Auto comments & DM replies to comments on your posts and sends private messages for you. You set a rule once, and MarketingBlocks answers each matching comment automatically.

Connect your channels first, because every bot listens on a connected account. If you haven’t, see Connecting Your Channels.

How to Get There

From the left-hand menu, click Automation to expand it, then click Auto Comment & DM.

What’s on the Page

The page is titled Auto Comment & DM. Until you create a bot, it shows these parts:

• Create automation: starts a new bot.
• How it works: an example on the right showing the full flow. A brand posts “Comment GUIDE and I’ll send it over,” a follower comments “GUIDE please!”, the bot replies publicly, and then sends the guide as a private message. Click Replay to watch it again.
• Channel note: a line at the bottom says live replies support Facebook Pages, Instagram professional accounts, and Threads. Click Manage channels to connect or change accounts.

Building a Bot

Click Create automation to open the bot builder. The top bar shows your bot’s name with a Draft tag, a save status (Not saved or Unsaved changes), and two buttons:

• Save & exit: saves your work and takes you back to the page.
• Go live: turns the bot on.

Click All bots at the top left to leave the builder. The builder has four tabs: Channels, Trigger, Messages, and Settings. The steps below cover them in three parts. A Preview panel on the right shows how your post and messages will look. Use the Post and DM switch to toggle between them. The preview is only a layout, and no message is sent.

At the bottom of each tab, click Continue to move on, Back to return, or Save draft to save without leaving.

Step 1: Choose Your Channels and Posts

This is the Channels tab. It’s titled “Choose where this bot listens.”

1. Enter a Bot name. Only your team sees this name, so use something that helps you find it later, such as “Resource giveaway.”
2. Under Channels, tick each account you want the bot to listen on. Each one shows the account name and platform. Click Manage connections to add or change accounts.
3. Under Which posts should it watch?, choose one option:

• All posts: replies to new comments on all posts on the selected channels, including posts created outside MarketingBlocks.
• Specific posts or campaigns: replies only on MarketingBlocks posts or content campaigns you choose, and starts listening when those posts go live.
• Selected live social posts: replies only on posts you choose directly from your connected social accounts.

Click Continue when you’re done.

Step 2: Set the Trigger and Write Your Messages

This part covers the Trigger and Messages tabs.

Trigger tab. It’s titled “Decide which comments start a response.”

Under Start when a comment contains, choose one option:

• Any words: the bot responds to any comment. This is also the fallback when no specific bot matches the comment.
• Specific words or phrases: the bot responds only to comments with the words you enter. It matches whole words and ignores capital letters and obvious repeated-letter typos, so “GUIDE” also catches “guide” and “guideee.”

Under Then respond with, choose how the bot answers:

• Public comment: replies beneath the original comment.
• Direct message: sends a private response when the channel allows it.
• Comment and direct message: acknowledges the comment publicly, then continues in private.

Facebook and Instagram support both public and private replies. Threads supports public replies only. Private replies must be sent within seven days of the comment.

Messages tab. It’s titled “Write what your audience will receive.”

• Public replies: write your reply in Variant 1. Click Add another reply to add more, up to three. The bot can rotate between them, so your replies don’t look repeated.
• Direct message: write the private message people receive.
• Opening DM: turn this on to send an opening message first on Facebook and Instagram. The bot waits for the person to tap a button before sending the final message.
• Follow gate: turn this on to confirm the person follows your Instagram account before they get the final DM.
• Final message: write the message people receive. It can be up to 1,000 characters.
• Optional HTTPS link and Button label: add a link to a resource. Facebook and Instagram show it as a button below your message. The label can be up to 20 characters. If you leave it blank, the button reads Open.

One bot can serve both Facebook and Instagram. The follow gate applies only to Instagram. Facebook skips the follow check and sends the final DM after the opening button is tapped, or straight away if Opening DM is off.

Step 3: Review and Go Live

This is the Settings tab. It’s titled “Review delivery before going live.”

1. Under Reply frequency, choose how often the bot replies:

• Once per person, per post: stops the bot from replying to the same person more than once on a post.
• Every matching comment: each new matching comment can get a reply.

1. Check the Review your bot summary. It lists the bot’s Name, Channels, Posts, Trigger, and Response. If anything is wrong, click Back or the tab name to fix it.
2. Read the Before going live note. Ask an administrator to verify reply delivery before you go live. Facebook and Instagram subscribe automatically. Threads replies must be subscribed in the Meta dashboard.
3. Click Go live.

After You Go Live

The page confirms that your bot is live on the selected channels. Your bot appears as a card with a Live tag and a short summary, such as the number of channels, the trigger, and the date it was last updated. Each card has these buttons:

• Edit: change the bot’s channels, trigger, messages, or settings.
• Stop: pauses the bot so it stops replying.
• Duplicate: copies the bot so you can make a similar one quickly.
• Stats: shows how the bot is performing.
• Delete: removes the bot.

Click Create automation at any time to add another bot.

Good to Know

• Save as you go. Click Save draft or Save & exit to come back to an unfinished bot.
• Use specific words for giveaways and resources. A bot set to Any words replies to every comment, so a phrase like “GUIDE” keeps your DMs going only to people who asked.
• Keep your link secure. The DM link must start with https.

Why This Matters

Comments are often the first sign of interest in your content, and a fast reply keeps people engaged. Set your bot up once, and every person who comments gets a response, even when you’re not online.

Stuck or have questions? Click the chat widget at the bottom-right of your dashboard, or email our support team at support@marketingblocks.ai. We’re happy to help.

Next up: Auto Post Boost