Enable AI Agent on Instagram and Facebook Messenger (Beta)Updated 2 hours ago
Who can use this feature?
Once you set up AI Agent for your store, you can choose to enable it for conversations with shoppers on Instagram direct messages and Facebook Messenger.
Deploying AI Agent on these channels means that it can automatically help shoppers browse, buy and get support when they reach out to your business on social media.
In this article, you'll learn how to enable AI Agent for Instagram direct messages (DMs) and Facebook Messenger, what to expect once it starts replying to shoppers, and how to preview its responses with a test conversation before it goes live.
Before you begin
Before you use AI Agent to answer shoppers on Instagram and Facebook Messenger:
- You must connect Instagram and Facebook Messenger to Gorgias, if you haven't already. This integration adds Facebook and Instagram as channels on your helpdesk, and lets you receive and respond to messages you receive on these apps from your inbox.
- Make sure that you set up AI Agent with knowledge, skills, and tone of voice instructions, so it has what it needs to successfully respond to shoppers when they reach out on your social channels.
Enable AI Agent on Instagram and Facebook Messenger
Once you've connected Instagram and Facebook and Messenger to your helpdesk, you can enable AI Agent to start answering shopper's questions on these channels.
If you want to preview how AI Agent will respond to shoppers on your social channels before going live, you can start a test conversation. Select Instagram DM or Facebook Messenger as the channel for your test.
To enable AI Agent on Instagram and Facebook Messenger:
- Open the dropdown menu in the top-left corner, then select AI Agent.
- If you have more than one Shopify store connected to Gorgias, use the dropdown menu to select a store.
- Under the Deploy section, click Socials.
- Open the dropdown menu and select one or more integrations for Instagram / Facebook Messenger. You can only select an Instagram / Facebook Messenger integration that isn't already connected to AI Agent on a different store.
- Select the ON/OFF toggle to Enable AI Agent on Socials, then select Save Changes.
Let shoppers know they're messaging with AI
You can add a short disclosure to the end of AI Agent's first message in a conversation on Instagram and Messenger, letting shoppers know they're messaging with AI rather than a person.
We recommend enabling this. Being upfront about AI builds trust with shoppers, and depending on where you operate, it may also be a legal requirement. Learn more about your legal obligations to disclose AI use.
- On the Deploy > Socials page for AI Agent, select the checkbox for Use Initial message footer.
- Enter the disclosure text you want AI Agent to add along with its first message.
- Click Save Changes.
Preview how AI Agent responds before you go live
Before you let AI Agent respond to messages on Instagram and Facebook Messenger, you can test how AI Agent replies on these channels, without affecting real customers or creating billable interactions.
Go to AI Agent > Test from the main menu, then select Instagram DM or Facebook Messenger as the channel for your test.
Pay close attention to the reasoning AI Agent provides with its response in your test conversation. If the response AI Agent provides isn't quite right, reasoning lets you see which skills, knowledge, or actions it used, so you can create or update these resources and help AI Agent provide an accurate and more successful response.
How AI Agent responds to Instagram and Facebook messages
AI Agent only responds to direct messages on Instagram and Facebook Messenger. It doesn't moderate or reply to public posts, mentions, or comments.
When a shopper sends a direct message, it becomes a new ticket in your helpdesk's inbox — tagged and organized using your existing AI Agent views. From there, AI Agent replies automatically, using your skills, knowledge and tone of voice instructions to resolve shoppers' inquiries, unless it needs to hand the conversation over to your team.
Here's what to expect from these conversations:
- AI Agent adapts your tone of voice instructions to match the conversational and concise format of messages on social media, the same way it adjusts messages for email, chat, and SMS.
- Instagram limits each message to 1,000 characters. If AI Agent's response is longer, it automatically splits the reply across multiple messages.
- AI Agent can read attachments shoppers send, like photos — including messages that contain only an attachment with no text. This is common on apps like Instagram where sending a photo without text is the only way to share images. AI Agent can't send attachments of its own.
- AI Agent has a quick time-to-first-response, which means it can safely respond to messages on Instagram or Facebook Messenger within Meta's 24-hour standard messaging window. The standard messaging window only allows businesses to reply to customers within 24 hours of the shopper's last message. It's meant to promote quality conversations, protect users from spam, and encourage timely responses from businesses.
Confirming shopper identity on social channels
When a shopper asks AI Agent for personal information, like their order details, AI Agent first needs to confirm who it's talking to. To verify their identity, AI Agent asks the shopper to share the email address or order number associated with their order, directly in the conversation.
If that information matches an existing order, AI Agent continues the conversation and answers the shopper's question. If the shopper can't confirm their identity this way, or doesn't respond, AI Agent hands the conversation over to your team to assist the shopper further.
For requests that make changes to a shopper's account or orders — like canceling an order, updating a shipping address, or modifying a subscription — a one-time password is typically required. Gorgias doesn't support one-time passwords on Instagram or Facebook Messenger yet, so AI Agent hands those conversations over to your team instead.
FAQs
Which social media channels can I use AI Agent on, and are there any restrictions?
Gorgias currently supports AI Agent on Instagram direct messages and Facebook Messenger. It doesn't respond to interactions like public posts, comments, mentions.
Your Instagram and Facebook Messenger integration must also comply with Meta's platform policies. AI Agent can't be used in connection with goods or services in certain regulated categories, including medical devices, medications, alcohol, and tobacco.
Can I use the same Instagram and Facebook Messenger integration for more than one store?
No. If an Instagram or Facebook Messenger integration is already being monitored by AI Agent for another store, you won't be able to select it. AI Agent can only monitor a given integration for one store at a time. If you manage multiple stores, connect a separate integration to each one, so AI Agent has a clear link to that store's knowledge and settings when it replies.
Do I need to create separate skills, guidance or tone of voice instructions for social channels?
No, not necessarily. Your AI Agent settings are the same across every channel. Any skills, guidance or other knowledge you've already created informs how AI Agent responds on social media, chat, email, and SMS alike.
However, for social channels like Instagram, collaboration, influencer and partnership requests are especially common. Consider creating a skill to address these types of conversations before enabling AI Agent on social channels.
What happens if a shopper reacts to my Instagram or Facebook story?
A story reaction (like a thumbs-up emoji) creates a ticket, but AI Agent won't reply to it since it isn't a real question. If these clutter your inbox, consider setting up a rule to automatically close or route them.
What happens if a conversation goes quiet after AI Agent responds?
Social media conversations follow AI Agent's standard rules for closing and snoozing inactive tickets.
