Instagram Customer Service Connected to Your Own Systems
Instagram customer service means answering your own customers when they message your business on Instagram about an order, a booking, a refund or a problem. AeroChat answers in the DM, checks the order in Shopify or the booking in Google Calendar, makes the change you allow, records the case in HubSpot, Zoho CRM or Freshsales, and hands anything else to your team with the details.
What happens today
Customers message on Instagram because it is where they found you. The questions are about their order, their appointment or a problem. Someone on the team answers from their phone between other work, often hours later.
To answer, that person opens the store admin or the booking calendar, looks the customer up and types the reply. Nothing is recorded, so when the customer messages again on email or WhatsApp, the next person starts from zero.
How it runs on Instagram
- A customer sends a DM about an order, a booking or a problem.
- Instagram does not share a phone number, so AeroChat asks for an order number, booking reference or email to find them.
- It reads the record: order status and tracking from Shopify, or the appointment from Google Calendar or your booking system.
- It answers with the facts, and makes changes you allow, such as moving a booking to another open slot or updating a delivery address before the order ships.
- It logs the case in HubSpot, Zoho CRM or Freshsales with a short summary, or adds a row to a Google Sheet.
- Refunds above your limit, complaints and anything outside your rules go to your team in the inbox or on the mobile app, with the order details attached.
- The team member replies in the same Instagram conversation, and the customer does not have to repeat themselves.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer messages us on Instagram about an existing order, follow these steps.
- Ask for their order number and the email they ordered with.
- Look up the order in our store. Only share details if the email matches.
- Tell them the order status and the tracking link if it has shipped.
- If they want to change the delivery address and the order has not shipped, update it and confirm the new address.
- If they ask for a refund under S$50 (example) for a damaged item, ask for a photo, then hand the conversation to our team with the photo and order details.
- Add a note to the contact in HubSpot with a one-line summary of the request and the outcome.
- If they are upset or ask for a person, hand the conversation to our team straight away.
Never promise a delivery date. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the refund limit and the steps to match your own policy. For Zoho CRM or Freshsales, name that system instead of HubSpot.
Connect the systems behind it
- HubSpot. AeroChat finds the contact and adds a note of each request and its outcome.
- Zoho CRM. AeroChat records the case against the customer’s record.
- Freshsales. AeroChat logs the conversation on the contact so the next person sees the history.
- Google Sheets. AeroChat adds each case as a row if you track requests in a sheet.
Shopify and Google Calendar are built in, so order lookups and booking changes work once they are connected.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
Meta’s rules on Instagram
Automated replies on Instagram can go out within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. Cases that need a person to check something can be answered by your team within a separate 7-day window, for replies they type themselves. If the customer first came from a click-to-Instagram-Direct ad, you can reply for up to 7 days from their first message. Messaging works with Instagram professional accounts.
Also on WhatsApp, TikTok and web chat
The same customer service workflow runs on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, TikTok (direct messages and TikTok Shop buyer chat), Telegram, the chat on your website and email, with one record per customer across channels. See WhatsApp customer service.
Who uses it
Businesses whose customers message them on Instagram use it, including fashion stores answering order tracking, beauty stores handling returns and exchanges, hotels handling booking changes and salons rescheduling appointments.
Read more: Instagram AI chatbot for business.
Questions
Can I handle customer service on Instagram?
Yes. AeroChat answers customers in Instagram DMs, looks up their orders or bookings in your systems and hands harder cases to your team in the same conversation.
How does AeroChat find the customer without a phone number?
Instagram shows a username, not a phone number. AeroChat asks for an order number, booking reference or email, and uses that to find the record.
How long do I have to reply to a customer on Instagram?
Automated replies can go out within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. Your team can reply by hand for up to 7 days.
Which AeroChat plan do I need?
Workflows via Skills are on every plan, Free included. Starter includes 500 AI responses and 3 seats, Growth 2,000 and 10 seats, and Advanced 5,000 and 25 seats.
Answer your Instagram customers from your own records
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On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.
Related: Instagram auto replies and Instagram after hours replies.