How to replace a sales manager with AI in Instagram Direct
The Craft AI agent takes over the first line of sales in Instagram Direct — it answers, advises, sends materials and hands ready-to-buy customers to a person in Telegram. Step-by-step setup and pitfalls.
You can hand the first line of sales in Instagram Direct to the Craft AI agent: it answers customers using your rules and knowledge base, understands voice messages and photos, sends videos and catalogues, and passes a ready-to-buy customer to your team in Telegram with a summary of the conversation. The deal itself, non-standard terms and complaints are best left to a person — that's what the handover is for.
Who it's for#
- Shops, manufacturers and services that get the same questions in Direct over and over: price, availability, terms, shipping, booking.
- Experts and creators who can't keep up with everyone who writes after Reels and posts.
- Teams that already have a manager who is drowning in routine questions and missing hot leads.
A real example is an air purification equipment manufacturer: the agent took over the first-line manager's job, and only complex cases and ready leads go to a person. Details in the case study "An AI sales manager for Instagram and Telegram".
How it works#
- A customer writes in Direct. If they sent a keyword, a funnel fires and the agent stays quiet.
- The agent answers everything else — briefly, in the customer's language, following your conversation rules and knowledge base.
- Asked for a video or a catalogue — the agent sends the matching funnel with the material itself.
- The customer is ready to buy, left a phone number or asks for a manager — the agent writes a summary, sends it to your Telegram leads group and goes quiet in that chat.
- You replied yourself — the agent doesn't talk over you and stays quiet for the pause period.
Step 1. Connect Instagram#
Connect your Instagram account in Accounts. If you want the same agent to reply in Telegram too, connect your bot there as well.
Step 2. Open the agent and write the conversation rules#
Open Automations → AI agent and pick the account. In the conversation rules (up to 8,000 characters), describe who you are, what you sell, how to talk, what to offer, what not to promise and when to call a human.
What works in sales:
- one goal for the conversation — for example, "get to a lead with a phone number";
- questions the agent must ask before handover: city, quantity, timing;
- short replies: 2–4 sentences and one question at the end.
Step 3. Upload a knowledge base#
Put prices, terms and answers to common questions in the knowledge base — as text or a file. Up to 300,000 characters; the agent reads all of it in every reply.
⚠️ The bigger the rules and knowledge base, the more each reply costs. Up to 15,000 characters is the base price; after that it goes up every 15,000 characters. Trim what isn't needed.
Step 4. Turn on handover to a person#
Turn on "Hand ready-to-buy leads over to you" and connect a leads group: add your bot to the group as an admin, tap Refresh list on the agent page, tick the group and press Send test. Save the settings.
If your sales team should only get ready leads, turn on Strict handover: the agent hands a customer over only when they have left a phone, email or messenger themselves.
🔴 No group selected — leads can get lost. The summary then goes to your private chat with the Craft bot, and only if it is allowed to message you. It's safer to pick a group and check it with Send test.
Step 5. Choose materials and pace#
Under "Materials the agent sends on its own", tick funnels with videos, photos, catalogues and PDFs. The agent picks them by name and keywords, so name them clearly: "Video — model X maintenance".
In the Reply pace block you can set a pause before the reply, a "seen" mark and "typing…" — then the agent feels like a real manager.
Step 6. Choose a model and switch the agent on#
The model is chosen at the bottom of the agent page. Start with the recommended one — it costs 1 credit per reply and handles typical questions. If replies feel weak, switch to a stronger one: the conversation isn't lost when you change models. Prices are in "AI agent in Instagram Direct".
🔴 Out of credits — the agent goes silent. New messages stay unanswered until you top up. Craft warns you by email, in Telegram and in the bell. How to buy more — in "Credits".
💡 You can set all of this up in plain words from Claude or ChatGPT via the MCP connector. The AI can switch the agent on only after your "yes".
If the customer goes quiet#
Build a funnel that starts "After AI agent reply" — it writes to the person an hour later and once more later on, and cancels itself if they reply or you step in. See "Follow up in Direct after the AI agent replies".
Not available yet#
- The agent works in Instagram and Telegram. There's no agent in VK, MAX or WhatsApp yet.
- Stickers and reposts aren't understood and get no reply.
- Instagram only allows replies within 24 hours of the customer's last message — after that the agent can't answer.
- Craft doesn't see phone calls or chats in other messengers.
FAQ#
Can AI fully replace a sales manager?#
The first line — yes: answering typical questions, matching products, sending materials, collecting contacts. The deal, discounts beyond the price list and complaints are best left to a person — the agent hands them over itself.
How much does an AI manager in Direct cost?#
Each reply spends credits: from 1 credit on the recommended model. The price depends on the model and on the size of the rules and knowledge base. If a reply isn't sent, the credits come back.
Will the agent get in the way when I reply myself?#
No. If you reply from the Instagram app or from Conversations, the agent goes quiet in that chat for the time set in "Pause after your reply".
Will the agent reply to people who send a keyword?#
No. A keyword triggers a funnel; the agent only replies to people no funnel caught.
How do I bring the agent back after a handover?#
Dialogs → the customer's chat → Hand back to bot.