Instagram Auto Reply Keywords: Triggers & Scripts That Convert

The automation is the easy part. The keyword and the copy are what decide whether it earns anything. This is a working reference: which trigger words perform, which quietly sabotage you, how the three match types differ, and copy-paste auto-reply scripts for the questions Indian businesses actually get asked — price, delivery, location, timings, availability.

How keyword matching actually works

Every tool offers some version of three match types. Picking the wrong one is the most common reason an automation “doesn't work”:

• Exact. Fires only on the keyword alone. “PRICE” ✅, “price?” ❌. Use it only when the keyword is a common word you need to fence off.
• Contains. Fires if the keyword appears anywhere. “price pls” ✅, “what's the price” ✅. This is the right default for almost everyone.
• Starts-with. Fires only when the message opens with the keyword. Useful for command-style flows where you run several keywords side by side.

One thing worth checking: does your tool match case-insensitively, and does it ignore emoji and punctuation? Real people type “PRICE 🙏”, “price..” and “Price”. All three should fire.

Trigger words that perform

Two categories work. Everything else underperforms.

1. Intent words — what the person wants, in the word they'd naturally use:

• PRICE — the highest-volume trigger in almost every Indian category.
• MENU — food, cafés, cloud kitchens.
• BOOK / SLOT — services with appointments.
• SIZES / STOCK — fashion and retail.
• GUIDE / FREE — lead magnets.
• DEMO — B2B and software.

2. Content words — the thing in the video: BALAYAGE, THALI, ANARKALI, DETAILING. These convert better than generic intent words for one reason: the DM they trigger can be specific, so it reads like a person answered rather than a machine.

Words that will cost you

• YES, HI, ME, OK — in post comments these fire constantly on people replying to each other. On story replies they're fine, because those arrive one-to-one.
• INFO, DETAILS — technically fine, but so vague that your DM has to be vague too, and a vague DM doesn't convert.
• Anything with a space — “PRICE LIST” loses half its triggers to people typing only the first word.
• Anything hard to spell. If it can be misspelled, it will be. Set the obvious misspelling as a second keyword pointing at the same DM.
• The same keyword across every post. You lose the ability to tell which content drove which lead — which is most of the value of running this at all.

Auto-reply scripts, by question

All of these follow the same shape: answer first, link second, one question last. Never open with a link.

“Price?” — the most common DM in India

Hi! Here's the full price list 👇 [link]
Most people go for the [popular service] at ₹[X], which includes [what].
What were you looking at specifically? I'll tell you the exact cost.

Never reply to “price?” with only a number. A number invites a comparison; a range plus a question invites a conversation.

“Do you deliver?”

Yes! We deliver across [city] — usually same-day if you order before 4pm 🛵
Free above ₹[X], otherwise ₹[Y].
Which area are you in? I'll confirm the timing.

“Where are you located?”

We're at [area], [landmark] — here's the map: [link] 📍
Open [days], [hours]. Parking right outside.
Planning to come by today or later this week?

“Are you open?” / “Timings?”

We're open [days] [hours] ⏰ (closed [day]).
Walk-ins are fine, but the evening slots go first — you can grab one here: [link]
Want me to check what's free today?

“Is this available?”

Yes, it's in stock ✅ ₹[X], sizes [S–XL], ships in [N] days.
Here it is: [link]
Which size do you need? I'll hold it for 24 hours.

After hours

Thanks for messaging! We're closed right now (open [hours]) but I've got you 🌙
Prices and booking here: [link]
Leave your question and we'll reply first thing.

The anatomy of a DM that converts

1. Reference the trigger. “You commented PRICE on the balayage reel”. Proof a human thought about this.
2. Give the value immediately. The actual answer in the first two lines. Not “click here to learn more”.
3. One link, in the middle. Never the opening. A DM that opens with a link reads as spam and gets swiped away.
4. Exactly one question at the end. This is the whole game: a question gets a reply, and a reply restarts your 24-hour messaging window.
5. Two choices, not ten. “Weekday or weekend?” beats “When would you like to come in?”
6. One or two emojis, maximum. Three or more reads as a bot in every category.

A note on Hinglish

Write the way your customers message you. If your DMs are full of “kitne ka hai” and “bhej do”, an auto-reply in stiff corporate English is instantly recognisable as a machine. Two practical moves:

• Add Hinglish keywords as aliases pointing at the same DM: KITNA, RATE, DAAM alongside PRICE.
• Match the register of your own captions. If you post in Hinglish, reply in Hinglish. Consistency reads as human far more than grammar does.

Testing and improving

Two numbers tell you everything. Check them weekly:

• Trigger rate — commenters ÷ post reach. Low means your call-to-action isn't clear enough, not that the keyword is wrong. Fix the caption first.
• Reply rate — people who replied to your DM ÷ DMs sent. Below 10% means the copy is the problem. The usual culprit is a missing question at the end.

Change one thing at a time and give it two posts. Changing the keyword and the script at once teaches you nothing.

Running this on cthe.link

cthe.link supports exact, contains and starts-with matching, multiple keywords pointing at one DM (so your Hinglish aliases work), and per-post keyword scoping so you can tell which content drove which lead.

And because every triggered contact lands in a real CRM rather than the Instagram inbox, you can see two weeks later that the person who commented PRICE on the Tuesday reel is the same person now asking about a booking on WhatsApp. That continuity is the thing keyword tools on their own can't give you.

Start with the comment-to-DM setup guide, or the complete India guide.