An Instagram quick reply is a tappable button under a DM that a business sends, so the contact answers with one tap. Meta allows up to 13 per message, each up to 20 characters.
An Instagram quick reply is a tappable button under a DM that a business sends, so the contact answers with one tap instead of typing. In Inrō you add them with the Ask a question step, and each reply becomes its own branch of the flow.
Instagram also uses the name for Saved Replies, the typing shortcuts in its app. For those, see Instagram Saved Replies compared with DM automation.
Meta allows up to 13 quick replies on one message, each up to 20 characters before Instagram cuts it off (Meta for Developers, quick replies, checked 1 October 2026). Quick replies are plain text only, and they are not available on desktop.
When the contact taps one, the buttons disappear and the reply's text is posted in the thread as their message. The tap also carries a hidden payload that tells the automation which button it was.
A button template is a different format: one to three buttons that send a postback or open a link.
Add the Ask a question step to a scenario or a DM campaign, type your question, then use Add reply for each button. Keep the list short, since every extra option is one more thing to read. You can also add the step through the Inrō API, as the action type ask_question.
For example, after a comment-to-DM automation sends a guide, ask "Which one fits you?" with the replies Beginner and Advanced.
Each reply gets its own branch, so a tap sends the contact down the path for that answer. Typed answers, replies that match nothing, retries and contacts who never answer are covered in multi-choice question.
Check two things. The contact may be on desktop, where Meta does not offer quick replies. Or the step may have Hide quick reply buttons switched on, which sends the question as plain text. That message does not list your replies, so write the choices into the question yourself. Typed answers still match.
For more terms, see the Inrō glossary of Instagram automation.
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