main DM arrives.

Do not test by sending a normal inbox DM. A normal DM is evaluated by a Direct message automation instead.

Do not use a Story reaction as the test event. ZayDM currently documents Story Reply as a reply-message trigger.

If you use Specific stories, make sure the reply is sent to one of the selected Stories that can still receive replies.

How Story Replies interact with Smart Follow-Ups

A genuine Story reply counts as a reply from that person and stops pending Smart Follow-Ups for them.

That same Story reply can still be evaluated by an active Story Reply automation and start a new matching flow.

Button taps and postbacks such as Continue are different. They do not count as a new Story Reply trigger and do not behave like a genuine inbound reply for Smart Follow-Up cancellation.

See How Smart Follow-Ups work for the follow-up rules.

Common issues

A normal DM does not start the Story Reply automation

Story Reply automations only handle messages Instagram identifies as replies to Stories.

Use DM Keyword Automation if you want a normal inbox DM to start an automation.

A selected Story does not trigger

Check Which stories should trigger this automation?.

If you use Specific stories, confirm the Story is still selected and can still receive replies. If you want the automation to work across future Stories, consider Any story.

My keyword does not match

Check What keywords trigger this? and Match type.

Remember:

• Any keyword needs at least one configured keyword in the reply.
• All keywords needs every configured keyword.
• Exact needs the full trimmed reply to equal one configured keyword.
• punctuation can matter for Exact matching.

A reaction does not trigger the automation

Story reactions are not configured as Story Reply triggers. Test with an actual reply message sent from the Story interface.

The Opening Message arrives but the main DM does not

If Opening Message is On, the person must tap Continue first. If Follow Gate is enabled, that step may also need to be completed before the main response is sent.

The automation cannot be started

Your current plan, active automation allowance, connection health, or another eligibility rule may be blocking activation.

Use the Upgrade plan or Review billing action shown in ZayDM instead of relying on fixed plan limits in this guide.

If the automation still does not run after checking these settings, see Automation not triggering.