DM new followers on Instagram isn't triggering

Hey, ​@SFB. Welcome to Manychat! 🙌🏼

Once you’ve followed all the steps, I’m going to ask you to clean the browser’s cookies and cache.

If after that, it doesn’t work, you should contact the Manychat support team. To do so, please, follow this link: https://help.manychat.com/hc/en-us/articles/14281086345244-How-to-get-support-from-Manychat

Let me know if you have further questions! 🙂

I’m unclear on which steps you’re referring to. I’ve been waiting over 20 hours for a response on my original support request and have since opened another chat to try and progress this.

I’ve already completed standard troubleshooting on my end, including clearing browser cache and cookies, and reviewing my automation settings, however the Instagram DM for new followers is still not functioning.

I’m looking for assistance as soon as possible. At this stage, the lack of response is making it difficult for me to feel confident about upgrading my plan, so I’d appreciate direct support to resolve this.

Thanks.

I was referring to these steps: https://help.manychat.com/hc/en-us/articles/14281308423452-Instagram-automation-troubleshooting because you said “I've tried to troubleshoot using guides, FAQs etc - not having much luck.”. So I assume you’ve followed them.

Regarding your waiting time for a response, Manychat is currently experiencing a high number of requests which may result in longer response times.

Keep in mind that the Follow to DM automation triggers only once per follower. If someone unfollows and then follows again, it won’t run a second time. Additionally, Meta allows only one Follow to DM message per user per week. If a person follows multiple accounts using this feature, they’ll receive a message only from the first account they followed. This rule helps keep the experience safe and free from spam.

 

Hello, I just wanted to add that I'm having this issue as well. My new follower automation was working fine up until maybe 2 weeks ago or so, when it simply stopped working. I read and tested the common fixes you supplied, but nothing has worked so I'm contacting support. 

This is unfortunate because I'm on a Pro plan, and use that feature.

SO FAR, A COMPLETE DISSAPOINTMENT WITH THIS SOFTWARE, I DON’T

THINK users should have to spend hours learning how to integrate a software to use on SM, I feel like I am back in college learning a new subject. Complete disappointment.

Same thing for me. Stopped working a couple weeks ago out of the blue. Was working fine before that.

I got in touch with someone from manychat, here's the reply:

At the moment, the behavior you’re experiencing appears to be related to an issue on Meta’s side that is affecting the Follow to DM functionality. Our team has already identified this behavior and escalated it, and we’re currently working closely with Meta while they investigate the root cause.
 
The investigation is ongoing, and as soon as we receive any updates or confirmation of changes on their end, we’ll reach out to you right away here. For now, there’s no additional action needed on your end.
 

I think this company launched too early, which became just a disappointment. How can we test this in the trial period? Blaming this on METa is an excuse. We’ll pass!

Just to chime in, I’m also having this issue with new followers not receiving a welcome message.  It started around 2 weeks ago, and with the holiday I hadn’t had time to look into into today. 

Today I did all the suggested troubleshooting and it is still broken. 

I’ve tried to reach out to a human to chat, but it is a holiday and I haven’t been able to get in touch with anyone. 

Hi, I’m having the exact same issue. The DM automation “say hi to new followers” simply does NOT work.
I see “ Automation Say hi to new followers was triggered”, but the chat won’t appear, it seems like it was ‘sent’ to IG but it got blocked and the person didn’t receive it.
Luckily I’m still on a free plan, I’d be mad to pay for something that doesn’t work. Yet, I keep on missing chances and that’s pretty irritating. 

I can’t make to work either new follow to DM automations or just a simple comment under reel automation.  I followed all the steps, reconnected account etc, no results, no people gets added to contacts .

I am also experiencing this issue.

For me it works on one account but not on my other account. And the option is gone when to send the message

I hav had the same issue you mention for about a month now. I have also contacted Manychat and they have told me everything is working on their side and that it must be some issue on Meta’s side. 

When I contacted Meta, they told me:

“DM automations for new followers no longer work because Instagram changed its policies. Meta does not allow automatic messages to be sent just for following an account. ManyChat is working correctly, but Meta is blocking the messages from being sent. For the bot to work, the user must first interact by writing a DM, commenting with a keyword, or responding to a story.”

Apparently they don’t allow this automatization anymore. 😞

Meta is not telling the truth as I have had some work in the last 24 hours. Definitely not all my new followers, but several have sent. I think someone mentioned that this will only function once per user per day so if they followed multiple accounts that have this automation it would be first in best dressed. All of this is circumstantial and we are not seeing ManyChat provide great guidance or information on this at all

The answer from ManyChat:

Hi there,
We have conducted new tests in your account, and the 'Follow to DM' feature is currently not working as you noted.
 
Since this feature is still in beta on Meta’s end, things might change as they continue testing. At the moment, Meta has set some limitations that are preventing certain Instagram accounts from accessing it, and it looks like your account is one of the ineligible ones for now.
 
We really wish we could help more, but since Meta controls this, we aren’t able to pinpoint precisely what causes the restriction or say if or when it will be lifted in the future. Please rest assured that this limitation isn’t caused by your actions in Manychat and doesn’t mean something is broken. It’s just part of the current beta process, and there’s nothing you need to do.
 
Considering this scenario and that we're unable to provide an ETA for your particular account

IF THIS IS SOMETHING YOU WANT TO RISK, WASTE YOUR TIME AND GET CHARGED IN YOUR ACCOUNT, THEN HAVE TO WAIT 15 DAYS TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK, THEN DON’T SAY YOU WERE NOT WARNED.

​@TAProdcutions I’m sorry that you feel that way. 😕 
However, this beta feature is new on Manychat and it is Meta that set some limitations on our accounts (mine included).

You have all the right to be upset, but as Manychat support said to you, Meta controls this feature and Manychat (even if they want), can’t help more.