Hello ​@Yogendra ,

There is a 24-hour window for sending messages on Instagram, as required by Meta. This means that if the user sent you a message within that 24-hour period, your response will go through. Otherwise, it won’t be delivered.

There are alternative solutions available through other channels, such as Messenger or WhatsApp.

On WhatsApp, you can send a template message. Learn more at the link below:
https://help.manychat.com/hc/en-us/articles/14281326740124-How-to-use-WhatsApp-Messages-Templates-in-Manychat

On Messenger, you can create a list. More details are available at the link below:https://help.manychat.com/hc/en-us/articles/14281158573852-Messenger-Lists-in-Manychat

Let me know if this helped!

Thankyou for reply, so if i understand properly it means that the people i have in my contacts need to reply to my “Auto DM with links from comments” automation within 24 hours?

I have set some of those automations but without the opening message to speed up the process (I set directly a message with the link) and that is the reason they result as they never replied to my DM with link as they just clicked the link?

Is that correct? so should i always include an opening message in the Auto DM with links automation?

One more question: it seems i can send messages only to people who have become my followers on instagram right?

Thanks in advance for your answers

When a user sends you a message, you can reply to them within a 24-hour window, starting from the time of their last message.

Example:
If the user messages you at 12:00 AM, you are free to respond until 11:59 PM on the same day.
Each time the contact replies, the 24-hour window resets.

This applies to both followers and non-followers — there's no difference in that regard.

So, in order to send messages to your followers (or non-followers), there needs to be an interaction initiated by them. A good strategy is to post something that encourages users to engage with you. From there, your automation can take over the conversation.

Ok so if i create an automation “Auto DM with link from comments” and i set an opening message, when the user comments and get the opening message and clik “yes send me the link”, this is considered a valid message to reply to within the 24 hours window? (And the message with the link is a valid reply in the 24 hour window?)

example:

Exactly. From the moment they click the button or send any message, the 24-hour window opens, and you can send additional messages to that contact during this period.

Great! Thankyou

One last question: why i could not add people from my contacts to a sequence? Only 11 out of about 60 were added as i used the bulk action 

I selected all the contacts from 3 different widgets (in three different selections) but in 2 cases the process window went idle and non was added, even when the massage was “Succesfull” users were not added to the sequence :-(

I post here the steps i did

I have selected all the people who commented asking infos on 3 different reels

and no messages were sent but i guess for the reason you already explained me

There are a few reasons why a sequence might not be sent, such as it already having been added before. I recommend reviewing this section of the Manychat article and checking each item to make sure everything is set up correctly:

https://help.manychat.com/hc/en-us/articles/14281202572316-Setting-up-Manychat-Sequences#h_01J8QE88P1J0SDDWC8SQN4QNCZ

Thanks i’ve checked all those points and created a new sequence, added contacts but nothing… messages are not sent

Where is the “Settings > Website Widgets” in manychat i could not find it...

Hello ​@Yogendra ,

The "Website Widgets" option is indeed no longer available. However, here is another test you can try:

- Select a contact who had an error and was not added to the sequence.  
- Go to that contact’s Live Chat.  
- Enable the option to show system messages.  
- Send the sequence manually.

After that, check whether the sequence is added and review the action log in the chat to understand exactly what is happening when the sequence is sent.

It’s important to note that, due to Meta’s limitations, the Instagram channel does not support bulk message sending. If adding all contacts to a sequence triggers an immediate message, this may be the reason messages are not being delivered. Ideally, leads should be added to the sequence gradually, for example, as they subscribe to your list.

There is a "Bulk Messaging" menu for sending messages to multiple contacts, but it is not available for the Instagram channel.

Let me know if this helped you.

Thankyou for your patience :-)

I did as you suggested: i checked the live chat of an user and i found that the messages were actually sent…

but i do not see those messages in the live chat… maybe the user received the messages in the request folder?

Only the messages below were sent:

However, I don’t see a reply from the user. Is the 24-hour window still open (has it been less than 24 hours since the user last messaged you)?

If more than 24 hours have passed since the user's last message, that’s likely the issue. Instagram only allows automated messages to be sent within 24 hours of the user's last interaction.

If it's been less than 24 hours, you can remove the sequence directly from the user's profile — it should appear there. Just click to remove it, and then add it again. The messages should be sent as expected after that.