Instagram Features
Instagram Direct allows you to connect with your customers through one of the world's most popular social platforms. Orki uses Meta's Instagram Messaging API to power your Instagram DM automation.
Sending Messages
Text Messages
Send text messages to customers who have initiated a conversation with your business.
| Feature | Supported |
|---|---|
| Plain text | Yes |
| Emojis | Yes |
Instagram has a 24-hour messaging window. You can only send messages to users who have messaged you within the last 24 hours.
Learn more about Instagram messaging
Media Messages
Share visual content with your Instagram audience.
| Media Type | Supported | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Images | Yes | Standard image formats |
| Videos | Yes | Standard video formats |
| Audio | Yes | Voice messages |
| Documents | No | Not supported by Instagram API |
Instagram only supports one media attachment per message.
Your AI agent can send images and videos here too — upload them once to the Media Library and assign them to the agent.
Learn more about media messages
Generic Template (Carousel)
Send rich card templates with images, titles, and buttons for an engaging experience.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Template type | Generic |
| Maximum cards | 10 |
| Card components | Image, title, subtitle, buttons |
| Button types | Web URL |
| Max buttons per card | 3 |
Learn more about generic templates
Quick Replies
Send up to 10 tappable options under a message — the customer taps one and it arrives back as their reply. Your AI agent sends these on its own when asking a question with a known set of answers (see Tappable Options).
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Maximum options | 10 |
| Label length | Up to 20 characters |
| Tap result | Arrives as the chosen option's text |
Learn more about quick replies
Location Links
Instagram has no native map message, so a shared place is sent as a Google Maps link with its name — automatically, whenever your agent sends a location (see Location Messages).
Receiving Messages
Orki processes incoming Instagram DMs through Meta's webhook system.
Supported Incoming Message Types
| Message Type | Supported | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Text | Yes | Regular text messages |
| Image | Yes | Photo attachments |
| Video | Yes | Video attachments |
| Audio | Yes | Voice messages |
| Story replies | Yes | Your AI knows the message is a reaction to your story |
| Story mentions | Yes | Your AI knows the customer tagged you in their story |
| Post/Reel shares | Yes | Your AI knows what was shared, including the post caption |
| Comments on your posts | Optional | Off by default — see Comments as conversations |
| Reply messages | Yes | Context preserved with original message |
| Quick-reply taps | Yes | Arrive as the chosen option's text |
| Reactions | Yes | Emoji reactions shown on the message in your inbox |
| Stickers | Partial | Marked as "unsupported content" with placeholder text |
Learn more about receiving messages
Story & Share Awareness
Instagram automatically creates a DM when someone mentions you in their story, replies to one of your stories, or shares a post or reel into the chat. These messages often arrive with no typed text at all — just the interaction itself.
Your AI agent understands what kind of interaction happened and why the message exists:
- Story mention — the customer tagged your business in their own story. The agent treats it as public appreciation or engagement, not a support request: it thanks the customer and engages with what the story shows, and only switches to problem-solving if their caption asks for something.
- Story reply — the customer reacted to your story. The agent reads their text in the context of that story.
- Shared post / reel — customers usually share your content to ask about it ("how much is this?"). The agent sees the shared post's caption and answers about the right item.
In your dashboard, each of these messages carries a small label (for example Story mention or Shared a post) so your team can tell interaction messages apart from typed ones at a glance.
Story mentions are free word-of-mouth. Encourage them — "tag us in your story for a shout-out", re-share the best ones, or run a promo ("mention us in your story and get 10% off — just DM us the word STORY"). Your AI will thank every mention automatically and can carry the promo conversation from there.
Comments as Conversations
Public comments on your posts and reels can become private conversations. This is off by default — enable Comments on your posts in the integration's AI interaction settings.
When enabled:
- Every new comment on your posts arrives in Orki as a conversation with that commenter.
- The AI answers with a private reply — a one-time DM Instagram allows in response to a comment (within 7 days, once per comment), even if the person has never messaged you before. If they reply to that DM, a normal conversation window opens.
- The AI sees the post's caption, so "is this available in blue?" under a product post gets a real answer about that product.
Post a product, invite questions in the comments, and let the AI move each interested commenter into a private conversation automatically. This turns your most engaged audience — people already commenting — into direct conversations without your team lifting a finger.
Turning comments on means the AI answers every commenter privately. For accounts with very high comment volume or campaigns that attract spam, keep it off or coordinate the rollout with your community team.
AI Interaction Controls
You decide which Instagram interactions your AI responds to. Each connected account has its own switches under Integrations → Instagram:
| Interaction | Default | When turned off |
|---|---|---|
| Story mentions | On | Saved silently — no AI reply, no notification |
| Story replies | On | Saved silently — no AI reply |
| Post/reel/story shares | On | Saved silently — no AI reply |
| Comments on your posts | Off | Comments are not received or stored at all |
Interactions you turn off (except comments) are still saved to the customer's chat history, and your AI still remembers them — so if the customer messages you directly later, the agent has the full picture. They don't trigger a reply, don't notify your team, and don't count toward your monthly conversation quota.
If your account receives many story mentions (influencer campaigns, giveaways), turn story mentions off. You keep the record and the AI keeps the context — without spending conversations or flooding your inbox — and you can turn them back on for campaigns where you want the AI to thank and engage every tagger.
Message Echoes
When messages are sent from the Instagram app directly (not through Orki), they are captured and synced to your conversation history, and your AI knows a team member (not the customer) sent them.
| Feature | Supported |
|---|---|
| Echo detection | Yes |
| Status sync | Yes |
| Team-member attribution | Yes |
Replying from the Instagram app hands the conversation to your team: the AI stays out of the way while you chat. Once that conversation ends (it is resolved, closed automatically after inactivity, or was a brand-new thread you started), the AI takes over again the next time the customer writes — with full memory of what your team member said.
Read Receipts
Track when customers have seen your messages.
| Feature | Supported |
|---|---|
| Read receipts | Yes |
Typing Indicators & Seen Status
| Feature | Supported | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Typing indicator | Yes | Show "typing..." to customers |
| Mark as seen | Yes | Automatically mark messages as seen |
Learn more about sender actions
What We Don't Currently Support
The following Instagram features are not yet implemented in Orki:
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ice breakers | Not supported | Conversation starter prompts |
| Persistent menu | Not supported | Always-visible menu options |
| One-time notification | Not supported | Re-engagement notifications |
Platform Comparison: WhatsApp vs Instagram
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Text messages | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Audio | Yes | Yes |
| Documents | Yes | No |
| Stickers (receive) | Yes | Partial |
| Location (send) | Native map pin | Google Maps link |
| Carousels | Yes (10 cards) | Yes (10 cards) |
| Interactive buttons | Yes (buttons + lists) | Yes (quick replies) |
| List messages | Yes | No |
| Template messages | Yes | No |
| Typing indicators | Yes | Yes |
| Read receipts | Yes | Yes |
| Reactions (receive) | Yes | Yes |
| Story interactions | N/A | Yes (AI-aware) |
| Comments → private replies | N/A | Yes (optional) |
| Message replies | Yes | Yes |
| 24-hour window | Yes* | Yes |
*WhatsApp requires template messages to initiate conversations outside the 24-hour window.