AI customer support for WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.
Save your FAQs and policies once. The AI answers repeat questions, reads voice notes and photos, looks up Shopify orders, and hands the chat to a person with a ticket when a customer asks for one.
Instagram and Messenger from Starter ($59/mo). WhatsApp from Growth ($129/mo). AI replies per month: 10,000 / 35,000 / 100,000.
The short answer
How does AI customer support work in Instant Reply?
Instant Reply answers customer messages on Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp from the FAQs, policies and product facts you saved. With Shopify connected it can look up an order. It reads voice notes and photos, holds replies for approval if you choose, and hands the chat to a teammate, with a ticket, when a customer asks for one.
Last verified
Key facts
- Answers come from your AI Brain; "Use only my AI Brain" avoids guessing.
- Order lookups use synced Shopify data.
- Voice notes and photos are read before the reply.
- Approval mode holds replies as drafts and opens a ticket.
- A handoff stops the AI in that thread and routes it to a teammate.
Verified capabilities
What AI customer support does today
Checked against the product source code and plan data on October 2, 2026. The last two rows list what it does not do.
| Capability | How it works today | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Answers from your knowledge | Replies draw on the FAQs, policies and product facts in your AI Brain. With "Use only my AI Brain" on, a question with no saved answer goes to your team instead of getting a guess. | All plans |
| Order status from Shopify | With Shopify connected, the AI can look up an order by order number, email or the matched customer and answer from the synced order data. Shopify sync is included on every plan. | Needs Shopify |
| Voice notes and photos | The AI transcribes voice notes and describes photos before it replies, so a customer can send either instead of typing. | Starter, Growth and Pro |
| Hold replies for review | Approval mode saves each AI reply as a draft with an "Awaiting approval" badge and opens a ticket instead of sending. The Draft reply button writes options you edit and send yourself. | All plans |
| Human handoff | A customer who asks for a person, or matches your escalation keywords, stops the AI in that thread, opens a ticket and routes the chat to an online teammate. The Tickets view lists open handoffs. | All plans |
| Abuse and spam filtering | Troll Shield blocks abusive and spam messages. Its settings are under AI safety in the dashboard. | Starter, Growth and Pro |
| Channels | Instagram and Messenger from Starter ($59/mo). WhatsApp and Telegram from Growth ($129/mo). | WhatsApp: Growth and Pro |
| Email, phone and live chat helpdesk | This is a DM inbox. It is not an email helpdesk and has no phone support. The website chat widget is covered on its own page. | Not available |
| Refund or billing decisions | The AI cannot issue refunds or change billing. Keep those with a person and use Approval mode for them. | Not available |
Best fit
Good for repeat questions, not for judgment calls.
Let the AI take the questions your team answers by copy and paste, and keep people on everything else.
Best fit
Shops and service businesses that field order, hours, delivery and policy questions in DMs all day.
Keep a person on
Refunds, billing disputes, complaints, warranty and safety. Use Approval mode for these.
Pick something else if
Your support runs on email tickets or phone calls. This inbox covers Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Telegram DMs.
How it works
How It Works
Save your answers
Add FAQs, refund rules, shipping policy and tone to your AI Brain. Connect Shopify if you sell products.
Pick how much the AI can do
Approval holds replies as drafts. AI can hand off replies on its own. Full auto replies without review.
Hand off what needs a person
A customer who asks for a person gets one. The thread, the ticket and the history stay together.
Why teams choose it
What it takes off your team
Repeat questions answered from your own facts, with a person kept in reach.
Grounded answers
Replies use your saved facts. Turn on the Brain-only setting and a missing answer goes to your team.
Voice and photo understanding
A customer voice-notes the problem or sends a photo; the AI transcribes or describes it and replies in context.
Order lookups
With Shopify connected, the AI answers order-status questions from synced order data.
A clean handoff
A handoff stops the AI in the thread, opens a ticket and routes the chat to an online teammate.
Best fit
Perfect for teams that move fast in DMs.
Where is my order
Scenario
A buyer DMs for tracking. With Shopify connected, the AI finds the order and answers from the order data.
Outcome
Problem described by voice note
Scenario
A customer records the issue. The AI transcribes it and replies from your saved troubleshooting steps, or hands off if it has none.
Outcome
Complaint or refund request
Scenario
In Approval mode the reply waits as a draft and a ticket opens, so a person decides.
Outcome
The difference
Why Switch?
Without Instant Reply
With Instant Reply
FAQ
Common Questions
What is AI customer support for WhatsApp and Instagram?
It is software that answers customer messages from the FAQs, policies and product facts you saved, and hands the chat to a person when it should. Instant Reply does this on Instagram, Messenger and, from Growth, WhatsApp, and keeps every conversation in one inbox.
Can the AI answer 'where is my order'?
Yes, when Shopify is connected. The AI can look up the order by order number, email or the matched customer and reply from the synced order data. Without Shopify it can only answer from the facts you saved.
Does it understand voice notes and photos?
Yes. It transcribes voice notes and describes photos before it replies. It can misread a blurry photo or a noisy recording, so keep a person on warranty, safety and fit questions.
Will the AI make up answers?
It can be wrong. Replies are grounded in your AI Brain, and "Use only my AI Brain" sends unanswered questions to your team. For risky topics use Approval mode, which holds each reply as a draft, and test the AI with your hardest tickets first.
How does handoff to a human work?
If a customer asks for a person, the AI stops sending in that thread, a ticket opens and routing looks for an online teammate. You can also switch the AI off on one conversation or request the handoff yourself.
Which plan do I need?
Starter ($59/mo) covers Instagram and Messenger with 10,000 AI replies a month. Growth ($129/mo) adds WhatsApp with 35,000 replies, and Pro ($349/mo) has 100,000. The 7-day trial needs no card.
Related reading
- AI replies and reply modesApproval, hand-off and Full auto in detail.
- Shared inbox for support teamsTickets, routing, team notes and manager analytics.
- AI in customer service in 2026Where AI support helps and where people still need to answer.
- WhatsApp helpdesk softwareWhat to compare when you move support onto WhatsApp.
Related features
Features that work with this one
Each page below covers the next step in the same workflow, with its own plan limits and a list of what it does not do.
Ready when you are
Test it on your ten most common questions.
Start the 7-day trial, save your answers, and read the replies in Approval mode before anything sends.
An interactive read-only demo, and plan limits in plain English.