Who can DM you on X? Message settings and requests for businesses
On X, whether a customer can send you a direct message at all depends on your message settings, and whether you see it straight away depends on whether it lands in your inbox or in message requests. Many businesses miss DMs for months because of one setting they never looked at. This guide explains the settings in plain words, which ones suit a business, what message requests are, and how to make sure the DMs customers send reach you and your AI agent.
Why your DM settings matter
A customer who wants to ask you something on X has three options: reply publicly to a post, mention you, or send a DM. Most questions about orders, bookings or accounts belong in a DM. If your settings stop people from messaging you, they either ask in public, which you may not want, or give up.
The settings also decide how much rubbish arrives. A business that lets anyone message it gets more customer questions, and also more spam. The aim is to find the balance that suits you.
The settings in plain words
X keeps its direct message settings in the settings area of the app and website, usually under privacy and safety. X has changed its messaging more than once, including a newer chat experience, so the exact names and choices on your screen may differ from what is described here. The ideas have stayed broadly the same.
| Setting | What it means |
|---|---|
| Allow messages from everyone | Anyone on X can send you a DM. People you do not follow usually arrive as message requests. |
| Allow messages from verified accounts only | Only accounts with a verified badge can start a DM with you, plus people you follow. |
| Allow messages only from people you follow | Nobody else can start a DM with you. Customers you do not follow cannot reach you privately. |
| A filter for low-quality messages | X tries to move messages it thinks are spam out of the way. Real messages can occasionally be caught by it. |
If you are not sure what yours is set to, open the settings on the account you use for the business and look. It takes a minute, and it is the single most common reason a business on X hears nothing.
Which setting suits a business
| Your situation | Setting that usually fits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You want customers to message you for support or sales | Allow messages from everyone | Customers rarely follow you first, and you will not follow them. |
| You get a lot of spam and few real DMs | Verified accounts only, or everyone with the low-quality filter on | Fewer messages to sort, at the cost of some customers. |
| The account is for posting only and you handle support elsewhere | People you follow only | Say clearly in your bio where customers should go instead. |
Whatever you choose, say it in your bio. "DMs open for orders and support" or "For support, email help@ourshop.co.uk" saves customers guessing.
What message requests are
When someone you do not follow sends you a DM, X usually puts it in message requests rather than your main inbox. It is a holding area. You can read the message, accept the conversation so it moves to your inbox, or delete it. The person can usually not see whether you have read it until you reply.
Message requests are where customer DMs most often go missing. The app may show them less prominently than the main inbox, and the low-quality filter can tuck some of them further away. Check them regularly, especially if you have just changed your settings.
How message requests reach your AI agent
When your X account is connected through Spaces, your agent works with the conversations X makes available to the account. Whether a message request shows up for the agent before you accept it depends on what X passes through, and that can vary.
- Ask your agent to list unread and unanswered conversations each morning, and compare with what you see in the X app for the first week.
- If requests you can see in the app do not appear for the agent, accept them in the app. Once accepted, they are ordinary conversations the agent can answer.
- Keep an eye on the filtered or low-quality area in the app now and then, because the agent cannot answer what never reaches the inbox.
If your agent ever stops seeing DMs that you can see in the app, for example after a change to X's chat features or your settings, check the connection in your Spaces dashboard and the message settings on X.
Starting DMs as a business
Your agent can start a new DM by username, but on X that is the exception, not the rule. A DM out of the blue from a business is often unwelcome, and X's rules restrict automated messages. The safest use is answering people who wrote to you first, and following up with people who expect to hear from you.
Spaces always refuses these, whatever your agent asks:
- The same cold message sent to many people. Spaces refuses copy-paste blasts.
- Any message to someone who said stop, unsubscribe or similar in that chat.
The limits Spaces applies on X
X does not publish safe numbers for DMs, so Spaces uses conservative limits of its own.
| Action | Spaces limit per account |
|---|---|
| Messages | Up to 100 a day, at least 20 seconds apart |
| New DMs | 5 an hour, 20 a day |
| Since connecting | New DMs an hour | New DMs a day |
|---|---|---|
| First 3 days | 1 | 3 |
| Rest of week 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Week 2 | 3 | 10 |
| Weeks 3 and 4 | 4 | 14 |
| After that | 5 | 20 |
When the agent reaches a limit, it is told and waits.
| What your agent is told | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| RATE_LIMITED | The account reached its hourly limit, or a message came too soon after the last one. | Nothing. Your agent waits the time Spaces gives it and tries again with the same message. |
| DAILY_CAP | The account reached its daily limit, or this AI agent used the daily share you gave it. | Sending starts again over the next day. To give the agent more, raise its daily share under Your agent. |
Example: a customer who could not get through
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Customer (public reply to a post) | @riverside_bikes tried to DM you about my order but it won't let me? |
| You | Sorry Ade, our DMs were set to followers only. They are open now, please try again. |
| Customer (DM, arrives as a request) | Hi, order 4471 was meant to arrive Tuesday, any news? |
| AI agent | Hi Ade, thanks for messaging, and sorry about the trouble getting through. I have passed order 4471 to Mo in our dispatch team, who will check the courier and reply here today. |
Names and details are examples.
The fix was a setting, not a tool. Once DMs were open, the request arrived, and the agent could answer it. Spaces does not connect to shops or couriers, so the agent hands the order check to a person, unless you have given the agent its own access to your order system.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Leaving DMs set to people you follow, then asking customers to "DM us".
- Never opening message requests, so real questions sit there for weeks.
- Turning on every filter and assuming nothing real is caught.
- Answering account or order details in a public reply instead of moving to DMs.
- Letting an agent start DMs with people who never contacted you.
Notes to give your AI agent
X direct messages:
- Each morning, list unread and unanswered DMs, including new message requests if you can see them.
- Answer questions from the facts below. Hand orders, refunds and complaints to a person.
- Never start a DM with someone who has not contacted us, unless I ask.
- If someone asks us publicly to check an order, reply publicly asking them to DM us, then answer in the DM.
- If Spaces says to wait, wait. If the account needs reconnecting, tell me.Who you message
Summing up
On X, your message settings decide who can DM you, and message requests decide where those DMs land. For most businesses, allowing messages from everyone, with an eye on the spam filter, works best. Check requests regularly, say in your bio how to reach you, and let your AI agent answer the conversations that arrive, inside conservative limits.
Pricing
FAQ
Why can customers not DM my business on X?
Usually because your message settings only allow people you follow, or verified accounts, to start a DM. Open the direct message settings on the business account and choose who can message you.
What are message requests on X?
They are DMs from people you do not follow, held apart from your main inbox. You can read them, accept them so they move to your inbox, or delete them.
Can my AI agent see message requests?
It depends on what X passes through to the connected account, which can vary. Check for the first week. If requests you can see in the app do not reach the agent, accept them in the app and the agent can then answer.
Should a business allow DMs from everyone?
Usually, yes, if you want customers to reach you privately. Expect more spam too. The low-quality filter helps, but check it now and then for real messages.
Can my agent DM people who have not messaged me?
It can start a DM by username, but that should be rare, because X restricts automated messages and unexpected DMs from businesses are often unwelcome. Spaces also refuses the same cold message sent to many people.
What limits does Spaces use for X DMs?
X publishes no figures, so Spaces uses its own: up to 100 messages a day, at least 20 seconds apart, and 20 new DMs a day after a four-week warm-up.
Why did my DM settings change on their own?
X has updated its messaging features more than once, and settings can look different afterwards. If customers say they cannot reach you, check the settings again rather than assuming they are as you left them.
Should I answer order questions in public replies?
No. Ask the person to DM you and answer there, so order numbers and personal details stay private. Your agent can follow the same rule.