Troubleshooting

Almost every Meta agent problem has one of six causes. Go through them in order: they are listed from the most frequent to the rarest, and most of the time the first one is the answer.

The agent doesn't reply to any message

1. The agent is a draft. Open the “Agent” tab and check the toggle at the top: it must say “Active”. This is by far the most common cause.
2. The reply mode is set to “Don't reply”. Still in the “Agent” tab, check the “DM reply mode”: for automatic replies it must be on “The agent replies automatically”.
3. Interactions have run out. Look at the counter at the top: if it is red and shows zero, the agent won't reply until the period renews.
4. The plan doesn't include the Meta agent. If the counter shows a padlock, you need a Plus or Enterprise plan.
5. The Meta authorisation has expired. Go to Integrations and press “Connect” again on the Meta card, re-selecting the same Page and the same Instagram account.
6. You're waiting less than the configured delay. If you chose “Medium — 5 minutes” or “Slow — 15 minutes”, the reply arrives that long after the customer's last message. That is the expected behaviour.

Facebook messages arrive but Instagram ones don't

Nine times out of ten the “Allow access to messages” switch inside Instagram is off (Settings → Messages and story replies → Message controls → Connected tools). Turn it on and try again. If “Connected tools” doesn't appear, the profile isn't professional or isn't linked to the Page: revisit Steps 1 and 2 of “Prepare your Meta accounts”.

Comments get no reply

• The comment is yours. The agent ignores comments published by the business profile.
• The comment is old. Only recent comments are handled: those on posts published before connecting aren't picked up.
• It was hidden. If moderation classified it as abusive, it is hidden instead of answered. You can see it in the inbox's “Comments” tab.
• The agent isn't active. As with DMs, with no active Meta agent nothing happens: no replies, no moderation.

The customer receives two replies

You have an active workflow with the “Meta DM received” trigger and, at the same time, the agent on “replies automatically”. Choose who should answer: if it's the workflow, set the mode to “A workflow handles replies”; if it's the agent, deactivate the workflow.

The agent answers badly or too generically

• Instructions are missing. An agent with no instructions answers vaguely. Fill in the “Direct messages” tab with tone, information and limits.
• It has no access to your content. If the replies never mention your prices or rules, enable the “Search the knowledge base” tool and check that you have uploaded the documents.
• The instructions are too long. If the counter at the top is in warning state, the agent may not be activatable: cut the fluff and keep the essential rules.
• The public tone is wrong. Comment replies follow the “Comments” tab: if it is empty, they reuse the DM instructions. Fill it in to differentiate the public tone.

It replies in the wrong language

The agent follows the language of the customer's last message. If you got a reply in the wrong language, the message was usually too short or ambiguous to identify it (an “ok” or an emoji). You can help by adding a line to the instructions, for example: “If you cannot tell the language, reply in English”.

If none of this helps

Collect three pieces of information before contacting support: the platform involved (Instagram or Facebook), the exact time of a message left unanswered, and the name of the Meta agent. With those, the check is immediate.