Instagram story replies and mentions
When someone replies to your Instagram story, or mentions your account in their own story, it arrives in your DMs and your AI agent can see which one it is. Your agent can then answer in that chat, for example with a thank-you or the details the person asked for.
What it does
Story replies and mentions arrive as messages your agent can recognise and answer, so a reaction to a story turns into a conversation.
Story reply on Instagram: Is this cake available for Saturday?
Your AI agent: This is a reply to your story of the lemon cake. Shall I answer with the Saturday order times from your brief?
Story mention on Instagram: Mentioned you in their story
Your AI agent: A customer mentioned you in a story with a photo of their order. Shall I send a short thank-you?
Why story replies matter
Stories are where many customers first react to a business. A reply such as “is this available?” is a question from someone who is already interested, and a mention in a customer’s own story is free word of mouth that deserves a thank-you.
Both arrive in your Instagram DMs, mixed in with everything else. Spaces marks them so your AI agent can tell a story reply from a story mention and from an ordinary message, and answer each in the right way.
What your agent can see
For each message in your Instagram inbox, your agent can see:
- whether it is a reply to one of your stories
- whether the person mentioned your account in their own story
- the shared story itself, with who posted it, its caption and a thumbnail, where Instagram includes them
- any photo, video or voice note sent with it
How your agent answers
Your agent answers a story reply or a mention in the chat it arrived in, the same way it answers any DM. It can thank someone for a mention, answer a question about the product in the story, or pass the chat to a person on your team.
Instagram does not let other tools reply directly on a story, so Spaces does not try to. The answer goes into the conversation instead, which is where the person will look for it.
Posting your own stories
Your agent can also publish a story for you, now or at a set time. Spaces fits the photo to the tall story shape before it goes out, so the replies keep coming in.
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.
- Tell your agent how to answer. Say how you want story replies and mentions handled, for example a short thank-you for mentions and an answer from your price list for questions.
- Check what it sent. Ask your agent which story replies and mentions came in today and what it said. Ask it to hold replies as drafts if you want to check them first.
Things you can say to your agent:
- “Who mentioned us in their story this week?”
- “Thank everyone who mentioned us in a story today.”
- “Answer the replies to this morning’s story about the new menu.”
- “Post this photo as a story at 5pm.”
Setup for each AI agent is on Connect your AI agent.
Which channels support it
- Instagram: Story replies and story mentions arrive in your DMs, marked as such, and your agent answers in the chat.
Replying directly on a story is not available. Your agent answers in the chat instead.
Seeing who viewed your story, your highlights and other people’s stories is not available.
Stories on Facebook Pages and the other social networks are not part of Spaces today.
Limits that apply
- A reply in a chat the person started counts towards Instagram’s 150 messages a day, and is not part of the 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.
- Your own stories count as posts: 1 an hour, 3 a day.
Every channel’s limits are on sending limits, and how Spaces protects accounts is on account safety.
FAQ
Can my agent tell a story reply from a normal DM?
Yes. Spaces marks each message, so your agent knows when it is a reply to your story or a mention in someone else’s.
Can my agent reply on the story itself?
No. Instagram does not allow that from other tools, so your agent answers in the chat, which is where the person will see it.
Can I thank people who mention us automatically?
Yes. Tell your agent to send a short thank-you whenever someone mentions you in a story, and it answers each one in the chat.
Can my agent see who viewed my stories?
No. Story viewers are not available through Spaces.
Can my agent post stories for me?
Yes. It can publish a story now or schedule one for later, and Spaces fits the photo to the story shape.
Does this work on Facebook?
Not today. Story replies and mentions are an Instagram feature in Spaces.
Try it with your own accounts
Connect an account, add Spaces to your AI agent and try story replies today. Every plan starts with a trial. No card needed.
Read more
- Reply to DMs and message requests
- Publish posts
- How fast to reply to Instagram messages
- What your agent can do on Instagram
Other features: One inbox, Scheduled messages, Auto-replies, Comment-to-DM, Hand-over, Pause and approvals, Follow-ups, Safe sending, Publish posts, Schedule posts, Message requests, People lookup, Many accounts, Webhooks.