Summary
If you're looking for ways to automate Instagram interactions, WATI’s flexible rule-based automation lets you create custom rules to manage incoming messages efficiently. This guide covers the new trigger, filters, and actions available, helping you set up automation for tasks like welcome messages, keyword-based responses, and out-of-office replies.
Instructions
New Trigger: Automate Responses for Incoming Instagram Messages
Trigger: New Instagram Message is Received
How it WorksThis trigger activates a Rule whenever a new Instagram message arrives from a contact. It ensures that messages are automatically handled based on predefined conditions. Common Use Cases
Setting up keyword-based automated responses
Sending a welcome message when a contact reaches out for the first time
Routing incoming messages to a chatbot for further engagement
New Filters: Fine-Tune Your Automation
Filters help you apply conditions to your rules, ensuring they activate only in specific scenarios.
Contact-Based Filters
Contact Exists / Does Not Exist
Use this filter to determine if the incoming message is from a new or existing contact.
Contact Initiates a New Chat
This filter activates a Rule only when a contact starts a new conversation. Subsequent messages in the same chat won’t retrigger the Rule.
Time-Based Filters
Timestamp: Is Within / Is Not Within Working Hours
Use this to filter messages based on your business hours. For example, you can set up an out-of-office message for messages received outside working hours.
Keyword-Based Filters
Incoming Message Matches Keyword(s)
Apply this filter to trigger responses based on specific keywords or phrases. Supported match types:
Contains: Activates if the message includes the keyword anywhere.
Exactly Matches: Activates only if the message is an exact match.
Fuzzy Matches: Activates when the message is similar to the keyword, allowing for minor variations.
New Actions: Automate Responses Efficiently
Send Instagram Message
Supports Text, Image, and Video responses
Ideal for quick replies to contacts
Start a Chatbot
Use this action to engage contacts in a longer conversation using an automated chatbot
Helps streamline responses to FAQs or lead collection
Next Steps: Create Your Own Automation Rules
Now that you understand the available triggers, filters, and actions, you can mix and match them to create powerful automation rules. Here are two examples:
Out-of-Office Message Rule
Trigger: New Instagram message is received
Filter: Timestamp is not within working hours
Action: Send an Out of Office message
Welcome Message Rule
Trigger: New Instagram message is received
Filter: Contact initiates a new chat
Action: Send a welcome message or start a chatbot By setting up these rules, you can automate Instagram interactions, improve response times, and provide a better experience for your customers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General Questions
What is WATI’s rule-based automation for Instagram? → WATI’s rule-based automation allows you to create custom rules to automatically manage incoming Instagram messages. You can set triggers, filters, and actions to automate responses, such as welcome messages, keyword-based replies, and out-of-office responses.
Who can use these automation features? → These features are available to businesses using WATI to manage their Instagram interactions. Ensure your account has the necessary permissions to set up automation rules.
Triggers
What triggers are available for Instagram automation? → The current trigger is “New Instagram Message is Received”, which activates a rule whenever an incoming message arrives from a contact.
Can I use multiple triggers in a single rule? → No, each rule is based on a single trigger. However, you can create multiple rules with different conditions to handle various scenarios.
Filters
What filters can I apply to my automation rules? → You can apply the following filters:
Contact Exists / Does Not Exist – Checks if the message is from a new or existing contact.
Contact Initiates a New Chat – Activates only when a new conversation starts.
Timestamp (Is Within / Is Not Within Working Hours) – Filters messages based on business hours.
Incoming Message Matches Keyword(s) – Triggers actions when specific keywords appear in messages.
How does the 'Contact Initiates a New Chat' filter work? → This filter ensures that a rule is triggered only when a contact starts a new conversation. Subsequent messages within the same chat will not activate the rule.
Can I combine multiple filters in a single rule? → Yes, you can mix and match different filters to fine-tune your automation and ensure it works for your specific needs.
Actions
What actions can be taken when a rule is triggered? → You can choose from the following actions:
Send an Instagram message (text, image, video)
Start a chatbot for more in-depth engagement
Can I send automated responses outside of working hours? → Yes, you can set a rule using the Timestamp filter to detect messages received outside working hours and send an automated out-of-office response.
How do I start a chatbot as an action? → After defining a trigger and filters, choose Start a Chatbot as the action. This will direct the contact to an automated chatbot conversation for further assistance.
Creating Automation Rules
How do I set up an out-of-office message? → Follow these steps:
Create a new rule with the trigger New Instagram Message is Received.
Apply the filter Timestamp is not within working hours.
Set the action to Send an out-of-office message.
How do I create a welcome message for new contacts? → To send an automated welcome message:
Create a rule with the trigger New Instagram Message is Received.
Apply the filter Contact Initiates a New Chat.
Set the action to Send a welcome message or Start a chatbot.