With the Instagram channel, your account's direct messages arrive in WeSpeak: the assistant replies to them, your team takes them, and they stay in the funnel and the history, alongside the rest of your channels.
Requirements
- An Instagram Business (professional) account, usually linked to a Facebook page.
How to connect it
- Go to Channels and, on the Instagram card, click Connect (there's a Tutorial button with the guide).
- The Instagram/Meta login opens: authorize WeSpeak to read and reply to your messages.
- Once authorized, the channel is connected and messages start coming in.
What it supports and what it doesn't
| Feature | |
|---|---|
| Text, emojis, attachments, voice notes | ✅ |
| Reusable text templates (with /) | ✅ |
| Reply to stories and mentions that reach you by DM | ✅ |
| Quote / reply to a specific message | ❌ Instagram doesn't allow it — the button doesn't appear |
| Reply after 7 days since the customer's last message | ❌ |
| Delete messages | ❌ |
Limits set by Instagram
- 7-day window: you can only reply within the 7 days after the user's last message. Once that time is up, the writing box locks and warns you — it's not an error, it's an Instagram rule.
- You can't start a conversation: you reply to whoever writes to you (or reacts to your content); there are no cold sends.
If the channel disconnects
The authorization you give WeSpeak over your account has an expiration managed by Meta. If the link expires or you revoke the permission:
- WeSpeak detects it automatically and sends you a notification: "Your channel has been disconnected. Go to Channels to reconnect."
- Messages that arrive while the channel is disconnected don't reach WeSpeak, so it's best to reconnect as soon as possible.
- To reconnect, repeat the Connect flow in Channels — the history of already-recorded conversations is preserved.
Multiple accounts (Multichannel)
With Multichannel you can connect several Instagram accounts in the same WeSpeak account:
- Each account is connected by repeating the Connect flow (connecting the same account twice is blocked).
- You can give each channel a name with the pencil (Edit channel name); if you don't name it, the Instagram username is shown.
- In the conversation filter (in Chats and in the Funnel) each account appears as its own option.
- Inside the chat, below the contact's name, it indicates which account the conversation belongs to (only when more than one is connected).
- Each account generates its own conversations: the assistant and your team always reply through the account the customer wrote to.
Frequently asked questions
It won't let me reply to a customer from last week.
More than 7 days have passed since their last message: Instagram no longer allows replying. If they write again, the conversation is reactivated.
Why don't I see the button to quote a message?
Instagram doesn't support quoted replies for platforms like WeSpeak — it's hidden on purpose.
Can I connect several Instagram accounts?
Yes, with multichannel: each account with its name and its separate conversations. Check with support to enable it on your account.
I got the notification that the channel disconnected, what do I do?
Go to Channels and reconnect the account (same flow as the first time). While it's disconnected, new messages don't reach WeSpeak.
Why does it ask me to log in with Facebook to connect Instagram?
Because Instagram Business accounts are managed through Meta: the connection is authorized with the business's Facebook account linked to your page. You don't need to create a new personal account — use the business one.
The assistant doesn't reply to some messages that come in from ads.
Messages that come into Instagram from an ad sometimes arrive with a special Meta format that can affect the automatic reply. If you spot a case, report it with the contact and the time — it's a known behavior the team is reviewing.