By business · Food and drink

Instagram auto-replies for cafes and coffee shops

A cafe's DMs arrive in the morning rush: is the oat milk free, can I bring my laptop, are you hiring? Comment-to-DM sends the fixed answers while your barista keeps pulling shots. Below are the words cafes use, four set-ups, freebies worth an email address and what to check first.

Updated 6 October 2026

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Comment words for cafes and coffee shops

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

SEASONAL: The current seasonal drinks with their price, what goes in each one and the date they leave the menu, for people who saw the new cup on your feed.
BEANS: The bags you sell for home: roast, tasting notes, size, price and how to collect or have them posted, with a brew tip for each.
OFFICE: How office and event coffee works: minimum order, how much notice you need, the cups and milk you bring and the delivery area.
JOBS: How to apply for a barista or counter shift: the days you need, whether experience matters and where to send a CV.
STUDY: Your laptop and study policy: sockets, wifi, the quiet hours and any rule about how long a table can be held at lunch.
LOYALTY: How your stamp card or app works: how many coffees earn one free, whether it covers milk upgrades and where to ask for a replacement.
DOGS: Where dogs are welcome, whether there is a water bowl, and which tables are outside for people who bring one.
PLANTMILK: Which plant milks you stock, any extra charge and whether the barista steams them on a separate jug.

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.

Seasonal drink from a new-cup Reel
Someone comments on your post
SEASONAL
Public reply under their comment
The seasonal menu is in your DMs ☕
First DM (plain text)
Glad the new cup caught your eye. Would you have it hot or iced, and with dairy or a plant milk? Reply and I'll send what goes in it, the price and when it runs until.Yes pleaseSeasonal drinks and datesSee the menu
Seasonal drinks sell on curiosity, and the hot or iced answer tells you which one people want before the weather turns. A plant-milk answer also shows how many ask for it, which helps with stock.
Home brewing advice from DMs about beans
BEANSNice, we sell our house roast by the bag. How do you brew at home: filter, an espresso machine, a moka pot or a French press? Reply and I'll send what we'd pick and how to order.Our beans and how to orderChoose a bag
A grind and a roast that suit a French press are wrong for an espresso machine. The brewing method is the one fact you need, and the card can hold a different tip for each method so nobody buys a bag that does not suit them.
Office orders from a delivery-tray Story
Replied to your story
OFFICEThanks for asking. Roughly how many people is it for, and is it a one-off meeting or a regular morning? Reply and I'll send how our office orders work and what notice we need.Office and event coffeeSee how it works
A one-off meeting for twelve and a weekly order for forty are different jobs, and the headcount shows which. Story repliers wrote to you first, so the card follows at once, and the notice period protects your morning rush.
Barista applications from a hiring post
Someone comments on your post
JOBS
Public reply under their comment
Details of the role are in your DMs 🙌
First DM (plain text)
Thanks for your interest. Have you worked a coffee machine before, and which days could you do? Reply and I'll send what the role involves and how to apply.Yes pleaseJoin the teamHow to apply
Cafes usually need weekend and early shifts filled, and the days someone offers are what you screen on. The reply starts that conversation, and you read each one yourself before inviting anyone for a trial shift.

Freebies worth commenting for

A brew guide for the beans you sell: dose, water and time for filter, moka pot and French press
A one-page guide to your milks and syrups, with dairy-free and sugar-free options marked
A taste map of your espresso and filter menu, from fruity and light to dark and chocolatey
A plain-English guide to the drinks menu for people who are not sure what a cortado is
A study-spot guide: seats, sockets, wifi and the quietest hours of the week
A sample price sheet for office and meeting coffee, with the minimum order and the notice you need
A first-bag discount for people who join the email list
A guide to cleaning and descaling a home espresso machine, for customers who bought one from you

What customers ask a cafe in DMs

Most messages come from regulars and people planning a visit. They ask about the menu, the room and the milk. Send the answers that never change and keep a person on anything about a booking or a specific person's allergy.

They ask	Send automatically	Reply yourself when
Do you have oat milk?	The PLANTMILK reply with your milks and any extra charge	They ask about a milk you do not stock or a nut allergy
Can I work here for the afternoon?	The STUDY policy	They want a table for a group of six for a meeting
Are you dog friendly?	The DOGS note with the outdoor tables	It is raining and the outside tables are closed
Do you sell your beans?	The BEANS page with each bag and price	They want a grind you do not offer
Are you hiring?	The JOBS reply, with the days you need	Always: you choose who to invite for a trial
Can you do coffee for a meeting?	The OFFICE guide	The order is for a date you are already booked

Tip: Keep the milk and allergen answer in one place and date it. Cross-contact between a nut milk and a dairy jug is a real worry for some customers, so say honestly how your bar works instead of promising a clean steam wand.

Posts at a coffee counter that earn comments

A close-up of latte art being poured, with SEASONAL if the drink is a new one and nothing if it is the usual flat white.
A Reel of a bag of freshly delivered beans being opened and weighed, with BEANS for the tasting notes and price.
The queue at eight in the morning shot from behind the machine, with OFFICE for people who would like it delivered.
A Story with a “now hiring” sticker and the shifts you need, with JOBS as the reply word.
A regular's dog under a table, posted with the owner's permission, with DOGS for the policy.
A stamp card with the last stamp being added, with LOYALTY for how the scheme works.

A cafe has a daily rhythm and a yearly one. Mornings and weekday lunches are the daily peaks, and posts go further when they land just before. Cold drinks sell in summer, spiced drinks and gift bags in the run up to Christmas, and students return in September. Test each word from a second account before the post goes live.

Turning a drink question into a regular

The comment or message starts a DM that asks for one thing: hot or iced, the way they brew or the size of the office.
The card opens the page that fits: a menu, a bag of beans or your office terms. DMFast does not take orders or payments for food and drink, so the card links to wherever you already sell.
Switch on email capture for a brew guide or a first-bag discount, then export the list as a CSV for a monthly note about new beans.
When a seasonal drink ends, change the first message so late commenters hear it has finished and are pointed to the next one.

Based in India? The DMFast store can sell a digital product such as a home-brewing guide, give a free guide in return for an email and take paid or free 1-on-1 bookings, for example a tasting session. Payments go through Razorpay and DMFast takes no fee on sales. Coffee itself sells at your counter or your own shop.

What a cafe should check first

Allergens. Many countries expect a food business to tell customers about the main allergens, including in drinks, and the rules differ by place. Check yours and never let an automatic reply say a drink is safe.
Staff and customers on camera. Ask before posting a face, and tell your team when a Reel is being filmed.
Hiring. Employment and age rules for young workers differ by country, so check them before you advertise a role.
Prices. A menu shown in a DM should match the one at the till on the day, so date the page and update it with the season.
Overlap. A word like MENU is also ordinary talk under a post, so attach each word to the post it belongs to.
Limits. A comment can receive one private reply, inside 7 days. Instagram allows 750 such replies an hour and DMFast stays under 700.

Messages to copy

Questions people ask

Can customers order a coffee through the DM?

Not inside DMFast. It does not take orders or card payments for food and drink, and it does not connect to a till. The card opens the page you already use for orders, and the first message asks one question so the right page is sent.

Can it tell someone whether a drink is safe for an allergy?

It should not. Use it to send your allergen and milk guide and to ask what the person needs to avoid, then have a team member answer. AI replies, on the Growth and Business plans, use only the information you give them, so leave out claims about safety.

We close for an hour at lunch. Will it still answer?

Yes, the replies run all day and night, which helps when the shop is at its busiest or closed. Set the hours reply to say when a person will be back, and check the DMs that need one when the counter is quiet.

Does it work for a cafe with a Facebook Page?

Yes. Comments on a Page's posts and Messenger messages can get the same keyword replies. Story replies, story mentions and “Only send to followers” exist on Instagram only, so the OFFICE Story set-up stays there.

Can I message everyone who has a stamp card?

Not by DM. Automated messages reach only people who wrote to you in the last 24 hours, and official tools allow no mass DMs. Collect emails through a freebie, and use a Story with a reply word for people who follow you on Instagram.

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Words to know

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Answer every SEASONAL 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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