Get urgent messages to your team fast

Want to know when someone sends an urgent DM on Instagram? This template emails you, tells the person you have been alerted and sets the chat aside in a folder, so you can answer it yourself.

Get template

View template

About

Get an email when an Instagram DM sounds urgent. The sender gets a short reply and the chat goes into a Needs a human folder. Copy the template.

When someone sends a DM that sounds urgent, this template emails you, tells them you have been alerted and puts the chat in a folder called "Needs a human". Inrō reads each message for its meaning, so people do not need a keyword. You add your email address and phone number.

Whole urgent alert flow in Inrō: two AI triggers, email alert, holding reply, Needs a human folder

What the template does, step by step

1. A message that sounds urgent starts it

The template has two triggers on your DMs, and either one is enough. Each trigger carries a sentence in plain words that describes a kind of message that should not wait. Inrō uses intent detection: it reads the message for what it means, not for fixed words, and compares it with your sentence.

The two sentences that come with the template describe messages that sound urgent. They are yours to change, so you decide what counts as urgent for your business. Both sentences also say what does not count: a short button reply such as "Yes" or "Not yet", and a routine question.

The triggers work on the first message of a conversation and on any later one. When a message matches both, the template still runs once for that message.

Inrō DM triggers with AI-detected intent: two sentences that describe urgent messages

The app itself warns that "AI-detected intents may not always be accurate", so keep reading your DMs. This template is not an emergency service.

2. You get an email

The first step sends an email to the address you set. The subject names the person and your account: "Urgent: @username | @youraccount", with their username and yours filled in.

The body says the person sent a message that may be urgent and tells you to open the chat in the Inrō inbox or on Instagram. It does not repeat what they wrote, so you read the message in the conversation itself. The email comes from contact@inroapp.com and is sent in the name of your account.

Inrō Send email step: From contact@inroapp.com, empty To field, subject Urgent with the contact's username

You can list one address or several, so the alert can reach whoever covers your inbox that day.

3. The person gets a short reply

Right after the email, the person gets one message: "We've told the team. In an emergency, call your local emergency number. Otherwise, call us on +44 20 7946 0000."

They know someone has been told, and they know what to do if they cannot wait. The phone number is an example. You replace it with your own before you go live.

4. The chat goes into "Needs a human"

The last step adds the person to the folder "Needs a human". A folder is a label on a contact. Filter your Inrō inbox and CRM by it and you see everyone who is waiting for a reply from you.

Holding reply to the sender, then the step that adds the contact to the Needs a human folder

The three steps run one after the other with no wait and no branch. The template uses no AI agent and writes no AI reply: the only AI is the intent check in the two triggers. After the email, the rest of the work is yours: read the chat and answer the person yourself.

What to change before you turn it on

The two triggers come set up: a DM that matches either sentence starts the template, on the first message and on any later one. The default sentences suit clinics and other local businesses that take urgent questions by DM. If yours is a different business, rewrite them.

Check five things before you go live:

The To address. The email step arrives with the To field empty, and the builder flags it with "Email address is empty". Add your address, or several. If you skip this, the alert is skipped, and the person still gets the reply and lands in the folder, but nobody is told. Fill this one first.
The phone number. It appears twice: in the message to the person and in the text of the email. Both show an example number. Replace it with a number you answer, or delete the sentence.
The two sentences. Each trigger holds a sentence that describes the messages to catch. Rewrite them for your business: one sentence each, naming the messages you must not miss. Keep the line that excludes short button replies and routine questions.
The wording. "We've told the team." is the first line the person reads. If you work alone, say so: "I've been alerted." Check the subject line of the email too.
The folder. Keep "Needs a human" or rename it to match how you work. A copy of the template uses your own folders.

Then test it. Write a message that fits one of your sentences from a second Instagram account you own, and check that the email arrives. Turn the template on when it does.

Best tips for your scenario

Fill in the To address first, then test with a second account you own. An empty To field skips the alert without a sound. Send a message from your other account, check that the email arrives and open the chat from it before you turn the template on.
Write the two sentences for your own business. Say in plain words which messages must not wait, and what is not urgent. The template does this with "Not a short button reply such as Yes or Not yet, or a routine question." Keep that line and add your own examples.
Open the chat from each alert email as it arrives. The email does not quote the message, so you read the conversation itself. Treat "Needs a human" as a backup list: filter by it to see everyone who triggered the alert.
Send the alert to the person who can answer. The To field takes several addresses. List the people who cover your inbox.
Keep it apart from your other AI-intent automations. If another automation could match the same message, such as one for price questions, put both in a priority folder. Only the highest automation in the folder runs for a given DM, so put this template first.

FAQ

How do I get notified when an Instagram DM is urgent?

Use this template. When a DM matches one of its two sentences, Inrō emails the address you set, sends the person a short reply and adds the chat to the folder "Needs a human".

Do I need the AI agent for this?

No. The template has no AI agent and writes no AI reply. The only AI is the check of the message in the two triggers. The AI agent has its own settings for handing a chat to a person.

What does the alert email say?

The subject reads "Urgent: @username | @youraccount". The body says the person sent a message that may be urgent and tells you to open the chat. It does not quote their message.

How do I change what counts as urgent?

Open each of the two triggers and rewrite its sentence in plain words. Say which messages must reach you, and keep the line that leaves out short button replies and routine questions.

Not sure how it work?

Read posts about templates on our blog.