How to Reduce Unanswered DMs to Zero

You reduce unanswered DMs to zero by splitting your messages into two kinds: the ones a machine should answer instantly, and the ones only you can answer. The first kind, which is most of them, are requests for a price, a link, notes or a booking slot. Viralyze answers those within about a second of a keyword comment or story reply, and the second kind land in one Inbox with the original comment as context.

Then you clear that Inbox twice a day. That is the whole system.

Why do DMs go unanswered in the first place?

Because they arrive at the wrong time and look the same. A creator posts a reel, goes to a shoot, and comes back to 80 messages, 60 of which say some version of "link?". Scrolling through them to find the three real conversations is exhausting, so the whole batch waits.

The founder of Viralyze, Kushagra Kumar, built the app after watching creators lose sales exactly this way, when "price?" and "link?" comments sat unanswered.

Step one: list your repeat questions

Open your Instagram inbox and count the last 50 messages by type. For most accounts the list looks like:

• Where is the link?
• How much does it cost?
• Can I get the notes or template?
• How do I book?
• Do you ship to my city or do online sessions?

Each of these can be answered by a keyword automation with the answer written once.

Step two: give each question a keyword

Create one automation per answer, or one automation with several keywords each sending a different reply. For a fitness trainer:

• LINK sends the link-in-bio page.
• PRICE sends the coaching plan prices and the checkout page.
• BOOK sends the booking page for a free consultation.
• DIET sends a sample meal PDF.

Set these on "any post" so they work on every reel without re-creating them, and add a story-reply trigger for the same keywords. Matching handles typos, emojis and Hinglish, so "link do" and "LINK??" both work.

Does automating the first reply feel cold to customers?

Not when it arrives in a second and answers the question asked. A person who commented "price?" and gets the price immediately feels attended to, not processed.

Viralyze adds AI variations so each DM reads a little differently, and the public comment reply ("Sent you a DM 💌") rotates too, so the thread does not look like a bot replied to everyone.

Step three: clear the Inbox on a schedule

Replies to Auto-DMs come into the Viralyze Inbox with the originating comment attached. These are the people who read the answer and still have a question, which makes them the warmest leads you have.

1. Pick two times a day, say 9 AM and 7 PM. 2. Open the Inbox and reply to every thread, from the app or in Instagram. 3. Stay inside Instagram's 24-hour reply window; the Inbox makes the timing visible. 4. For any question that comes up three times, add it to a keyword automation so it stops reaching you. 5. Export contacts weekly so nobody gets lost if a thread goes quiet.

Within a couple of weeks the Inbox shrinks to a handful of real conversations.

Measuring whether it worked

On the home screen, DMs sent tells you how many questions were handled automatically. The per-automation funnel shows delivered against clicked, so you know whether the automatic answers are good enough or need rewriting.

If people keep replying to the PRICE DM with "but how much for three months", the DM is missing a line. Fix the message, not your schedule.

Frequently asked questions

**What happens to DMs that are not replies to an automation?** They stay in your normal Instagram inbox. The system here covers comment and story-reply conversations; handle the rest in the same twice-daily sweep.

**Can I answer Inbox replies from Instagram instead of the app?** Yes. The conversation is a normal Instagram DM, so you can reply from either place. The Viralyze Inbox just adds the comment context and keeps everything in one list.

**Will automation reply to spam comments?** Only if the spam contains your keyword. Pick specific keywords rather than common words to avoid that.

Start your 7-day free trial of Viralyze, no card needed, and get your DM backlog to zero this week.