How to connect Claude to Instagram DMs
Claude is good at friendly, careful replies, which is what most Instagram DMs need. With Spaces added as a connector, Claude can read your DMs and reply from your own account. This guide covers the setup, how to keep your business details in a Claude Project so every reply uses them, a worked booking example, and how to get the tone right.
What you need
- A Claude account that can add custom connectors. Anthropic decides which plans can do this, and it changes from time to time, so check their help pages if you cannot find the option.
- A Spaces account on a plan. You choose a plan before you connect a chat account.
- The Instagram account your customers already message you on.
- A short note about your business: what you sell, prices, opening hours and the things you never want promised. You will paste it into Claude later.
- About ten minutes for the setup, and a little longer to try it on a few real messages.
Step 1: connect your Instagram account to Spaces
You sign in to Instagram through a secure link and approve the connection. Your account stays yours, and you keep using it on your phone as normal.
Once it is connected, the account shows in your Spaces dashboard. Connecting does not send anything. It only means Spaces can read and send on that account when an AI agent you have added asks it to.
Connect the account people message you on, usually your business or creator account. Claude will be able to read every DM on it, so keep personal conversations on a different account.
Step 2: add Spaces to Claude
- Open Customize, then Connectors, then Add custom connector.
- Name it Spaces and paste https://api.spacesos.com/mcp as the URL.
- Choose Sign in, then sign in to Spaces and approve access.
- On a Team or Enterprise plan, an owner adds it once under Organization settings, then Connectors.
To check it worked: Open the Search and tools menu in a chat. Spaces and its tools are listed.
You sign in on Spaces' own page during this step, so Claude never sees your Instagram login or your Spaces password. If Spaces does not show up:
- Open a new chat and check the Spaces connector is turned on in it.
- Sign in to Spaces again from the connector, in case the first sign-in did not finish.
- Remove the connector and add it again, checking the address is exactly https://api.spacesos.com/mcp.
- If it still does not appear, Anthropic's help pages have their current steps, and our Claude setup page has ours.
Step 3: try it
Open a new chat in Claude, make sure Spaces is turned on, and ask in plain words:
- What did people ask in my Instagram DMs today?
- Reply to Leah that the green shirt is in stock in medium, with the link.
- Draft a reply to each booking request and wait for my OK.
- List DMs older than a day that still need an answer.
Start with a question that only reads, like the first one. It shows you that Claude can see your Instagram messages before you let it send anything. Then try a draft, read it carefully, and only then let it send.
Good to know
Claude acts when you ask it to in a chat. It does not watch your inbox on its own. For replies around the clock, use an agent that runs all the time, such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw or Hermes, or set up a Spaces routine that sends set replies to set questions.
In practice, treat Claude as a quick helper you sit down with a few times a day: first thing, at lunchtime and before you close. Each time, ask what came in, check its drafts and let it send the ones you are happy with. Customers who message in between wait until your next session, just as they would if you were answering by hand.
A Spaces routine is not an AI. It sends a reply you wrote in advance when something happens, such as a new message or a keyword. That makes it a good way to send "Thanks for your message, we will reply first thing tomorrow" after hours, while Claude writes the real answers in your next session.
Give Claude a short note about your business at the start of the chat, or save it in a Project, so every reply uses your prices and tone.
Keep your business details in a Claude Project
A Claude Project keeps instructions and files together, so every chat you start inside it begins with them. That saves pasting your note each morning. Create one called something like "Instagram DMs", add your instructions, and start each DM session from inside it.
Here is an example of the instructions a small pilates studio might use. Names and details are examples.
You help me answer Instagram DMs for Studio Nine, a pilates studio.
Classes: mat Mon/Wed/Fri 7am and 6pm, reformer Tue/Thu 12pm and 7pm, Sat 9am.
Prices: drop-in £18, ten-class pass £150, first class £10.
Booking: people book through [booking link]. You cannot book for them.
Tone: warm, calm, short. Use first names. No exclamation marks in a row.
Health: if someone mentions an injury or pregnancy, say a teacher will reply and tell me.
Always: draft first and wait for my OK until I say otherwise.
Never: promise a space in a full class, or offer a discount.Add your timetable or price list to the Project as a file if it is long. When something changes, update the Project once and every new chat picks it up.
A worked example: three booking requests
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| You, to Claude | What did people ask in my Instagram DMs today? |
| Claude | Three people messaged. Leah asks if Thursday 7pm reformer has space. Marcus asks what to bring to a first class. Jo says she has a bad back and wants to know if mat classes are suitable. |
| You | Draft replies and wait for my OK. |
| Claude | Leah: "Hi Leah, Thursday 7pm reformer is popular, so the booking page will show the latest spaces: [link]. Your first class is £10." Marcus: "Hi Marcus, just bring comfortable clothes and water. We have mats and grip socks to borrow." Jo: I have not drafted a full reply because she mentions her back. Suggested: "Hi Jo, thanks for asking. One of our teachers will reply today so they can ask a few questions first." |
| You | Send Leah and Marcus. Send Jo's too, and I will follow up myself. |
| Claude | Sent all three. Jo's chat is marked for you to follow up. |
The instruction about injuries is what made Claude stop and hand Jo's message to a person. Write those rules down clearly and Claude will follow them.
Draft first, then let Claude send
- For the first few days, ask Claude to draft every reply and wait for your OK.
- Read each draft as the customer would. Is it accurate, short and in your voice?
- When a draft is wrong, tell Claude why, then add a line to the Project instructions so it does not happen again.
- Once a type of question is always right, such as prices or what to bring, say "you can send replies about prices without asking".
- Keep anything about health, complaints or refunds as drafts for good.
If approvals are turned on for your Spaces workspace, you can also have replies wait in Spaces until a person approves them. Approvals are being turned on workspace by workspace.
Getting the tone right
Instagram DMs are informal. The most common problem with AI replies is that they sound like a letter. Tell Claude how you write, and give it an example or two of real replies you liked.
| Too formal | Better for a DM |
|---|---|
| Dear Leah, thank you for reaching out regarding availability. I would be delighted to assist. | Hi Leah, thanks for asking! Here is the booking page with the latest spaces. |
| Please find attached our pricing information for your consideration. | Drop-in is £18, and your first class is £10. |
| We regret to inform you that this item is currently unavailable. | That one has sold out, sorry. It is back next month and we will post on stories. |
Using Claude with a team
On Team and Enterprise plans, an owner adds Spaces once for the organisation, and the people on the plan can then use it. Agree who looks after the DMs at which times, so two people do not ask Claude to answer the same customer.
When a chat needs a person, say so in the reply and leave it for them. Spaces is built for that kind of hand-over, where the AI agent steps back once a person takes a conversation.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Starting DM sessions outside your Project, so Claude does not have your prices and rules.
- Letting Claude guess about class spaces or stock it cannot see. Give it a link people can check instead.
- Answering health questions without a person. Make the hand-over rule clear.
- Asking Claude to message people who liked a post but never wrote to you. Keep to people who started the chat.
- Leaving old instructions in the Project after prices change.
Summing up
Claude and Spaces together can read your Instagram DMs and comments and answer them in your voice, from your account, at a safe pace. Put your details in a Project, start with drafts, write down which messages need a person, and let Claude send the simple replies once you trust them.
How Spaces keeps your account safe
Whatever you ask, Spaces keeps your Instagram account inside safe limits: at least 15 seconds between messages, up to 80 a day, and 20 new conversations a day at most, with a gentler start for a newly connected account. If your AI tries to go faster, Spaces holds the message and says when it can try again.
New conversations warm up over the first weeks after you connect:
| Since connecting | New chats an hour | New chats a day |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Week 2 | 4 | 12 |
| Weeks 3 and 4 | 6 | 20 |
| After that | 6 | 20 |
Instagram only lets you message someone who has not replied inside its messaging window, so replies in existing chats work best.
These are Spaces' own limits. They lower the risk of a restriction, but they cannot remove it, because Instagram makes its own decisions about accounts. Read the note at the top of this page before you connect.
Pricing
FAQ
Does it work in the Claude desktop app?
Yes. Connectors you add on the web also appear in the desktop app, so you can answer DMs from whichever you prefer.
Can my team use the same connector?
On Team and Enterprise plans an owner can add Spaces once for the organisation. On other plans, each person adds it to their own Claude.
What else can Claude do on Instagram?
Besides DMs, Spaces lets it read and reply to comments on your posts, within their own limits. See the Instagram API page for the full list.
Can Claude book classes or appointments for people?
Not through Spaces alone, because Spaces gives Claude your messages rather than your booking system. Give Claude your booking link and let customers book themselves.
Will Claude answer DMs when I am not chatting with it?
No. Claude acts when you ask it to in a chat. For set replies after hours, use a Spaces routine, or use an always-on agent such as Claude Code.
Does Claude need my Instagram password?
No. You sign in to Instagram through Spaces' secure link, and Claude signs in to Spaces. Claude never sees your Instagram login.
What if Claude writes something wrong?
You can reply in the same chat from your phone straight away. Then add a line to your Project instructions so the same mistake does not happen again.
Comments on your posts
Besides DMs, Spaces lets Claude list and reply to comments on your posts, within their own limits (4 an hour, 20 a day). Ask Claude to list new comments, then choose which deserve a public reply. When Instagram allows it, Claude can also send the commenter a private reply in DMs, which suits questions like "how much?" that are easier to answer one to one.