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New to channels? Start with the Channels Overview to see the universal connect flow that every channel shares. This guide walks through the Instagram-specific screens on top of that flow.
Connecting Instagram puts your assistant inside the DMs of a real Instagram account. Anyone who taps Message on your profile, replies to a Story, sends a Reel, or messages you from an Instagram ad lands in a conversation that your assistant answers instantly, 24/7. Everything appears in the same Inbox as your other channels, with the same assistant, the same Knowledge, and the same Memory. The whole setup happens in a single popup. You sign in to Instagram, switch the account to a professional (Business or Creator) account if it is not already one, and Invent takes care of the messaging permissions and webhook subscription for you.

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Before You Start

You need three things:
  1. An Instagram account for the business you want to connect, with the password to hand. If your business does not have an account yet, create one in the Instagram app first.
  2. A professional account type (Business or Creator). Personal accounts cannot grant messaging access to third-party tools. Don’t worry if you are still on a personal account today, the connect flow lets you switch in two clicks without losing followers, posts, or your username.
  3. DMs turned on for the account. This is the default for every Instagram account, but if you have ever blocked DMs from non-followers in Settings → Privacy → Messages, loosen those rules so customers can reach you.
You do not need to link the Instagram account to a Facebook Page anymore. Invent uses Instagram’s own login (the Login with Instagram flow), so a standalone Instagram professional account is enough. If you already manage your Instagram from a Facebook Page, that still works, just sign in here with your Instagram credentials directly.

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Step 1: Open the Instagram Connect Dialog

From your assistant’s Channels tab, find Instagram Direct Messages in the list and click Connect. The Instagram connect dialog opens.
Empty Instagram Direct Messages connect dialog with a + Connect Instagram button inside the Connection field
The dialog has one field:
  • Connection: the authenticated link to an Instagram account. If this is your first Instagram connection, the dropdown is empty apart from a blue + Connect Instagram button you use to start the sign-in flow (covered in the next step). If you have already connected Instagram for another assistant, your existing connections are listed here and you can reuse any of them, in which case you can skip to Step 9.
You can attach more than one Instagram connection to your workspace. After you add the first one, opening the Connection dropdown again shows all existing connections plus a + Connect Instagram button at the top to add another. Pick whichever fits this assistant’s use case.

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Step 2: Sign In to Instagram

Open the Connection dropdown and click + Connect Instagram. Instagram’s login popup opens.
Instagram login screen with a phone, username, or email field, password field, and a Log in with Facebook option
This is Instagram’s standard sign-in, run entirely on instagram.com. Your credentials are only entered on Instagram’s domain, never on Invent’s. You have two paths:
  • Log in with Instagram credentials: enter the phone number, username, or email and the password for the account that owns the DMs you want the assistant to handle. This is the recommended path because it does not depend on a linked Facebook Page.
  • Log in with Facebook: only use this if the Instagram account is linked to a Facebook profile and you would rather authenticate through Facebook. The end result inside Invent is the same.
Sign in with the business owner’s Instagram account, not a personal employee account that may leave the company later. Access to the Invent connection follows whoever signed in: if that account is deleted, has its password rotated without informing you, or revokes the Invent integration in Instagram’s settings, the connection breaks until it is re-authenticated.
Click Log in to continue.

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Step 3: Complete Two-Factor Authentication

If the account has two-factor authentication enabled (and it should), Instagram asks for a one-time code. Depending on the account’s 2FA configuration, the code is sent to:
  • WhatsApp on the phone number registered to the Instagram account.
  • An SMS to the same number, if WhatsApp delivery is not configured.
  • An authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Authy, if the account uses one.
Check your WhatsApp messages screen prompting for the 6-digit verification code Instagram sent to a masked phone number
Open the relevant inbox or app on the phone that owns the account, copy the 6-digit code, paste it into the Code field, and click Continue. The code is single-use and expires after a few minutes; if it does not arrive, click Get a new code or Try another way to switch delivery method.
If you do not have access to the phone that receives the code, stop here and have the account owner run this step on their own machine. They can complete the rest of the connect flow inside their own Invent session and the connection will appear in your shared workspace, ready for you to bind to this assistant.

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Step 4: Switch to a Professional Account (If Needed)

Invent’s messaging integration only works with professional accounts (Business or Creator). If the Instagram account you signed in with is already a professional account, Instagram skips this step entirely and jumps straight to the permissions screen. If the account is still personal, Instagram shows the Change to professional account prompt below.
Change to professional account prompt explaining that a professional Instagram account is required to connect to Invent-IG
Click Change to start the upgrade. The switch is non-destructive:
  • Your username, profile, posts, Reels, Stories, followers, and follower count all stay exactly as they are.
  • You can revert to a personal account at any time from Instagram → Settings → Account → Switch to personal account.
  • No followers are notified, no Stories or posts get republished, nothing is announced anywhere.
The only change customers might notice is a small Business or Creator label under the bio (which you can hide later if you want).

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Step 4a: Pick a Professional Account Type

Instagram asks whether you are a Creator or a Business.
Which best describes you? screen with Creator and Business radio options
OptionWhen to pick it
CreatorYou are a public figure, content producer, artist, influencer, podcaster, or any individual whose Instagram presence is built around personal content rather than a brand.
BusinessYou are a retailer, local business, brand, organisation, agency, or service provider. This is the right choice for almost every customer-support or sales use case.
Both account types unlock the messaging API the assistant needs. Pick whichever describes the account most accurately, then click Next.
Business overview screen showing the perks of a Business account: insights, promotions, and contact options
Instagram shows a quick summary of what the chosen type unlocks (insights, promotions, contact options). Click Next to continue.

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Step 4b: Select a Category

Select a category screen with a search field and suggested categories like Personal blog, Product/service, Art, Musician/band, Shopping & retail
Pick the category that best describes what the business actually does. Use the search field if your industry is not in the suggested list. The category drives Instagram’s discovery surfaces; it has no effect on the assistant.
If you would rather not show the category under your bio publicly, leave Show category on profile unchecked at the top. The category is still set internally, just not visible to visitors.
Click Done.

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Step 4c: Confirm the Switch

Instagram shows a final confirmation explaining that professional profiles are public.
Switch to a professional account? confirmation modal warning that the profile and content will be public
A few things to know before you click Continue:
  • The account becomes public if it is currently private. Pending follower requests are auto-approved.
  • Search engines may index your content (Instagram’s wording, not ours). In practice this only applies to public posts and the profile page.
  • You can switch back to Private later from the Instagram app, but messaging access for the assistant requires a professional, public account.
Click Continue to commit the switch.

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Step 5: Review Your Contact Info

Instagram offers to surface a public email, phone number, and address on the profile so customers can reach you outside of DMs.
Review your contact info form with email, phone, street address, town/city, and postcode fields, plus Don't Use My Contact Info and Save buttons
This step is optional and has no effect on the assistant integration. You have three sensible defaults:
  • Skip it entirely: click Don’t Use My Contact Info at the bottom-left. The assistant still works perfectly; customers just contact you through DMs.
  • Fill it in but keep it private: enter the fields and leave Show contact info on profile unchecked. Useful if Instagram requires the data internally for some categories, but you do not want it shown publicly.
  • Fill it in and publish it: enter the fields and tick Show contact info on profile. Customers see the email and phone as buttons under your bio.
Click Save (or Don’t Use My Contact Info) to continue.

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Step 6: Confirmation Screen

Instagram confirms the account is ready.
Your Instagram business account is ready confirmation screen with mobile-app and Business Suite next-step suggestions
The on-screen tips about the Instagram mobile app and Meta Business Suite are Instagram’s own suggestions; they are not required for the Invent integration. Click Done to move on.

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Step 7: Review Permissions and Confirm

This is the most important screen in the entire flow. Instagram now asks which messaging permissions to grant Invent.
Instagram permissions screen with toggles for Allow access to messages, View profile and access media, and Access and manage messages, plus an Allow button
You will see three rows. Both message-related toggles must be ON for the assistant to send and receive DMs.
PermissionDefaultRequired for assistant?What it does
Allow access to messagesONYes, leave onThe master switch. Lets Invent receive incoming DMs and send replies on behalf of the account.
View profile and access mediaLocked ON, cannot toggleYes, automaticLets Invent read the profile (username, avatar, bio) and any media customers reference (Reels, posts, Stories).
Access and manage messagesONYes, leave onThe actual send-and-respond capability. Without this, Invent could see DMs but never reply to them.
If you toggle Allow access to messages off here, Invent’s connection is created but the assistant cannot send or receive a single DM until you re-run this step and turn it back on. Same for Access and manage messages. Leave both on.
Click Allow to grant access. Instagram briefly provisions the connection, then redirects you back to Invent.

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Step 8: Name the Connection in Invent

Instagram redirects you back to Invent and prompts you to label the new connection (for example, “Brand Sales DMs”). This is the name you will see inside Invent, it does not change anything on Instagram’s side. Click Create and Invent stores the connection in Settings → Connections, where you can rename it or disconnect it at any time.
Pick a name that describes which account this connection is for, not who signed in. “Sales Instagram” or “EU Brand DMs” reads better in the channel list a year from now than “Alice’s Instagram”.

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Step 9: Pick the Connection

Back on the Instagram connect dialog, your new connection is already selected.
Instagram dialog with the Brand Sales DMs connection auto-selected, ready to click Connect Channel
Each option in the dropdown shows the Instagram avatar and the connection name you gave it (or the username if you skipped naming), so you can tell sister accounts apart at a glance. Pick the connection this assistant should own if it is not already selected.
One Instagram account, one assistant. An Instagram account can only be bound to one assistant at a time. If two assistants need to share the same account, transfer to human is usually a better pattern than splitting the inbox. Binding an account already attached to another Invent assistant overrides the previous binding and the new assistant takes over from the next message onwards.
Click Connect Channel. Behind the scenes Invent subscribes its webhook to the account, validates that the messaging permissions are healthy, and turns the channel on. Instagram now shows up in the assistant’s Channels tab with an Enabled toggle, a Manage button, and the Instagram username as its identifier.

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Step 10: Send a Test Message

Open Instagram on your personal device, search for the connected username (or open instagram.com/<username> and tap Message), and send a DM. You should see your assistant reply within a few seconds. The conversation also appears in your Inbox immediately, with the originating account and the Instagram channel shown on the conversation. That is it, the assistant is live on Instagram.

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Connecting More Accounts

You can add additional Instagram accounts to the same assistant at any time. From the Channels tab, click + Add another under the Instagram section and either:
  • Pick another account from the same connection (rare, since each Instagram login covers one account), or
  • Connect a new account by opening the Connection dropdown and choosing Connect Instagram again. This is the path you will take most often, because each Instagram account needs its own login.
Each account runs in parallel under the same assistant, sharing the same Instructions, Knowledge, Memory, and Actions. Conversations are tagged with the originating account in the Inbox so your team always knows which brand or region a DM belongs to. See Multiple Connections Per Channel for common patterns.

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Reusing a Connection Across Assistants

Once an Instagram connection exists in your workspace, any assistant can pick it up from the Connection dropdown without going through the Instagram popup again. Authenticate once, reuse everywhere. Manage every connection centrally from Settings → Connections:
  • Rename a connection to keep the list readable as you add more.
  • Reconnect if Instagram’s session expires, the password is rotated, or the user revokes the integration from instagram.com/accounts/manage_access.
  • Disconnect to remove the link entirely. Any assistant still using that connection stops sending and receiving until it is pointed at a new one.

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Troubleshooting

Nothing is saved until Instagram redirects back to Invent with a success. Click Connect on the channel again and run through the flow. Your account is already a professional account if you reached Step 4, so the second run will skip straight past the account-type screens.
Instagram sometimes prefers WhatsApp delivery on the registered phone number even when SMS would be faster. On the 2FA screen, click Try another way and switch to SMS or to an authenticator app. If the registered phone number is no longer in use, recover the account from instagram.com/accounts/login/ first, update the phone number, then retry the connect flow.
Instagram occasionally rejects the switch when the account is too new (less than ~24 hours old) or has triggered an integrity check. Wait a few hours, sign in to Instagram on the mobile app, complete any verification prompts shown there (email confirmation, phone confirmation), and try the connect flow again from Invent.
The most common cause is that Allow access to messages was toggled off on the permissions screen in Step 7. Open Settings → Connections, click Reconnect on the Instagram connection, and confirm both Allow access to messages and Access and manage messages are ON when you reach the permissions screen this time.A second cause is that DMs from non-followers are restricted on the account. Open Instagram → Settings → Privacy → Messages and make sure your message controls allow DMs from the audience you expect.
Instagram’s access token has expired or was revoked. Common reasons: the password was rotated, the integration was removed from instagram.com/accounts/manage_access, or the account was switched back to Personal (which strips messaging access). Open Settings → Connections, find the Instagram connection, and click Reconnect to run a short re-authentication flow. Channels bound to that connection start working again as soon as the reconnection finishes.
Instagram blocks promotional content sent outside the 24-hour window. To re-engage a customer who went quiet for longer than that, your message must fit a Message Tag (such as POST_PURCHASE_UPDATE or ACCOUNT_UPDATE) and the content must match what that tag allows. Use Auto Follow-ups for in-window re-engagement, or reply manually as a human agent through the Inbox using the appropriate tag.
Instagram hides identifying information for accounts with restricted profile visibility, accounts under 18, or customers who interact through certain regional entry points. The conversation works end-to-end; the assistant just does not have a name to use until the customer shares it. You can prompt for it from your Instructions, for example: “If you do not know the customer’s name, ask for it the first time you reply, then save it to memory.”
Instagram supports only one active messaging integration per account at a time. If a partner needs to manage the inbox from a different workspace, they have to run the connect flow on their own Invent workspace and bind the same account, which overrides the previous binding. Coordinate with the partner before switching, or use a second Instagram account so each tool can stay active independently.

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Next Steps

Channels Overview

See the universal connection flow that every channel uses

Connections

Manage every authenticated link, including Instagram, in one place

Capabilities

See everything your assistant can send and receive on Instagram

Tracking

Capture referrals from Instagram ads, products, and Story mentions on every conversation