My bot does not reply to new Instagram messages

If the ZeroChats AI does not reply to some Instagram leads, and you have another tool such as ManyChat connected to your account, this guide gets both working together in five steps you only do once (about 15 minutes).

Does any of this sound familiar?

ManyChat sends the welcome message when someone comments or replies to a story, but the ZeroChats AI does not answer those leads (while it does answer others).
In ZeroChats you see leads with the notice “another app has this conversation”.
Since you connected ZeroChats, ManyChat stopped replying.
Everything was working and, from one day to the next, it stopped without you changing anything.

They all have the same cause and the same fix.

What is happening?

Meta has changed how it hands out Instagram conversations when an account has several tools connected. Under the new system, Meta can name one of them the “default app” and give it exclusive control of the conversations it opens. If that app is ManyChat (or another tool), the ZeroChats AI receives the messages from those leads, but Meta does not let it reply.

You did nothing wrong: it is a new Meta setting, and some tools recommend turning it on without warning about this effect. The good news is that it takes a few minutes to set up and stays stable.

Before you start

You need:

Access to the Facebook Page linked to your Instagram (as an admin).
Access to your ManyChat account (or whichever tool you have connected).
An Instagram account that has never messaged your business, for the final test (a friend’s, or a new account).

The five steps

Leave Instagram without a “default app” on your Facebook Page. Go to facebook.com and switch to using Facebook as your Page: open your Page’s profile and click Switch. Then open Settings → Page settings → Instagram conversation routing. Under “Default routing app”, if Manychat or another app appears, open the three-dot menu and click Remove.

Done when: that section only shows the “Set up” button, with no app. If your Instagram is not linked to any Facebook Page, this screen does not exist: your account already meets this step. Move on to step 2.
Connect ManyChat to Instagram “via Instagram”. In ManyChat: Settings → Instagram, and scroll to the bottom.
- If you see the row “Change Instagram connection → Connect via Meta”, it is already right. Leave it as is.
- If you do not see it, click Remove Instagram account from ManyChat and reconnect it, choosing Instagram in the window that opens.
Done when: the row “Connect via Meta” appears at the bottom of that screen (and you do not click it). When reconnecting, ManyChat keeps your automations; the Instagram contact list in ManyChat starts from scratch (your Instagram conversations stay intact).
Leave the welcomes to ManyChat. Keep your entry automations: post or reel comment, story reply, new follower or specific keywords. Turn off ManyChat’s Instagram “Default reply”, so the lead’s free-form replies are answered by the AI.

Done when: the Instagram default reply shows as stopped.
Update permissions in ManyChat. Go to Settings → Instagram → Update permissions and accept the window as it comes.

Done when: ManyChat shows that the permissions were updated successfully.
Run the test. With the account that has never messaged you:
- Comment on your post with the ManyChat keyword → the ManyChat welcome arrives.
- Reply to that message with normal text (“hi, good morning”) → the ZeroChats AI answers.
Done when: both replies arrive and the lead shows up in ZeroChats with no notice. Always use a new account: ManyChat does not repeat the welcome to someone who already messaged it.

Split the work: ManyChat opens, ZeroChats converses

With this setup both tools see every message. This split makes each one reply only to its part:

In ManyChat

Entry automations: comments, stories, mentions, new followers.
Its keywords work best in comments and stories. If ManyChat replies to a keyword sent by direct message, the AI will also see that message: turn on reply-only-to-keywords in ZeroChats (with different words) or keep that keyword for comments only.
Default reply turned off.
Welcomes that end: they deliver their link or resource and close.

In ZeroChats

Do not repeat ManyChat’s keywords in ZeroChats: in ZeroChats a keyword makes the AI reply, so both would answer.
If you use reply-only-to-keywords in ZeroChats, pick words different from ManyChat’s.
Tell your AI agent that a welcome already happened, so it continues the conversation from there.

Your leads from the last few days

New leads work from the very first moment. For the ones left halfway:

In ZeroChats, check that they have the AI turned on (some may have been created with it off).
If you want to pick them up now, reply manually from the Instagram app; the AI takes over as soon as the lead replies.

Good practices to keep it working

Keep Instagram without a default app, even if some guide or assistant suggests turning it on.
If ManyChat invites you to “connect via Meta to unlock features”, there is no need: your current connection is the right one.
If you add a new tool to your Instagram, run the step 5 test again.

Frequently asked questions

Do I lose anything in ManyChat? No. Your automations, welcomes and flows keep working the same.

What if I run ads that lead to Instagram messages? Those have their own setting in Ads Manager. Message us and we will set it up with you.

What if I have more tools connected (GoHighLevel or others)? The same steps apply. Check what each one replies to so two of them do not answer the same message; we will help you split it.

I cannot find a screen. Send us a screenshot of ManyChat’s Instagram screen and of your Page settings, and we will guide you. Or ask us for a video call and we will do it together.

Download the guide as PDF

Prefer to keep this guide at hand or share it with your team? It is the same one you can download from the notice on the ZeroChats connection page (available in Spanish):

📄 Download the guide as PDF