Comment Triggers & Rewind
Comment triggers turn public comments into conversations: when someone comments a keyword on your Instagram or Facebook post, ChatGenius can DM them, reply publicly, or both. Rewind lets you go back and reach people who already commented. This is the complete reference. For a quick first setup, start with Your First Automation.
Overview
A comment trigger watches your posts and reels for keywords. When a comment matches, it can do two things:
- Send a DM to the commenter (a private reply), optionally with an image and buttons.
- Post a public reply on the comment itself, to nudge the person to check their messages.
You manage all of this under Comment Triggers in your portal. The page lists your triggers, account-wide stats, and buttons to create one from a template or from scratch. Your plan sets how many triggers you can have. The Free plan includes 2; paid plans raise the limit (shown as a count next to the title).
Comment triggers and your AI assistant coexist. A trigger handles the keyword-and-DM moment; open-ended conversations after that still go to the AI if it is enabled.
Templates
The fastest way to start is a template. Click Use Template, choose one, and customize everything afterward. Six are built in:
| Template | What it sets up |
|---|---|
| Promo / Discount Code | DMs a discount code when users comment a keyword. |
| Lead Capture | Collects interest from a comment keyword and DMs for details. |
| Link / Resource Delivery | DMs a free resource or link when users comment. |
| Booking / Appointment | Points commenters to your booking link by DM. |
| Menu / Product Info | Shares your menu, hours, or product details by DM. |
| Story Reply Thank You | Auto-DMs someone who replies to your story. |
A template pre-fills the keywords, message, and buttons. Treat it as a starting point and edit the wording to fit your business.
Creating a Trigger
Click New Trigger to open the builder. It is organized top to bottom; the sections below match what you will see.
Basics
- Trigger Name: for your own reference, for example "Price requests".
- Platform: Both Platforms, Instagram, or Facebook.
- Match Type: how a comment must match your keyword.
| Match type | Fires when |
|---|---|
| Contains | The keyword appears anywhere in the comment. |
| Exact Word | The keyword appears as a standalone word. |
| Typo-Tolerant | The comment is a close match, including common misspellings (so "prcing" matches "pricing"). |
- Content Source: what kind of activity the trigger listens to.
| Content source | Notes |
|---|---|
| Comments on Posts/Reels | The default. DM and public reply both apply. |
| Story Replies | DM only. Public replies do not apply to stories. |
| Comments + Story Replies | Both of the above in one trigger. |
| Live Video Comments | Instagram only. |
- Specific Content: leave empty to watch all of your posts, or click Browse to attach the trigger to one specific post or reel.
- Keywords: type a word and press Enter. Add as many as you like; a comment matching any one of them fires the trigger.
After Basics come Response Mode, the DM, public replies, buttons, and tagging, each covered below. When you are done, click Save Trigger and switch the trigger on.
Response Mode
Choose what happens when a keyword is detected:
- Both: send a DM and post a public reply.
- DM Only: just the private DM.
- Public Only: just a public reply on the comment, no DM.
The sections you need to fill in change based on this choice. DM Only hides the public reply section, and Public Only hides the DM section.
The DM
This is the message the commenter receives. You can write it yourself or let AI write it.
Static templates
Write up to 5 variations and ChatGenius sends one at random each time, which keeps the DM from looking robotic. Use {name} to personalize with the commenter's name.
AI-written DM
Turn on Use AI for DM and, instead of fixed text, you give the AI a goal, for example "Explain our 3 pricing tiers and push them to book a free demo at /book". The AI writes a personalized DM using your knowledge base and brand tone, and is told to stay within one or two sentences. The keyword and the full comment are passed in automatically. Buttons and an image still apply.
Image attachment
Optionally attach a JPG or PNG (max 2MB) to send a rich card with your text, image, and buttons. A 1.91:1 image looks best. When an image is attached, you can use up to 3 buttons.
Clean Comments
Turn on Clean Comments to hide the keyword comment after the DM is sent, so your comment section stays tidy. The commenter still sees their own comment and still receives the DM. This applies to post and reel comments.
Public Replies
When your response mode includes a public reply, add up to 5 reply variations. ChatGenius posts one at random under each matching comment, which avoids the spammy look of the same line repeated everywhere. Keep them short, for example "Just sent you a DM!" or "Check your messages!". Public replies apply to post and reel comments, not story replies.
Quick Reply Buttons
Buttons let the commenter respond with one tap inside the DM.
- Up to 4 buttons, 20 characters each (max 3 when a DM image is attached).
- A button can send a quick text reply or open a link.
- Link button clicks are counted in the trigger's stats.
- Instagram requires at least one button on comment-trigger DMs, so add one even if it just says "Thanks!".
Conversation Tags
Every conversation a trigger starts is tagged so you can find these leads in your inbox. On Free and Creator plans this is the auto-managed Comment Trigger tag. On Professional and up, you can assign one of your own custom tags per trigger instead.
Managing Triggers
On the Comment Triggers page, each trigger is a row you can expand. From there you can:
- Toggle a trigger on or off. Active and paused triggers are grouped separately.
- Edit any setting, or Duplicate a trigger as a starting point for a new one.
- Delete a trigger you no longer need.
- Filter the list by platform (All, Instagram, Facebook).
- Read per-trigger stats: times triggered, DMs sent, link clicks, and public replies, plus account-wide totals at the top of the page. A trigger whose DM is AI-written shows an AI badge.
How Rewind Works
A normal trigger only fires on new comments. Rewind goes back through a post's existing comments and sends the DM to people who commented your keyword before the trigger existed, for example after a reel takes off late or during a Meta webhook gap.
Rewind is a paid feature, available on Creator and up. On the Free plan the Rewind button shows as locked with an upgrade prompt. It only appears on triggers that send a DM, since there is nothing to backfill otherwise, and it works on both Instagram and Facebook.
Running a Scan
Open a DM-sending trigger and click Rewind. It runs in two steps so you always see the impact before anything sends.
- Pick a post. Choose the post to scan. If the trigger is locked to a specific post, Rewind scans that one automatically.
- Scan. ChatGenius reads the post's comments and shows a preview: how many comments were scanned, how many matched your keyword, and how many people will be DMed. It also shows what was skipped (older than 7 days, or already DMed by this trigger).
- Choose the public reply option. If the trigger has a public reply, you can tick Also post the public reply on each comment. Untick it for large backfills to stay clear of spam limits.
- Send DMs. Confirm, and Rewind sends in the background with a live progress bar showing DMs sent and any failures.
Each person gets one DM even if they left several matching comments, and anyone already messaged by this trigger is skipped automatically.
Limits & Pacing
- 7-day window: Meta only allows a DM in response to a comment for 7 days. Comments older than that are counted but cannot be DMed.
- 200 per scan: each scan queues up to 200 DMs. If more match, you will see a note to run Rewind again afterward to catch the rest.
- Paced sending: DMs go out spaced apart (a few seconds each) to stay within Meta's limits and keep your account safe. A large scan finishes over several minutes in the background.
The best time to use Rewind is right after a post takes off. Add the trigger, then Rewind to reach everyone who already commented while it was hot.
Troubleshooting
The DM never arrived
Confirm the trigger is active, that you tested from a different account, and that the comment actually contains your keyword for the match type you chose. On Instagram, make sure the account is connected and that Allow access to messages is on (see connection troubleshooting).
The public reply posted but no DM
On Instagram, a comment-trigger DM needs at least one quick-reply button. Open the trigger and add a button, then try again.
It matches too much or too little
Change the Match Type: use Exact Word to be stricter, Contains to be looser, or Typo-Tolerant to catch misspellings.
Rewind says people were skipped
That is expected. Rewind skips comments older than 7 days (Meta will not allow the DM) and anyone this trigger already messaged. The preview breaks down exactly how many fell into each bucket.
"Trigger limit reached"
The Free plan allows 2 comment triggers. Pause or delete one, or upgrade for more.
Still stuck? Send us the post and the keyword and we can check the delivery logs on our side to tell you exactly what happened.
FAQ
Can one trigger cover all my posts?
Yes. Leave Specific Content empty and it applies to all of your posts and reels. Use Browse to limit it to one.
Does it work on stories and Instagram Live?
Yes. Set Content Source to Story Replies (DM only) or Live Video Comments (Instagram only). You can also combine comments and story replies in one trigger.
Should I use a static DM or the AI DM?
Use a static DM when the message is always the same, like a code or a link. Use the AI DM when you want a personalized, conversational reply that draws on your knowledge base.
Will people see the same message every time?
No, as long as you add variations. ChatGenius rotates randomly through your DM and public-reply variations.
How far back can Rewind reach?
Up to 7 days, which is Meta's limit for DMing someone in response to a comment. Older commenters are shown in the preview but cannot be messaged.
Is Rewind safe to run on a big post?
Yes. It caps each scan at 200 DMs and paces sending to stay within Meta's limits. For very large posts, run it again after the first batch finishes.
Next Steps
- New to automations? Start with Your First Automation.
- Turn a comment trigger into a full conversation with the Visual Flow Builder.
- Browse every guide in the documentation hub.