> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.watx.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Intents

> Keyword rules that route an Instagram DM to the right response, which rules reach Instagram at all, and how comments are handled instead.

**Channels → Instagram → Intents** lists the keyword rules that reach Instagram. An intent
is "when someone says X, do Y" — reply with a link when somebody says *price*, tag them and
open a deal when they say *demo*.

## Intents are automations

There is no second rules engine here. Every row on this page is an
[automation](/automations/overview) with a **Keyword match** trigger, and creating or
editing one happens in the automation editor. **New intent** takes you straight there.

What this page adds is the framing: it shows only the keyword rules that can actually fire
on Instagram, and tells you how many of your other keyword rules are scoped away from it.

## Which rules appear here

A rule is listed when its channel scope reaches Instagram. An automation scoped to no
channel runs everywhere, so it is listed as **All channels**; one scoped to Instagram is
listed as **Instagram only**; one scoped to another channel is not listed, but the page
still counts it, so an empty list never reads as a bug.

To bring a rule here that is scoped elsewhere, add Instagram to its channels in the
automation editor. See
[Channels and the 24-hour window](/automations/channels-and-window).

## What a row shows

| Column                  | Meaning                                                           |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Name                    | Links to the automation editor                                    |
| **Active** / **Paused** | Whether the rule runs at all                                      |
| Channel scope           | **All channels**, **Instagram only**, or the list it is scoped to |
| Keywords                | Every word the trigger matches                                    |
| Runs                    | How many times it has fired, and when it last did                 |

A keyword rule with **no keywords configured** is flagged: it can never match, and without
the warning the row looks perfectly healthy.

## Acting on comments

A **Keyword match** intent matches direct messages. To act on a comment, use one of these
instead:

| You want to                                                                         | Use                                                      |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| Do something when a **known contact** comments on a post                            | An automation with the **Instagram comment** trigger     |
| Do something when **anyone** comments, including someone who has never messaged you | A [comment funnel](/instagram/comment-funnels)           |
| Do something when someone replies to a story                                        | An automation with the **Instagram story reply** trigger |

The distinction matters. The automations engine works on a contact, and a comment from a
stranger produces no contact — so an automation cannot reach the exact audience the
"comment a keyword, get a DM" pattern is aimed at. A comment funnel can, because it opens
the DM with a private reply.

When a comment funnel claims a comment, the Instagram comment trigger does not also fire on
it, so a commenter who happens to be a contact gets one DM rather than two.

## A first one

The common starting point: reply with a link whenever somebody DMs *price*. Create an
automation with a **Keyword match** trigger, add the words, and add a send-message step. For
the full catalogue see [Triggers](/automations/triggers) and [Steps](/automations/steps).