Can an AI agent reply to comments and DMs?

Drafting is not the same as sending

The first thing to establish with any product is who presses send. A drafted reply is a suggestion that waits for you. An automated reply goes out under a rule you wrote in advance. Both have a place, and confusing them is how brands end up with a cheerful answer under an angry comment.

Ask to see both on screen. For a drafted reply, look at how you edit it and how it is sent. For an automated one, look at the rule itself: what triggers it, what it sends and how you switch it off.

Sort the inbox into three kinds of message

Not every message deserves the same treatment. Ask any vendor how its agent tells these three apart, and what it does when it is not sure.

• Routine questions: hours, location, booking, 'where can I buy this?' These repeat, and drafted replies with the right link handle them well.
• Buying signals: someone ready to act. Speed matters most here, and a link sent quickly is the whole job.
• Judgment calls: complaints, refunds, safety or health questions and anything public and heated. These go to a person, every time.

When a keyword automation helps

A keyword rule is the simplest automation in social media: when someone comments a chosen word, they receive a DM with a link. It suits posts with one clear next step, such as tickets, a menu, a sign-up form or a product page.

Keep it honest. Say in the post what people will receive, send only that, and follow each platform's rules on automated messages. One keyword per post is easier to track than several. Test the rule with your own comment before the post goes out, so you see exactly what a customer will receive.

Rules for the reply voice

Whoever approves replies needs a short rulebook, and so does the agent drafting them. These four are a sound start.

• Answer the question in the first sentence, then add the link.
• Never confirm stock, prices or availability the business has not confirmed.
• Move complaints to a private channel and to a named person.
• Agree on what gets no reply at all, such as spam.

Where Link AI fits

Link AI by Linkme is our pick for this part of the job. Linkme describes a Social Inbox where Link AI answers DMs and comments by drafting the reply; its own example is someone asking how to get a table for Friday and receiving a reply with the right link. DM Automations follow the rule 'when someone comments a keyword, send a DM with a link'.

Confirm two things directly: which platforms the inbox covers for your accounts, and how approval works for replies. To see drafted replies on real messages, book a demo to try Link AI.

Connected entries

Questions & answers