How do I turn Facebook and Instagram comments into private messages automatically with ArabyBot?
The ArabyBot teamOfficial Meta partner · written from our own platform dataThe short answer
In "Comment Manager" you create a campaign on one post or on the whole Page or account: ArabyBot answers every comment publicly and sends the commenter a private message from a template you choose, to everyone or only when the comment contains words you set. Meta allows one private message per comment within seven days of it, and the system keeps to that automatically.
The steps in the ArabyBot dashboard
- Open Comment Manager
In the ArabyBot dashboard sidebar (app.arabybot.com) open "Facebook Tools" → "Comment Manager", or "Instagram Tools" → "Comment Manager", then the first card, "All Post List".
- Pick the Page and the scope
On Facebook pick the Page in the "Pages" column: for every post press "Comment & Inbox Reply" under "Full Page Campaigns", then "Enable Full Page Reply"; for one post press the gear beside it under "Latest Posts", then "Enable auto reply". On Instagram pick the account under "Accounts", then "Full Account Comment Reply" or a single post.
- Choose the reply type
Choose "Generic message for all" to send the same reply to everyone who comments, "Send message by filtering word/sentence" to reply by words you set (exact or partial match) with a fallback when nothing matches, or "Automated reply by AI" to let the AI agent write the public reply.
- Write the public reply and pick the private message
Fill in "Auto reply campaign name" and "Message for comment reply", then under "Select a message template for private reply" choose the template the commenter receives privately. If you have none, press "Add Message Template" to create one.
- Set the options and save
Pick the options you want, such as hiding or deleting offensive comments and "Do you want to hide comments after comment reply?", then press "Submit", or "Submit & save as template" to reuse the same settings on other posts.
What you should know
- Meta rule: one private message per comment, within seven days of the comment. If the template holds more than one message, ArabyBot sends only the first, and never answers the same comment twice.
- The private message does not open a conversation on its own: the customer has to reply first, and then it becomes a normal conversation that the bot, the AI agent or your team continues.
- The AI option writes the public reply only; the private message is always the template you chose. The AI option is not offered in the Instagram "Full Account Comment Reply" campaign.
- The "Reply to old comments" option in a post's menu sends a public reply only, because Meta refuses a private message on a comment older than seven days.
- The "Latest Posts" list shows recent posts only; for an older Facebook post use "Set Campaign by ID".
- TikTok offers no private messages, so ArabyBot answers TikTok comments with a public reply only.
Related questions
Can the bot send more than one private message for the same comment?
No. Meta allows one private message per comment, so ArabyBot sends only the first message of the template. Once the customer replies, it becomes a normal conversation under the usual messaging rules.
Does the bot send private messages for comments on old posts?
The private message goes out as each comment arrives. A comment older than seven days cannot get a private reply under Meta's rules, so "Reply to old comments" sends a public reply only.
In more depth
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