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How to Disable AI Live Chat for Existing IG Messages

  • January 28, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 15 views
EmilyGraceVolo

I’m running into a challenge with ManyChat and wanted to confirm the best-practice setup.

I receive hundreds of Instagram DMs per day. Many of these are from existing followers, applicants, or active clients where I want to respond personally and not trigger automated AI replies. I only want the AI automation to respond to truly new inbound messages.

Ideally, I want the system to work like this:

  1. New inbound messages from users → trigger the AI response.
  2. Once I personally reply in the DM thread → the AI should automatically shut off for that user.
  3. Ongoing conversations should not be interrupted by automation.

What is the most reliable way in ManyChat to:

  • Detect “new conversations” vs ongoing conversations, and
  • Automatically pause or disable automation once a human/admin replies?

If possible, I’d love guidance on the exact rule, tag, or automation logic that supports this use case at scale.

Thank you — this is critical for maintaining a high-touch, personalized experience while still leveraging automation efficiently.

 

Best,

Emily

Volo Match

Best answer by cata_rendon

Hi ​@EmilyGraceVolo ! Really good you are using MC to run your a Challenge. Specially as you are having great volumen of messages. 

Here’s a setup that works well at scale:

1. Live Chat behavior
Go to Settings → Live Chat → Conversations must be explicitly opened.
This keeps new messages in Closed by default, so automation doesn’t jump into ongoing threads unless you decide to open them.

2. Default reply control
In Automations → Basic, set your default reply to trigger once every 24 hours per user (not “every time”).
This prevents AI from replying repeatedly in the same conversation.

3. New vs existing conversations
To ensure AI only responds to truly new users:

  • Use the New Contact trigger (fires only on first-ever interaction)

  • Or gate your automation with a custom field / tag (e.g. New_User = true)

  • Then add a Condition block before any AI response

4. Human takeover
Once you reply manually in the DM, simply stop automation for that user , so ongoing conversations are never interrupted.

Hope this helps!

Cheers!

Cata Rendon

    1 reply

    cata_rendon
    Forum|alt.badge.img+4
    • cata_rendon
    • Manychat Community Moderator
    • Answer
    • January 29, 2026

    Hi ​@EmilyGraceVolo ! Really good you are using MC to run your a Challenge. Specially as you are having great volumen of messages. 

    Here’s a setup that works well at scale:

    1. Live Chat behavior
    Go to Settings → Live Chat → Conversations must be explicitly opened.
    This keeps new messages in Closed by default, so automation doesn’t jump into ongoing threads unless you decide to open them.

    2. Default reply control
    In Automations → Basic, set your default reply to trigger once every 24 hours per user (not “every time”).
    This prevents AI from replying repeatedly in the same conversation.

    3. New vs existing conversations
    To ensure AI only responds to truly new users:

    • Use the New Contact trigger (fires only on first-ever interaction)

    • Or gate your automation with a custom field / tag (e.g. New_User = true)

    • Then add a Condition block before any AI response

    4. Human takeover
    Once you reply manually in the DM, simply stop automation for that user , so ongoing conversations are never interrupted.

    Hope this helps!

    Cheers!

    Cata Rendon

    https://www.dominariai.com | www.linkedin.com/in/catalina-rendon-gamboa
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