- Keyword Trigger
- A rule condition that only fires an automation when a comment or DM contains a specific word or phrase (e.g. "LINK", "PRICE"). Lets one post handle several different offers depending on what the commenter typed.
- Follow Gate
- An automation setting that requires someone to follow your account before they receive the automated DM. If they aren't following yet, they get a message asking them to follow first; the original message is queued and delivered automatically once they do.
- Retrigger / Retrigger Cooldown
- Controls how often the same person can set off the same automation rule: never again after the first time, once every N days, or every single time they qualify. Prevents spamming repeat commenters while still allowing legitimate re-engagement.
- Webhook
- A real-time notification Instagram/Meta sends to an app the instant something happens on a connected account — a new comment, DM, or story reply. Automation tools subscribe to webhooks instead of repeatedly polling the API, so replies go out within seconds.
- Meta Graph API
- The official API Meta (Instagram's parent company) provides for approved businesses to read and send messages, read comments, and manage Instagram Business/Creator accounts programmatically. Using the Graph API (rather than scraping or browser bots) is what makes automation compliant with Instagram's terms of service.
- Instagram Business Login
- Meta's OAuth flow that lets an Instagram Business or Creator account grant an app permission to read/send messages and manage comments — without ever sharing the account password. This is the connection method Zaprep and similar tools use.
- Story Reply Trigger
- An automation condition that fires when someone types a text reply to your Instagram story, as opposed to reacting with an emoji (see Story Reaction Trigger).
- Story Reaction Trigger
- An automation condition that fires when someone taps an emoji reaction on your Instagram story — distinct from typing a text reply.
- Email Collection Flow
- A short, multi-step automated conversation that asks a DM contact for their email address, validates the format of what they send back, and stores it as a lead — without a human needing to ask manually.
- Lead Magnet Delivery
- Automatically sending a free resource (PDF, discount code, template) via DM the moment someone comments a keyword or replies to a story — often paired with an email collection flow right after.
- Post-Specific Automation Rule
- An automation rule scoped to a single Instagram post rather than the whole account, so a comment on one post triggers a different reply than the same word commented on another post. Useful for limited-time offers or single-launch campaigns.
- Instagram Business Account
- An Instagram account type (alongside Creator) that unlocks the Messaging API and analytics tools. A Business or Creator account connected to a Facebook Page is required for any official-API automation — personal accounts are not supported by Meta's Messaging API.
- Unified Inbox
- A single dashboard view of DM conversations across every connected Instagram account, so a team can reply, take over an automated conversation, or review lead context without switching between the Instagram app for each account.
- Automation Rule
- The core configurable unit in an Instagram automation tool: a trigger (e.g. comment, DM, story reply), optional keyword/post scoping, and one or more actions (send a DM, reply to a comment, start an email collection flow) that fire when the trigger condition is met.
- Shadowban
- An unofficial, undocumented restriction Instagram may apply to an account's reach, typically associated with policy-violating behavior like scraping, browser-automation bots, or aggressive unofficial third-party tools. Official Graph API usage does not carry this risk.