What it does while you are busy
A customer messages your Instagram account at any hour. Without you typing anything, Checkout DM does the repeatable parts of the sale:
- Replies instantly and shows your catalog, with the photo, name, price and sizes of each product exactly as you entered them.
- Checks stock. If you track quantity, a product or size that sells out is not offered again.
- Collects the order details one step at a time: size, quantity, name, phone number and delivery address.
- Sends payment. With Razorpay, Stripe or PayPal connected, the customer pays through a secure link in the chat. With manual payment, they pay by UPI, QR code or bank transfer.
- Records the order in your dashboard with an order number, the items and the amount, and sends order emails to the customer.
- Answers the standard questions. Your return policy, exchange policy and FAQs are shown automatically in DMs on every plan.
See the conversation
yourshop
Instagram DM
Customer messages after you have closed for the day
Hi, do you have the linen kurta set?
Yes! Linen Kurta Set · ₹1,899. Tap to select it.
Select this
Which size and how many would you like?
M, 1
Added to your cart. Would you like to add anything else before checkout?
No, checkout
Great. What name should we put on the order?
Address, phone and payment follow, one step at a time
The buyer never leaves Instagram, and you wake up to an order instead of a message you now have to chase. For a deeper walkthrough, read how to automate sales on Instagram.
How hands-off the payment step is
This depends on how you collect money. With a payment gateway, payments are confirmed automatically and the order is marked paid without you. With manual UPI, QR or bank transfer, the customer sends a screenshot and you press Confirm or Reject after checking your bank account. Manual payment works from the Free plan. Our guide to UPI versus a payment gateway explains which to choose.
When a human is needed
Checkout DM runs a structured checkout flow rather than open-ended chat. When it cannot understand a reply, or a customer asks for a person, the conversation is handed to you. On Starter, Growth and Pro, the Stuck tab lists the chats that need you, such as a customer who asked for a human, an untouched cart or a conversation with no reply for 7 days or more. Pause Bot lets you take over a chat without the bot talking over you.
Built to stay inside Meta’s rules
You connect through Instagram’s own login screen, so your password is never shared and you can remove access from your Instagram settings at any time. Messages follow Meta’s published limits, including one private reply per comment within 7 days and conversation replies within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. Read our guides on whether Instagram DM automation is safe and how Checkout DM connects.
What it does not do
- It is not a website builder. From the Creator plan you get a shareable Storefront link, but your store lives at a checkoutdm.com address.
- Chat automation runs on Instagram. Comments, Story replies and DMs are automated, and there is no WhatsApp, TikTok or SMS chat automation. From the Creator plan, your Storefront link can still be shared anywhere, and buyers do not need Instagram to use it. If you need chat automation on other channels, see our comparison with other tools.
- It is built for selling. If you only want to answer messages and never take an order in the chat, a simpler tool may be enough.
Who it suits
Checkout DM suits Instagram sellers whose customers already start in DMs: clothing, jewellery, handmade goods, beauty products and digital creators selling files or courses. It is made for sellers who currently take orders by hand, from replies to payment screenshots to addresses typed across five messages.
Start on the Free plan
- Connect your Instagram professional account through Instagram’s login.
- Add up to 5 products with photos, prices and sizes.
- Choose how you get paid: UPI, QR code and bank transfer, or a payment gateway.
- Place a test order from a second Instagram account and follow it as a customer.
- Tell your followers to message you, then watch the first real orders arrive.