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Instagram auto-replies for architects

Instagram DM automation lets an architect send a fee explainer, a design brief template or an extension guide to anyone who comments or messages a chosen word. A practice's followers mix future clients, admirers of the work and architecture students, so the set-ups below give each group its own word and its own answer.

Updated 6 October 2026

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Comment words for architects and architecture practices

Ask people to comment one word in your caption or video. Each word sends something different.

FEES: How you charge: a percentage of the build cost, a fixed fee per stage or an hourly rate, with what each stage includes and the smallest project you take on.
BRIEF: A design brief template that asks who lives in the house, how each room is used today, what has to stay and what the building budget is.
PROCESS: The stages from first meeting to handover, named as your fee proposal names them (RIBA stages 0 to 7 in the UK, for example), with what the client signs off at each.
EXTENSION: A guide to planning a rear or side extension: the permissions to check, the surveys you may need and the order everything happens in.
PLOT: A checklist for anyone buying land to build on: setbacks, permitted floor area (FSI or FAR), road access, soil, drainage and the title documents.
BUDGET: A worksheet that adds professional fees, surveys, taxes and a contingency to the build cost, so a builder's figure isn't mistaken for the whole bill.
INTERN: How students apply for a placement: when you take people on, what the portfolio PDF should contain, its size limit and the address to email it to.

4 set-ups to try

Each one shows the conversation it creates. After a comment, the first DM is plain text, as Meta requires, and the link follows once they answer.

Extension guide from a before-and-after Reel
Someone comments on your post
EXTENSION
Public reply under their comment
On its way to your inbox 🏡
First DM (plain text)
Thanks for the comment. Are you thinking of extending your own home? The guide covers the permissions to check, the surveys you may need and the order it all happens in. Reply here and I'll send it across.Yes pleasePlanning a home extensionRead the guide
Extension Reels reach homeowners at the daydreaming stage, often long before they're ready to hire. Turn on email capture: Instagram only lets you message someone within 24 hours of their last message, so an email list is how your project newsletter reaches them when the time comes.
Fee explainer for “how much do you charge?”
FEESThanks for asking about fees. Is your project a new build, an extension or a renovation? The page below shows how we charge for each, stage by stage, and what happens before any building work starts.How our fees workSee our fees
FEE, COST and CHARGE belong on this auto-reply too, with the phrase HOW MUCH. Keywords match whole words, so FEES alone won't catch “what's your fee?”. Nobody can price a project from a one-line DM, and the page says so politely. A message with a site address and a rough size deserves your own reply.
Design brief template from a Story
Replied to your story
BRIEFGlad you'd like the template. It starts with how you use each room now, before any talk of new ones. Which room frustrates you most at the moment? Tell me here and I'll answer myself.Design brief templateGet the template
A written brief makes a first meeting far more useful, and people who reply to Stories already follow your work closely. Because they wrote to you first, the template arrives straight after this message, and their answer about the room gives you a real reason to reply in person.
Student placement requests sent to one page
INTERNThanks for your interest in the studio. Are you looking for a placement during your course, or a role after graduating? Everything we ask for, including portfolio size and when we review applications, is on the page below.Placements and jobsHow to apply
Students tend to write to practices in waves ahead of placement periods. Add INTERNSHIP and PLACEMENT to this reply, but not PORTFOLIO: a client asking to see your portfolio would get the student answer. Ask for work by email, so a 40-page PDF doesn't sit unread in a chat.

Freebies worth commenting for

A plot-buying checklist: setbacks, permitted floor area, road access, soil report and title papers
A guide to the drawings clients receive, from site plan and floor plans to sections and elevations
A budget worksheet that adds fees, surveys, taxes and a contingency to the build cost
A sun-path guide showing which rooms suit morning light and which suit evening light
A checklist for comparing builders' tenders line by line, so the cheapest isn't simply the one that left things out
A first-meeting pack: old drawings, the title plan, photos of homes you like and a rough budget
A loft conversion checklist: head height, where the stairs land, structure and a safe escape route
Ten ways to gain storage in a small home without adding floor area

What lands in an architect's inbox

Three kinds of people message a practice: homeowners with a project, admirers of the work and students. Each needs a different answer, and only the first group needs you in person, usually once a few practical questions are out of the way.

Message	Sent automatically	Step in when
How much do you charge?	FEES: how you charge for each type of project	They give a site address, a size and a budget
Do you take on small jobs, like a porch or a loft?	The smallest project you accept, stated on the FEES page	It's borderline and the client sounds like a good fit
Can you just do the drawings for planning?	PROCESS, showing which stages you offer on their own	They already have a builder and a deadline
Will my plans be approved?	Nothing automatic	Always: the decision belongs to the planning authority, and no architect can promise it
Can I have the plan of the house in your Reel?	Nothing automatic	Always: it's a client's home, so the answer is usually a polite no
Are you taking interns?	INTERN: how and when to apply	A strong portfolio arrives by email
Do you work outside the city?	The areas you cover, or how you run distant projects	The site is far away but the project is large

Tip: AI replies, on the Growth and Business plans, answer other questions from the practice information you write. Include your minimum project size, the areas you work in and the services you offer, and add that fee proposals follow a site visit, so the AI has an honest answer to “how much?”.

Posts that bring in commissions, and the word for each

A before-and-after of an extension, ending on the new kitchen at dusk with the lights on, and EXTENSION in the caption.
Sketch to photo: the first hand sketch beside the finished building, with PROCESS for how one became the other.
Old and new floor plans side by side with the moved walls highlighted, posted with the owner's permission and no address, and BRIEF for the template.
Five things you check on a plot before a client buys it, as a carousel, with PLOT.
Where the money went on a finished house: build, fees, surveys and taxes as shares of the total, shared with the client's agreement, with BUDGET.
A Careers Story highlight that says “DM us INTERN”, so students find the process without asking under your posts.

Architecture content draws plenty of other architects and students. Their comments are welcome but rarely turn into commissions. Keep EXTENSION, PLOT and BUDGET on posts written for homeowners, and most of the people who answer the first DM will be the ones you want.

A long road from first comment to first meeting

People rarely hire an architect the week they first comment. They save posts while they buy land, sell a flat or wait for a loan, sometimes for a year or more. Instagram alone can't keep you in touch for that long, so the set-ups collect an email at the right moments.

A guide starts the conversation: EXTENSION, PLOT or BRIEF. Commenters get a plain-text first message, and the guide follows as a card once they reply.
The bigger guides ask for an email first. Throwaway addresses are refused, and the list downloads as a CSV for your newsletter tool.
On Pro and above, anyone who stops before giving their email gets one reminder, timed to arrive while Instagram still allows a message.
When they're ready, FEES and PROCESS answer the practical questions, and the card opens your enquiry form, which asks for the site address, a rough size and a budget.
The first meeting or site visit is yours. Agree the scope and fee in writing before work starts, as professional codes in many countries expect, and keep that paperwork out of DMs.

Practising in India? The DMFast store can take free or paid bookings for 1-on-1 consultation calls, sell a design guide as a digital product, and give away the PLOT checklist for an email and phone number. Payments go through Razorpay, and DMFast takes no fee on sales.

Professional rules, clients' privacy and Instagram's limits

The title. “Architect” is protected by law in many places, including the UK, India and US states, and only registered or licensed people may use it. Check that captions and auto-replies don't call unregistered staff architects; “architectural designer” is a common alternative.
Clients' homes. A floor plan shows exactly how someone's home is laid out. Post one only with the owner's permission, and leave out the address and the view from the street.
Photography. Architectural photographers usually license their images for agreed uses. Credit them, and check the licence covers Instagram and any posts you boost.
No promises. A DM shouldn't promise approval, a build cost or a finish date. Planning decisions belong to the authority, and building costs move with the market.
Meta's limits. A comment can get one private reply, sent within 7 days of it, and automated messages reach people only within 24 hours of their last message. There's no official way to message every follower when you open a second studio.

Messages to copy

Questions people ask

Should our auto-reply include fee figures?

It can explain how you charge and the smallest project you take on. A real figure depends on the site, the size and the services the client wants, so it belongs in a written fee proposal. A bare percentage, with no word on what it covers, tends to confuse more people than it helps.

People keep asking for the floor plan of a house we designed. What should we send?

Nothing automatic. The drawings describe a client's home, so sharing them is their decision as much as yours. If the interest is real, draw a simplified plan for social media with the owner's agreement, and attach a word like LAYOUT to that one post.

Can it tell a student from a potential client?

Not on its own. A keyword reply answers whatever word someone sends, so give each group its own word: INTERN for students, FEES for clients. On Growth and Business, AI replies can also answer “are you hiring?” from the information you write, and say someone will reply when the answer isn't there.

Can I message everyone who downloaded the brief when we have space for new projects?

Not through Instagram. Automated messages need the person to have written to you in the last 24 hours, and official tools can't message all your followers at once. Email the list your guides collected, and post a Story with a reply word: everyone who answers it gets the link straight away.

We post projects on our Facebook Page as well. Do comments there get replies?

Yes. DMFast answers comments on a Facebook Page's own posts and messages sent to it in Messenger, with the same keywords. Story replies don't exist on Facebook, so the BRIEF set-up stays on Instagram.

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Answer every EXTENSION comment in seconds

Pick a post and the word. DMFast replies under each comment, sends the DM and follows with your link once they answer, day and night. It can collect emails on the way. Free plan, no card.

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