Instagram inbox for business: manage DMs and comments as a team

An Instagram inbox for business is a place where your whole team reads and answers the DMs and comments your account receives, from a computer, without sharing one phone login. The Instagram app has its own message inbox, but it is built around one person on one device. VivaDialog’s inbox puts Instagram DMs and comments in one list, next to Facebook, Threads, Telegram, email, and Website chat, and adds the things a team needs: filters, Waiting for reply, who is handling a conversation, tags, and private notes. This article shows how to use each.

For the case for one inbox across channels, read the unified social inbox guide. For the DM side in depth, see how to reply to Instagram DMs.

What the inbox shows

DMs and comments share one list, newest first, and each item is marked DM or Comment. Threads replies appear in the same list. YouTube comments are there to read. Open a conversation to see the thread on one side and the reply box on the other.

To start, connect your Instagram account. New comments and DMs from connected channels appear after a page reload.

Filter the inbox

At the top, Filter the inbox gives four views:

• All shows everything.
• Unread shows what nobody has opened.
• Waiting for reply shows DMs where the customer wrote last, and comments that have no public reply yet and are not hidden, resolved, or ignored.
• Resolved shows what you marked done.

Platform tabs narrow the list to one channel. Under Show, pick Everyone’s, Handled by me, Nobody handling yet, or My favourites. Under Tag, pick one tag, and under Type, choose DMs, Comments, or both. Search DMs and comments finds DMs by the person’s name and comments by name or text.

Waiting for reply is the view to open first each morning. It also protects the 24-hour window: Meta lets a business tool reply to a DM only within 24 hours of the customer’s last message, so a DM left in this view too long can no longer be answered. The 24-hour window explained has the details.

Answer DMs and comments

• DM: open the conversation, write the reply, and press Enter to send. Shift+Enter starts a new line. Click Mark resolved when it is done.
• Comment: Reply posts a public reply under it. Reply by DM sends the commenter one private DM instead, which Meta allows once per comment within 7 days. Resolve or Ignore clears it without a reply.
• Write with AI drafts a reply from the conversation. You read it, fill in anything in [brackets], and send it yourself. Nothing goes out until you do.

Replies you write by hand never count toward your plan’s conversation quota and always go out, even when the quota is used up.

Work as a team

Four tools keep several people from stepping on each other:

1. Handled by shows who is taking care of a conversation. Pick a team member or yourself. Nobody handling yet in the Show menu lists what no one has picked up.
2. Tags label a conversation, for example lead or wholesale. Tags can be up to 50 characters, and an automation can add them too.
3. Team notes keep context such as “asked for the wholesale price, call back Monday”. Only your team sees notes; the customer never does.
4. Add to favourites stars an item for you alone. Teammates do not see your favourites.

Stage moves the person along on the Contacts page: New, Interested, Customer, or Not interested.

Owners and admins can invite people and choose their role: invite your team and remove members explains the roles. A team member works in the inbox but cannot change or test automations.

A simple routine for two or three people

1. Each person opens Waiting for reply with Nobody handling yet selected.
2. Pick a conversation and set Handled by to yourself before you reply.
3. Add a tag if it is a lead, and a note if the next step is not obvious.
4. Click Mark resolved when the customer has what they need.

Let automations take the repeat questions

Most inboxes fill up with the same few questions. An automation can answer price, hours, and location questions with fixed text or an AI reply, and tag or assign the rest to a person. What it sent is labeled Sent by an automation or Written by AI in the thread, so your team can see it. How automations work lists the options, and the DM automation guide covers the DM side end to end. An AI app can also read and answer the same inbox: see manage your inbox from Claude with MCP.

Frequently asked questions

Can several people answer the same Instagram account?

Yes. Invite them as team members, and use Handled by so two people do not answer the same DM.

Can I see Instagram DMs and comments in one place?

Yes. They share one list, marked DM or Comment, with filters and a Type menu to split them.

What does Waiting for reply mean?

DMs where the customer wrote last, and comments with no public reply that are not hidden, resolved, or ignored.

Does the customer see my notes or tags?

No. Notes and tags are for your team.

Can I download a conversation?

Yes. Download CSV at the top of a thread saves every message, oldest first, up to 10,000 messages.

Is there a limit on replies I write myself?

No quota applies to replies you write by hand. Meta’s 24-hour window still applies to DMs.

VivaDialog is in early access right now, and participants get the Growth plan free for 30 days. The pricing page has the details.