Activate Leads to Charlie with Manychat Comment Triggers

Last updated: July 2, 2026

One of the most effective ways to generate leads from Instagram is through reel (or post) comment triggers. When someone comments a specific keyword on your reel, Manychat automatically sends them a DM with your content, and then activates them as a lead in Charlie for follow-up.
This article walks through the full setup: creating the comment automation in Manychat, delivering content via DM, and then handing the lead off to Charlie.

Prerequisites

  • A Manychat account (with plan) connected to your Instagram Business Account

  • Manychat connected to Charlie via Zapier or your CRM (see: How to Connect Manychat with Charlie AI)

  • At least one published Instagram reel or post you want to use as a trigger

  • The content you want to deliver (link, PDF, guide, etc.)

Activation

Step 1 — Create a New Automation

  1. In Manychat, go to Automation in the left sidebar

  2. Click My Automations

  3. Click the + New Automation button (top right)

  4. A template gallery will appear — click Start From Scratch in the top right corner to build your own flow

Step 2 — Set the Trigger

  1. In the automation builder, you’ll see a blank canvas. Click the trigger block to configure it

  2. Select Post or Reel Comments as the trigger type

  3. Select the specific post or reel you want to attach this automation to

  4. Under “What will start your DM automation?”, choose Specific Keywords

  5. Enter the keyword(s) that should trigger the automation (e.g., “guide”)

    • Manychat is not case-sensitive — “Guide”, “guide”, and “GUIDE” are all recognized as the same keyword

    • You can also select Any comment if you want every comment to trigger the flow

Tip: Keep your keyword short and simple. In your reel caption or on-screen text, tell viewers: “Comment GUIDE to get the free guide!”

Step 3 — Set Up the Public Reply (Optional but Recommended)

Manychat can auto-reply to the commenter publicly in the comments feed. This boosts engagement and signals to the person that their request was received.

  1. When prompted “Would you like to set up Public Reply in the feed?”, select Yes

  2. Toggle on random multiple replies so the replies look natural and not repetitive

  3. Add 2–3 reply variations, for example:

“Done! Info sent to your inbox” “Info is sent — check your DMs” “Done! Kindly check your DMs”

  1. Click Next to proceed

Step 4 — Create the Private DM Reply

This is the DM that gets sent to the commenter’s Instagram inbox.

  1. A Send Message block will appear. Make sure it says Send as Private Reply

  2. Write your message. For example:
    “Hey there! Looks like you wanted the guide on [topic]. Just tap the button below or reply with ‘guide’ to get it.”

  3. Below the text, click + Add Button and create a button labeled with your keyword (e.g., “Guide”)

  4. Click + Add Quick Reply if you want an additional quick-reply option

The button gives the user a clear, one-tap action. This also confirms their intent and moves them to the next step in the flow.

Step 5 — Set Up the Quick Reply / Button Response

  1. Click on the button you created to configure what happens when the user taps it

  2. Select Create Quick Reply → When This Button Is Pressed

  3. A new Send Message block appears. This is where you deliver your content:

    • Type a message like: “Awesome, here you go!”

    • Add your content: click + Add below the message to attach a link, image, PDF, or button leading to your resource

  4. This message is sent within the 24-hour window — Instagram allows automated DMs only within 24 hours of the user’s last interaction

Step 6 — Activate the Lead to Charlie

After delivering the content, you want to pass this lead to Charlie for continued follow-up (qualification, booking, etc.).