Work through this checklist in order. Most problems are one of the first four.
- It's switched on. Open the automation and check it says Live at the top. New automations start as drafts.
- It's on the right post. On Hobby, a comment automation only watches the one post or reel you picked in Choose Post or Reel.
- The keyword matches. The comment has to contain your keyword, spelled the same way. Capital letters don't matter. Keywords of one or two characters only match as a whole word.
- You're testing from another account. Instagram doesn't let an account DM itself, so comment from a second Instagram account.
- Instagram is still connected. If your dashboard asks you to reconnect, follow these steps.
- Message access is on. In Instagram, open Settings and activity, then Messages and story replies, Message controls, Connected tools. Turn on Allow access to messages.
- It's a professional account. Waveloop needs a Business or Creator account. Switching is free in Instagram.
- The comment is recent. Instagram allows a private reply to a comment within 7 days only.
- You're under the Hobby contact limit. Hobby includes 50 new contacts a month. When you reach 50, all your automations pause until the count resets on the 1st of next month (India time). Nothing is deleted, and they start again on their own. The Contacts this month meter on Home shows where you are. Upgrading to Creator removes the limit.
- Only one automation answers. If two automations use the same keyword on the same post, only one replies. Home flags these keyword conflicts.
Just connected?
Automations usually fire right away. Right after a new connection, Instagram can take a few hours to start passing comments to Waveloop.
Still stuck? Email contact@waveloopai.com with the post link, the keyword and the account you commented from.