Reply to DMs and message requests

Spaces lets your AI agent read and answer your DMs, including Instagram message requests from people you do not follow yet. Your agent can list the requests waiting, reply to them, and the reply moves the conversation into your main inbox.

What it does

Your agent sees the DMs that land in your requests folder, not only your main inbox, and answers them in the chat the person started.

Example

New message request on Instagram: Hi, do you do bridal hair? Looking for a date in June.

You, to your AI agent: Any message requests I have missed?

Your AI agent: Three are waiting. One asks about bridal hair in June, one asks for your prices and one looks like spam. Shall I answer the first two from your price list and leave the third?

An illustration of a requests folder. The messages are made up.

Why message requests get missed

When someone you do not follow sends you a DM on Instagram, it often lands in a separate requests folder instead of your main inbox. Many owners rarely open it, so a new customer’s first question can sit there for days.

Spaces shows your AI agent those requests as well as your main inbox. The agent can tell you what is waiting, answer the real enquiries and leave anything that looks like spam for you.

What your agent can do with DMs

Once your accounts are connected, your agent can:

list the Instagram message requests waiting to be accepted
reply to a request, which moves the conversation to your main inbox
accept a request without replying yet, where Instagram allows it
read every DM and go back through the whole history of a chat
see the photos, videos, voice notes and shared posts people send
reply with text, photos, videos or voice notes, and react with an emoji
mark a chat read or unread, star it, archive it or tag it

Other channels

On LinkedIn, Messenger, X and WhatsApp, your agent reads and answers DMs the same way. It can also list each account’s inboxes, which include a requests folder where the platform keeps one, so nothing waits out of sight.

Your agent answers in the chat the person started. Replies to people who wrote to you first are the safest messages any account can send, and they are not held back by the warm-up for new accounts.

Spam and time-wasters

Not every request is a customer. Tell your agent what to ignore, and it can leave those chats unanswered. If someone is abusive, your agent can block them where the platform allows it, so they can no longer message or follow the account.

How to use it with your AI agent

Connect your accounts. In your Spaces dashboard, connect the accounts you already use. WhatsApp links with a QR code, the same way you would link WhatsApp on a computer. Instagram, LinkedIn, Messenger, X and email connect by signing in through a secure link.
Add Spaces to your AI agent. Add Spaces to the AI agent you already use, such as Claude Code, Claude, Cursor, Codex, ChatGPT, Grok, OpenClaw, Hermes, Meta Muse and Instinct. Each one has a short setup page, and most sign in through the browser with no code to copy.
Ask what is waiting. Ask your agent to check your message requests as well as your main inbox, and to tell you which look like real enquiries.
Decide how it answers. Tell your agent which requests it can answer on its own. If you would rather check first, ask it to hold its replies as drafts.

Things you can say to your agent:

“Check my Instagram message requests and answer the ones asking about prices.”
“Which DMs from today still need an answer?”
“Accept the request from the wedding planner and say I will reply tonight.”
“Archive the chats that are just spam.”

Setup for each AI agent is on Connect your AI agent.

Which channels support it

Instagram: DMs and message requests: list them, accept them, and reply, which moves the chat to the main inbox.
LinkedIn: Messages and InMail, plus the account’s inboxes.
Messenger: Chats with the people who message you, plus the account’s inboxes.
X: Direct messages, plus the account’s inboxes.
WhatsApp: Chats from anyone who messages your number.
iMessage: Coming soon: text your own AI agent from your phone.

Accepting a request without replying depends on the Instagram connection. When it is not possible, a reply accepts the request instead.

Email has no requests folder. Your agent reads and answers each thread instead.

Limits that apply

Replies count towards the account’s daily messages, such as 150 a day on Instagram and 50 on Messenger.
A reply to someone who wrote first is not part of the Instagram budget for likes, comments, follows and new chats.
A reply to someone who wrote in the last hour is never held back by the daily limits.
Instagram only lets you message someone who has not replied inside its messaging window, so replies in existing chats work best.

Every channel’s limits are on sending limits, and how Spaces protects accounts is on account safety.

FAQ

What is an Instagram message request?

A DM from someone you do not follow. Instagram puts it in a separate requests folder until you accept it or reply.

Can my agent reply to a message request?

Yes. Your agent can list the requests waiting and reply to them. Replying accepts the request and moves the chat to your main inbox.

Can it accept a request without replying?

Where Instagram allows it on your connection, yes. Otherwise a reply accepts the request.

Will it answer spam?

Only if you let it. Tell your agent what to ignore, and ask it to hold its replies as drafts if you want to check each one.

Does this work on LinkedIn and Messenger?

Your agent reads and answers DMs on LinkedIn, Messenger and X too, and can list each account’s inboxes, including a requests folder where the platform keeps one.

Is replying to DMs with AI safe for my account?

Replying to people who wrote to you first is the lowest-risk thing an account can do. Spaces still paces every reply and keeps it inside the account’s limits.

Try it with your own accounts

Connect an account, add Spaces to your AI agent and try message requests today. Every plan starts with a trial. No card needed.

Start a trial See pricing

Other features: One inbox, Scheduled messages, Auto-replies, Comment-to-DM, Hand-over, Pause and approvals, Follow-ups, Safe sending, Publish posts, Schedule posts, Story replies, People lookup, Many accounts, Webhooks.