Configure an Engage automation rule

Set up a rule that acts on new inbox items for you, such as labelling, assigning or replying, when they match the conditions you choose.

Before you start

• You need to be the account owner or a workspace admin. Other roles may see Limited Access before reaching Engage; if they can view the rules, management controls are greyed out.
• Connect the social accounts the rule should watch.
• If the rule will reply, create the reply first in Saved Replies and make it available in this workspace. Only replies available in the workspace you're in can be chosen. See Create and use a saved reply.

Open the feature

Choose Engage in the left sidebar, then click Automation Rules at the top right of the inbox. The Automation Rules page opens with your rules under All Rules.

Steps

1. Click Create New Rules. If you have no rules yet, click Create new rule instead. The Create an automated moderation rule form opens.
2. Type a name in Rule name.
3. To make the rule stop on a set date, click No end date under End date and pick a date and time. Skip this to keep the rule running. The end date must be at least one hour in the future. To remove an end date, click its ✕, then save the rule.
4. Under If an item matches the following conditions:, open Select a condition and choose one:
   • Text contains keywords: type each keyword and press Enter or a comma. Choose Any or All next to the condition.
   • Text matches keywords: the whole message must match one keyword.
   • Review rating is: choose 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 stars. Matches new reviews from Google Business Profile, Google Play and App Store.
   • Text contains mention(s), Text contains emoji(s), Text contains a link or Text contains an e-mail.
   • Profile(s) & Message Type: pick accounts, then open Select message type and choose Comments, Conversations (PM), Ad Comments, Reviews or Mentions. Only the types your selected accounts can trigger are available. The rest are greyed out with the tooltip This option is not supported for the selected social accounts.
   • Text word count: choose ≤ (less or equal to), ≥ (more or equal to) or = (exactly equal to) and a number.
   • Post is: limits the rule to chosen Facebook or Instagram posts. See Create a comment-to-DM campaign.
   • Sentiment is positive: matches comments Engage reads as positive. Works only with Like item. See Like positive comments automatically.
5. To add another condition, click Add condition. An item must match every condition to trigger the rule.
6. Under Then apply the following actions:, open Select an action and choose one:
   • Mark as close: closes the item.
   • Assign item: choose a teammate in Select member to assign to. You can add a note in Leave a note: (optional).
   • Label item: choose labels in Select label to apply....
   • Send auto-reply: choose a reply in Choose a saved reply.
   • Send private reply: sends a direct message to the person who commented.
   • Hide comment or Delete comment: moderates the comment in public.
   • Like item: likes positive comments as your account, on Facebook Pages, LinkedIn Pages and Bluesky. It runs on its own in a rule. See Like positive comments automatically.
7. To add another action, click Add actions. A rule can have up to 5 actions.
8. Click Save Rule.

When editing an existing rule, Update Rule saves the changes. Cancel discards them, including changes to keywords, conditions and actions. Reopen the rule to see its saved configuration.

Reply to reviews by star rating

Create a saved reply for each rating you want to answer. Create a rule with Review rating is, choose 5 stars, then choose Send auto-reply and your five-star saved reply. Save the rule. Repeat with 4 stars and another saved reply, or any rating from 1 to 5. Place these rating rules before broader rules that would match the same review; the first matching ordinary rule runs.

Add Profile(s) & Message Type, select your Google Business Profile, Google Play or App Store accounts and Reviews to limit the rule to those locations or apps. Without a profile condition, the rating rule applies to supported review accounts in this workspace. Every condition must match, so adding a text condition excludes textless reviews.

Rules act on newly discovered reviews after Engage is initialized, not the initial import. Existing responses are checked in Engage and on the platform before sending. One automated response is allowed per review across rating rules. Updated ratings do not replace a response. Follow-up messages and option menus do not run for reviews. If sending cannot be confirmed, check the review on the platform before replying manually; the automation does not retry a potentially delivered response. These platforms do not offer an atomic "reply only if unanswered" operation. A manual reply sent at exactly the same time can still race the automated response.

Configure conversation follow-up replies

Choose Send auto-reply and a saved reply first. For a supported WhatsApp Business rule, enable Add follow-up message, set Send follow-up after and choose the Follow-up message. This follow-up applies when the customer has not replied within the configured delay.

When Add option-based follow-ups is offered, enable it and complete each Option label, Customer replies with (comma-separated) and Follow-up reply for this option. Use Add another option for more choices. Keep the labels and matching keywords distinct. Save the rule and use a controlled incoming test message to check the result before relying on it.

Repeating an option response does not force another automatic reply. If delivery cannot be confirmed, contact Support to have it checked.

Expected result

The rule appears at the bottom of All Rules with its Rule Criteria, Rule Action and Status switched on. From then on it runs on new items that match. It doesn't act on items that were already in your inbox.

Example

To send every pricing question on Facebook Messenger to your sales lead, click Create New Rules and name the rule "Pricing questions". Choose Text contains keywords, type price, pricing and cost, and leave Any selected. Click Add condition, choose Profile(s) & Message Type, pick your Facebook Page and choose Conversations (PM). Under Then apply the following actions:, choose Assign item and pick your sales lead. Click Add actions, choose Label item and pick a "Pricing" label. Click Save Rule.

Limits and permissions

• Google Play provides written production-app reviews through its API; star-only ratings are not available. Google Play auto-replies must be 350 characters or fewer after personalization. App Store responses may take time to appear publicly; pending responses are treated as existing replies.

• Only the account owner or a workspace admin can create, edit, delete, switch on or off, or reorder rules. Other roles see these controls greyed out with the tooltip Only the account owner or an admin can change automation rules.

• Automation Rules and the number of rules you can create depend on your plan. The rule allowance is shared across the account, while each rule runs only in the workspace where it was created. Paused rules still use a slot. When you reach your limit, Create New Rules shows Limit has been reached or an Automation Limit Reached message.

• Delete comment can't be undone. Test a new rule with Hide comment first.

• Hide comment and Delete comment only work on comments, on Facebook Pages and TikTok. A rule can't use both.

• Add follow-up message under Send auto-reply only works for WhatsApp Business.

• Follow-up timing ranges from 5 minutes to 24 hours using the offered choices. Choose a saved auto-reply before configuring follow-ups.

• Option-based follow-ups support up to 10 options. Each needs a unique label, matching keywords and a saved reply; a keyword cannot be shared between options.

• Message types each account supports in a rule:

  • Facebook Pages: Comments, Ad Comments, Conversations (PM), Reviews and Mentions.
  • Instagram: Comments, Ad Comments, Conversations (PM) and Mentions.
  • LinkedIn Pages: Comments and Mentions.
  • TikTok, Threads and YouTube: Comments.
  • WhatsApp: Conversations (PM).
  • Google Business Profile, Google Play, App Store and G2: Reviews.

• When a rule covers several accounts, you can choose any type at least one of them supports. The rule only runs where that type exists.

• Comments and Ad Comments are separate. Choose Ad Comments to act on comments on your ads. Rules created before Ad Comments was its own type keep acting on ad comments.

• Send auto-reply can answer Google Business Profile, Google Play and App Store reviews when the rule includes Review rating is. Other reviews and mentions remain unsupported. Send private reply needs Comments or Ad Comments.

• Recheck your rules after you change accounts, labels or teammates.

• Rating rules need at least one available Google Business Profile, Google Play or App Store account. If you add Profile(s) & Message Type, include Reviews. Rating rules support auto-replies, assignment, labels and closing; use one rating and one auto-reply per rule.

• Disconnecting the last account in a named channel condition removes an ordinary rule that used it, even if keyword conditions remain. Recreate the rule with the accounts you intend it to cover. Like-item rules keep their existing paused state when their last named channel is removed.

Troubleshooting

• A rating rule won't save or turn on: select an available supported review account, include Reviews in any message-type condition, and remove post, sentiment or unsupported action choices. You can still pause a rule after its account becomes unavailable.
• Save Rule is greyed out: hover over it to see what's missing. All fields are required means a condition or action still needs a value, such as a keyword, account, message type, teammate or label.
• Hide comment or Delete comment won't save: keep only one of them, and include Comments or Ad Comments if you used Profile(s) & Message Type.
• Saving shows "None of the selected channels support…": remove that message type, or add an account that supports it.
• Saving shows "…so this rule could never run": the edit would leave the rule with no message type its accounts support. Keep a supported type, or choose different accounts.
• Saving shows "Mentions and reviews can't receive an automated reply": add Comments, Ad Comments or Conversations (PM), or remove Send auto-reply.
• Saving shows "A saved reply in this rule isn't available in this workspace": a reply you added or moved in this rule can't be used here. Choose a different reply, or open Saved Replies, edit the reply and make it available in this workspace. Replies the rule already sent, in the same place, don't cause this message.
• Saving shows "A saved reply in this rule isn't in your Saved Replies": saved replies are personal, so a rule can only add replies you created. Choose one of your own, or ask the person who created the reply to add it to the rule.
• The rule didn't run: check its Status switch is on and it hasn't expired. Then send a test message that matches every condition.
• A rule is greyed out: it's over your plan's rule limit. Delete a rule you no longer need to unlock it.