Every list like this gives you trigger words. This one also gives you the two things that decide whether they work: the variants people really type, and the negative keywords that stop the automation answering the wrong comment.
Take what fits, then throw the list away and rebuild it from your own comments. That is the only version that will actually match.
Before the list: what makes a trigger work
Four rules, learned from watching them fail.
Specific beats short. PRICE is a trigger. HI is a disaster — it appears
inside ordinary sentences and will fire on people who were not asking for
anything.
Tie one trigger to one offer, and scope it to the posts that offer it. The same word under two different reels should not produce the same DM.
Five to fifteen variants per automation. One is too few because nobody types what you expect. Fifty is too many because you start catching comments that meant something else.
Write the negatives at the same time. Not afterwards, when you have already sent a price list to someone complaining about the price.
Retail, D2C and clothing
| Trigger set | What the DM should carry | Negatives |
|---|---|---|
PRICE RATE COST HOW MUCH kitne ka kitna precio | the actual number, then the link | too high expensive was the price |
SIZE SIZES SIZE CHART fitting measurement | the chart image or link, and how to pick | size issue wrong size return |
LINK SHOP BUY ORDER link plz link bhejo | the direct product link, not the homepage | link not working broken link |
STOCK AVAILABLE IN STOCK restock available hai | yes/no and the restock date if no | out of stock complaint forms |
SHIP DELIVERY COD shipping charge | zones, timelines, COD yes/no | not delivered late delivery |
The fifth row matters more in India than most lists admit. COD is a purchase
question, and answering it in seconds converts.
Coaches, consultants and courses
| Trigger set | What the DM should carry | Negatives |
|---|---|---|
INFO DETAILS GUIDE PDF FREEBIE | the lead magnet, delivered immediately | no info spam |
CALL BOOK SLOT CONSULT appointment | the booking link and what happens on the call | cancel reschedule refund |
COURSE BATCH ENROLL JOIN admission | dates, price, what is included | already enrolled left the course |
FEE FEES PRICE investment | the number, and the payment options | too expensive discount please |
START HOW TO START beginner | the first step, one action only | — |
Salons, clinics and anything with a calendar
| Trigger set | What the DM should carry | Negatives |
|---|---|---|
BOOK APPOINTMENT SLOT TIMING booking | live availability or a link that shows it | cancel reschedule missed |
PRICE RATE CHARGES package | the menu of services with prices | too high refund |
OPEN TIMINGS HOURS khula hai | today's hours, then the location | closed complaints |
LOCATION ADDRESS WHERE kahan hai | the map link, not a typed address | — |
WALK IN WITHOUT APPOINTMENT | the honest answer, including no | — |
Restaurants and food
| Trigger set | What the DM should carry | Negatives |
|---|---|---|
MENU CARD menu bhejo carta | the menu link or image | menu changed complaints |
ORDER DELIVERY SWIGGY ZOMATO | the ordering link for each platform | late cold wrong order |
TABLE RESERVE BOOKING | reservation link and party-size limits | cancel |
RECIPE HOW TO MAKE | the recipe, freely — it earns saves | — |
CATERING BULK PARTY ORDER | minimums, lead time, contact | — |
Creators, and anyone selling attention
| Trigger set | What the DM should carry | Negatives |
|---|---|---|
PRESET LUT PACK filter | the download, then the upsell | not working refund |
COLLAB BRAND PR partnership | your rate card or the media-kit link | not interested |
TEMPLATE NOTION SHEET | the file or link | access denied cannot open |
SONG AUDIO MUSIC gaana | the track name and where to find it | — |
HOW TUTORIAL EDIT kaise banaya | the tutorial link, one link only | — |
The variants every list leaves out
This is the part that separates a list that works from a list that looks good.
Hinglish and code-mixed. Real Indian comment data is full of kitne ka,
link bhejo, available hai kya, kahan milega, price kya hai, dm karo,
bhej do. If your keyword list is English-only, you are matching a fraction of
your own audience.
Spanish and Portuguese. Worth adding even for an English account, because
Instagram reach does not respect language borders. precio, cuánto cuesta,
enlace, gratis, talla, preço, quanto custa, link por favor. On our
own search data a Spanish query converts at nearly seven times the rate of the
equivalent English one, which is not a fluke worth ignoring.
Misspellings. linkk, pric, avilable, wat is price, hw much. People
type on phones, quickly, one-handed.
Emoji. 🔥 🙏 ❤️ 😍 appear constantly. Add the two or three yours use, and treat them as low intent — a fire emoji is applause, not an enquiry.
The templates themselves
Six patterns that cover almost everything. The rule underneath all of them: say what it is and what to do next, in one message.
- Delivery. "Here's the size chart you asked for — [link]. Anything doesn't look right, just reply here." Names the thing, delivers it, opens the door.
- Price with a next step. "It's ₹1,499 including delivery. Here's the link if you want it — [link]. Want me to check your size first?" A number and a question beats a number alone.
- Booking. "You can grab a slot here — [link]. Tuesdays and Thursdays fill up first, so pick early." One link, one reason to act.
- Qualify before you sell. "Happy to help — are you looking for the beginner batch or the advanced one?" Two options, not an open question.
- The honest no. "That size is out of stock right now — restocking around the 20th. Want me to message you when it lands?" No is fine. No with a next step is better.
- Handover. "Let me get you a proper answer on that — someone will reply here shortly." For anything the automation should not be answering.
Two things not to do. Do not open with "Thanks for your interest!" — it says nothing and burns the first line. And do not send three messages where one would do; each one is a notification you spent on somebody who has already decided to talk to you.
Before you turn any of this on
Checklist
The mechanics underneath — which events open a window and for how long, and what stops a reply going out — are in the complete picture. If something is set up and still not firing, the ordered checklist starts with the cause that is right about four times out of five.
Questions people ask
What are the best trigger words for Instagram automation?
Specific ones tied to a single offer: PRICE, LINK, INFO, SIZE, BOOK, MENU, SLOT. Avoid anything short and generic — HI, YES, OK, ME — because they appear inside ordinary conversation and will fire on comments that were never asking for anything.
How many keywords should one automation have?
Between five and fifteen for a single offer. One is too few because people do not type what you expect, and fifty is too many because the automation starts catching comments that meant something else. Build the list from your own comment history rather than from a template list, including this one.
What are negative keywords and do I need them?
Words that cancel a match even when a trigger is present. If PRICE fires your automation, "price is too high" and "what was the price before" are complaints, not enquiries, and a price template is the wrong answer to both. Almost nobody sets these up on the first pass and it is the single most common cause of an embarrassing automated reply.
Are Instagram keyword triggers case sensitive?
On every tool worth using, no — FREE, free and Free all match. What they are not is typo-insensitive or language-insensitive, which is why the lists below include the misspellings and the Hinglish and Spanish forms your audience actually types.
Should I use the same keyword on every post?
No. Scope each automation to specific posts. A one-word comment is only unambiguous when the post makes it so — LINK under a giveaway reel and LINK under a product reel should not send the same DM, and a site-wide keyword guarantees that they do.
Do emoji work as triggers?
They match if you add them, and people use them constantly — 🔥, 🙏, ❤️ and a bare 😍 all appear in real comment data. Add the two or three your audience actually uses to your list, and treat them as low-intent: a fire emoji is applause, not an enquiry.