Connect Instagram

What it is

Instagram Direct messages run on the same Meta plumbing as Messenger, which is why this card asks for the same two values: a Page access token and an App secret. The surprise for most people is that neither of them comes from Instagram. Instagram messaging is served through the Facebook Page your professional account is linked to, so the token you paste is that Page's token, and the app secret comes from the Meta app that owns it.

Instagram finishes with a verification handshake. Pressing Connect leaves the channel at Pending verification with a callback URL and a verify token for you to paste into your Meta app. Meta calls the URL back, and only then does the badge turn Connected.

When you would use it

Use this when your customers ask the same product, price, and availability questions in Instagram DMs all day, and you want them answered instantly instead of whenever someone opens the inbox.

You need an Instagram professional account (business or creator), linked to a Facebook Page you administer. A personal Instagram account cannot be connected.

Where to find it

Open Dashboard → Chatbots → your chatbot → Integrations → Messaging and click the Instagram card.

Before you start

The card only connects when your plan includes integrations, messaging is enabled for this deployment, the chatbot is Active, and you are under the connected-app cap shown on the Connected channels card. If any of those is missing, start with Messaging channels availability.

Instagram also has one requirement that lives entirely on Meta's side: messaging real customers needs the Instagram business messaging permission, which Meta grants through App Review. Until that is approved, your app can usually only exchange messages with people who have a role on it. The drawer states this in its note, and the View official setup guide link goes to Meta's Instagram messaging documentation.

Steps

1. In the Instagram app, make sure the account is a professional account and is linked to your Facebook Page.
2. In Meta for Developers, open your app and add the Instagram product.
3. Generate a Page access token for the linked Page, with the Instagram basic and Instagram business messaging permissions attached.
4. In App Settings → Basic, copy the App secret.
5. In Agentency, open Integrations → Messaging → Instagram, paste the Page access token and the App secret, and press Connect. Agentency validates the token with Meta and reads back which Instagram account the Page is linked to.
6. Copy the Callback URL and Verify token from the pending panel into the Instagram webhook settings of your Meta app, and subscribe to messages.
7. Wait for the badge to flip to Connected. The drawer polls on its own; you do not need to press anything.
8. Send a DM to your Instagram account from another account and confirm the reply, then check Conversations.

What you will see

The connect form shows four numbered steps, the official-guide link, and a note about the linked account and the App Review permission.

After connecting, you get the Finish the webhook setup panel with the callback URL, the verify token, copy buttons, and a spinner. The panel is explicit that messages arriving before verification are received and ignored.

Once verified, the panel shows Connected as followed by your Instagram handle. That single line is the best check you have that the link between Page and Instagram account is healthy: if it shows the Facebook Page name instead of your @handle, the Page is not actually linked to an Instagram professional account and DMs will never arrive. Fix the link on Instagram's side, then reconnect.

How replies behave

Instagram allows shorter messages than most platforms, so answers are split into more pieces than they would be on WhatsApp or Telegram — a long answer can arrive as several DMs in a row. Incoming text is trimmed after about 2,000 characters. Photos, voice notes, story replies with media, and stickers get a short reply explaining that the chatbot reads text only.

Each answer spends message credits at your chatbot's live model rate (1X = one credit; see Message credits). A paused chatbot stays completely silent rather than sending an "unavailable" message, which is deliberate — it avoids telling strangers anything about your account.

Limits and plan notes

Instagram and Messenger are separate cards with separate connections, even when they share a Meta app and the same app secret. Connecting both costs two slots against the per-chatbot connected-app cap.

Credentials are stored encrypted and never shown again; to change them, reconnect. Disconnecting stops replies at once and clears the stored values, but leaves the webhook configuration in your Meta app untouched.

Common problems

Stuck on Pending verification.

Meta has not completed the callback, or the verify token does not match. Copy both values again from the drawer — a new token is generated each time you connect — and re-save the webhook. The drawer gives up watching after roughly five minutes; reload the page after that.

Connected, but DMs never reach the chatbot.

Three usual causes, in order of likelihood: the webhook is not subscribed to messages; the professional account has not allowed connected tools to access its messages in the Instagram app's own settings; or the chatbot is paused. The View official setup guide link covers the Instagram-side permission.

Connect is rejected as invalid credentials.

The Page access token is expired, was generated for the wrong Page, or lacks the Instagram permissions. Regenerate it, then paste it again.

Connected as shows the Page name, not my Instagram handle.

The Page and the Instagram professional account are not linked. Link them in Instagram, then press Reconnect in the drawer.

It works for my colleagues but not for customers.

That is the App Review permission. Check the app's review status with Meta; there is nothing to change in Agentency.

I want to answer comments too.

Not supported. This card is Instagram Direct only. Comments and mentions are not read.