How to set up Instagram saved (quick) replies

Saved replies are answers you write once and drop into any Instagram chat by typing a short word. Store your delivery details under the shortcut “ship”, and typing ship in a conversation offers the full text; tap it, check it, send it. Only professional accounts, Business or Creator, have them.

Instagram’s earlier name for the feature was quick replies, and plenty of guides still use it. In Meta’s developer tools, though, quick replies are something else: tappable buttons a business attaches under a message so the customer can answer with one tap. And unlike either, a saved reply never goes out by itself. You press send every time.

The option sits with your professional tools. Instagram reshuffles these menus between versions, so if a label below doesn’t match your app, look for Saved replies among your business or creator tools, or in the Tools menu inside your messages, where frequently asked questions now live. Instagram’s Help Center describes another route: hold down a message you’ve sent, tap More, then Save, and set a keyboard shortcut for it.

1. Go to your profile, tap the three lines at the top right and open Settings and privacy.
2. In the section for professionals, tap Business tools and controls, or Creator tools and controls on a creator account.
3. Tap Saved replies, then New saved reply (a plus icon on some versions).
4. Enter a shortcut: a short word you’ll remember, such as ship, sizes or hours.
5. Write the full message exactly as a customer should read it, then save.

Tip: Choose shortcuts you’d never type by accident. If the shortcut for your thank-you note is “thanks”, the suggestion pops up every time you thank a friend; “tyorder” stays out of the way until you want it.

1. Open the chat you’re answering.
2. Type the shortcut in the message box. A suggestion with a speech-bubble icon appears.
3. Tap it, and the full saved text fills the message box.
4. Change anything that should fit this person, such as their name or the item they asked about, then send.

Can’t remember a shortcut? In many versions the extra options beside the message box (a plus icon, then the speech bubble) open your full list, so you can pick from it instead.

Only what you type triggers a saved reply. A customer who happens to write your shortcut word sees nothing happen, and saved replies play no part in comments; they’re for your chats.

Go back to Saved replies in your professional tools and tap the one you want. Change the shortcut or the text and save, or delete it from there. On some versions, delete sits in a menu next to the reply rather than inside it.

Put a check in your calendar every month or two. A saved reply quoting last season’s prices or an old returns window keeps going out, word for word, until somebody notices, and customers screenshot what you told them.

If you answer messages on a computer, Meta Business Suite’s inbox has saved replies of its own, for Messenger and for Instagram accounts connected to it. Meta describes them as a way to save a response you send often and use it again, and Business Suite suggests your saved replies when they look relevant to the conversation you have open.

Those suggestions don’t send themselves. Meta’s help pages separate inbox suggestions from automated responses: nothing goes out until you accept it, and you can choose which suggestions appear, or switch them off, in the inbox’s message settings.

Instagram can also suggest replies to business accounts, based on what the incoming message says. Read those as carefully as your own saved replies before sending.

Tip: A reply saved in Business Suite and one saved in the Instagram app may not show up in both places. If you answer from both, check that each has the replies you rely on.

Quick-reply buttons come from apps connected to Meta’s messaging API. Keyword replies come from those apps or from Business Suite’s custom keywords, and frequently asked questions, instant replies and away messages are free in the Instagram app or Business Suite. Most accounts end up with a mix: a few FAQ questions to steer new chats, saved replies for answers a person still checks, and automation for whatever arrives while everyone’s asleep.

Saved replies remove typing, and that’s all. Know the limits before you build your inbox around them:

• Answer without you. Each one needs a person to open the chat, insert it and press send, so nothing goes out while you’re offline.
• Run on a personal account. The feature comes with a professional account, which is free to switch to and can be switched back.
• Send buttons or cards. A saved reply is an ordinary message. A web address inside it becomes a tappable link when sent, but it can’t become a button.
• Read the conversation. A stored answer doesn’t know what the customer asked or what you’ve already told them, so read the chat before inserting one.
• Report back. Nothing shows how often each reply is used or whether it led to a sale.
• Cover comments. They work in your chats, not under posts.

Scroll back through a week of DMs and note every answer you typed more than twice. Those are your first saved replies. For a small online shop, the list often looks like this:

Tip: Lead with the answer. People reading on a phone often stop after the first line, so put the price, the date or the yes there and the detail after it.