Comment Workflows

When someone comments on your Facebook or Instagram post, Octocom can automatically respond — publicly, via DM, or both. Comment workflows are what make this possible. They tell the AI when to respond, what to say, and how to say it.

This page explains how the system works so you can design workflows that match your brand's social media strategy. It covers the concepts, not the step-by-step UI — think of it as the playbook you read before building anything.

How comment workflows differ from chat workflows

If you've already set up chat workflows, comment workflows will feel familiar — but there are important differences.

Chat workflows handle back-and-forth conversations. A customer asks a question, the AI responds, the customer replies, and the conversation continues. The AI can ask clarifying questions, call actions, and follow multi-step instructions.

Comment workflows are one-shot. A comment comes in, the AI generates a single response, and the interaction is done. There's no multi-turn conversation, no follow-up questions, no actions to call. The AI reads the comment, reads the post it's on, and responds.

This changes how you think about writing instructions. Instead of step-by-step processes, you're writing response guidelines — the voice, tone, and content the AI should use in a single reply.

Current limitations

Comment workflows are powerful, but there are two important limitations to keep in mind as you design them:

Comment workflows are powered by the same frontier language models as chat workflows. The AI has strong reasoning and writing capabilities — it can follow complex conditional logic ("if the customer mentions a specific product, respond with X; if they're asking a general question, respond with Y; if it's a complaint, do Z"), adapt its tone to different situations, and write natural, on-brand responses. You're not working with a simple template system — you're giving instructions to a model that genuinely understands nuance.

The main difference is in what information the model has access to:

No knowledge base access. Unlike chat workflows, the comment bot does not have access to your knowledge base — no articles, documents, product catalog, or website content. The only information it has is what you put in the workflow instructions and what it can read from the post itself. In practice, this means you may need to duplicate some information that your chat bot already has in articles or bot rules. For example:

• If the bot needs a product URL, tell it to use the link in the post. If the post doesn't have a link, include the URL directly in your instructions (e.g., "Direct customers to https://example.com").
• If the bot needs to answer pricing questions, include the relevant pricing in the instructions — or create a dedicated workflow for pricing questions with the information baked in.
• If you want the bot to handle shipping questions, create a shipping workflow that contains your shipping rates, delivery times, and policies directly in the instructions.
• The same pattern applies to any factual information — if the bot needs it, it must be in the instructions or the post.

No shared rules. In chat workflows, bot rules apply across all conversations. Comment workflows don't have this yet — settings like tone, response length, and language need to be repeated in each workflow's instructions. If you want every workflow to reply in Spanish and keep responses under two sentences, you need to include that in every workflow.

Both of these limitations are temporary — knowledge base access and shared rules for comment workflows are coming soon. Once available, the duplication goes away and your comment workflows will have the same information access as your chat bot.

The building blocks

A comment workflow has four parts:

1. Trigger — "When should this workflow activate?"

The trigger is a natural language description of when this workflow should be used. When a comment arrives, the AI reads every active workflow's trigger and picks the best match.

Write triggers like you'd explain them to a teammate:

• "Customer complains about a product or service"
• "Customer asks about product availability or stock"
• "Comment contains profanity, hate speech, or spam"
• "Customer asks a question about the product in the post"

The matching is semantic, not keyword-based. The AI understands intent, so "Where can I buy this?" matches a trigger about product availability even though it doesn't contain the word "availability."

Priority matters. Workflows are evaluated in order of priority. If a comment could match multiple workflows, the first match wins. Put your most specific workflows higher and your catch-all workflows lower.

2. Action — "What should happen?"

Every workflow has an action type that determines what the AI does when the workflow matches:

Choosing the right action depends on the situation:

• Public questions about your product? Respond with a comment — the answer helps other readers too.
• Customer shares personal details (order ID, email)? Respond with a DM to keep the conversation private.
• Complaint that needs investigation? Respond with comment and DM — acknowledge publicly, resolve privately.
• Spam or offensive content? Delete.
• Borderline or off-topic comments? Hide — the comment becomes invisible to everyone except the author, which is less confrontational than deleting.
• Complex issue that needs a human? Hand off.

3. Comment instructions — "What should the public reply say?"

These instructions guide the AI when generating a public comment reply. Write them as guidelines, not step-by-step scripts.

Good instructions look like:

You are responding on behalf of [Brand], an online store that sells sustainable clothing. Reply in a friendly, helpful tone. Keep the response to 1-2 sentences. If the customer is asking about a product, answer based on the information in the post. If the post doesn't contain enough information to answer, suggest they DM us or visit https://example.com. Never mention competitor products.

Avoid:

Step 1: Read the comment. Step 2: Determine the intent. Step 3: Generate a response.

The AI already knows how to read and respond — your job is to define the boundaries and personality, not the mechanics.

4. DM instructions — "What should the private message say?"

If your action involves a DM (either "Respond with DM" or "Respond with comment and DM"), you write a separate set of instructions for the private message.

DM instructions often have a different tone than public replies — they can be more detailed, more personal, and more action-oriented since the conversation is private.

Thank the customer for reaching out. Ask for their order number and email address so we can look into it. Reassure them that the issue will be resolved. Keep the tone warm and professional.

Designing your workflow set

Most businesses need 3-7 comment workflows to cover their social media interactions. Here's a practical approach to designing them.

Start with your most common comment types

Look at your recent social media comments and group them by intent:

1. Product questions — "What size should I get?", "Is this available in blue?"
2. Purchase intent — "Where can I buy this?", "How much is it?"
3. Complaints — "My order arrived damaged", "I've been waiting 2 weeks"
4. Praise — "Love this product!", "Best purchase I've made"
5. Spam/inappropriate — Irrelevant links, offensive content

Each group typically maps to one workflow.

Build from specific to general

Order your workflows from most specific (highest priority) to most general (lowest priority):

The AI evaluates workflows top to bottom. If a comment matches "Delete spam," it never reaches "Engage with praise." This is why specificity order matters.

Decide what to ignore

Not every comment needs a response. Workflows only trigger when a match is found — if no workflow matches, the AI does nothing. This is by design.

You don't need workflows for:

• Comments that are just emojis (unless you want to engage)
• Conversations between other users on your post
• Comments that tag a friend without asking a question

If you find yourself writing a workflow with instructions like "don't respond to this," you probably just don't need that workflow at all.

How the AI generates responses

Understanding what information the AI has access to helps you write better instructions.

When a comment triggers a workflow, the AI sees:

• The comment text — what the person wrote
• The post content — the text of the original post (or the media caption for Instagram)
• The commenter's name — their public display name
• Your instructions — the comment instructions (and DM instructions, if applicable)

The AI does not have access to:

• Your knowledge base (articles, documents, product catalog, website content)
• Previous comments on the same post (unless it's a direct reply in the same thread)
• The commenter's purchase history or account details
• Images or videos attached to the comment or post
• Your other workflows, your brand context, or your internal terminology

This is the most important thing to internalize: the AI has no background knowledge about your business. It doesn't know what you sell, how you ship, what your return policy is, or what your brand voice sounds like — unless you tell it in the instructions. Write your instructions like you're briefing an educated outsider who has never seen your brand before.

This also means your instructions should account for what the AI can't look up. If someone says "My order is late," the AI can't check their order — your workflow should either hand off, send a DM asking for details, or direct them to a support channel. If someone asks "How much does this cost?", the AI can only answer if the price is in the post or in your instructions.

Response timing

Social media responses aren't instant by default. The system waits before responding (typically around 10 minutes) to:

• Avoid appearing bot-like. Instant replies to every comment can feel unnatural.
• Batch context. If a user writes multiple comments in quick succession, the delay lets the system see the full picture.

The exact delay is configurable per business. During testing, responses are immediate.

Channel coverage

Comment workflows apply across all your connected social media channels:

• Facebook page comments — Comments on your page's posts
• Facebook mentions — When someone mentions your page in their post or comment
• Instagram comments — Comments on your posts
• Instagram mentions — When someone mentions your account in their post or comment

You create one set of workflows and they work across all channels. The AI adapts its response format to each platform automatically.

Testing your workflows

You don't need to wait for real comments to see how your workflows behave. Every workflow has a Test Comment button that lets you simulate a comment and see exactly what the AI would do.

To test a workflow:

1. Enter the post content — the text (or description) of the social media post the comment is on.
2. Enter the comment content — the comment you want to simulate.
3. Click Test Comment.

The test shows you:

• Which workflow matched (or if none matched)
• What action would be taken (reply, DM, delete, hide, or hand off)
• The exact response the AI would generate

This is the fastest way to fine-tune your workflows. You can adjust the instructions, test again immediately, and iterate until the responses are exactly right — all without publishing anything or waiting for real comments.

Use it to check:

• Do your triggers match the right comments? Try edge cases.
• Is the tone and length of the AI's response what you want?
• Does the AI use the factual information you included in the instructions correctly?
• Do specific vs. general workflows fire in the right priority order?

Tips for writing great instructions

Explain who you are. The AI doesn't know your business. Start your instructions with a brief description: "You are responding on behalf of [Brand], an online store that sells sustainable clothing." This context shapes every response.

Be specific about tone — in every workflow. Since there are no shared rules, each workflow needs its own tone guidance. "Friendly and professional" is vague. "Reply like a knowledgeable friend who works at the brand — casual but accurate, never salesy" is better. Copy this into every workflow.

Set length expectations — in every workflow. Same reason. "Keep responses to 1-2 sentences" prevents the AI from writing paragraph-length comments. Include this in each workflow's instructions.

Include the facts the bot needs. The bot can't look things up. If a workflow handles shipping questions, put your shipping rates and delivery times in the instructions. If it handles pricing questions, include prices or tell the bot to reference the post. Don't assume the bot "knows" anything you haven't explicitly written.

Be specific about post scope. If a workflow should only apply to certain types of posts (e.g., product launches, promotional posts, reels), describe them clearly in the trigger. "Customer asks about a product featured in a product showcase post" is better than "Customer asks about a product."

Don't use internal terminology. The AI doesn't know your internal jargon, campaign names, or shorthand. If your team calls something "the spring drop," the AI has no idea what that means unless you explain it. Use plain, descriptive language.

Define what not to do. "Never promise a refund in a public comment," "Don't share discount codes publicly," "Never argue with a customer" — these boundaries prevent costly mistakes.

Account for the post context. The AI can read the post, so you can write instructions like "If the comment is about the product in the post, answer using the post content as context."

Handle edge cases with hand-offs. When in doubt, hand off. It's better to route a tricky comment to a human than to post an incorrect public response.

Example: Complete workflow set for an e-commerce brand

Here's what a complete set of comment workflows might look like for an online store:

1. Delete spam and inappropriate content

• Trigger: Comment contains spam, scam links, hate speech, or completely irrelevant promotional content
• Action: Delete

2. Handle order complaints

• Trigger: Customer complains about an order — late delivery, wrong item, damaged product, or similar issues
• Action: Comment + DM
• Comment instructions: You are responding on behalf of [Brand]. Apologize briefly and let them know you're sending a DM to help resolve it. Keep it to one sentence. Don't ask for order details in the public reply. Reply in a warm, empathetic tone.
• DM instructions: You are responding on behalf of [Brand]. Thank them for reaching out. Ask for their order number and email address. Reassure them that someone from the team will look into it. If the issue sounds urgent, let them know the team will prioritize it. Keep the tone warm and professional.

3. Answer product questions

• Trigger: Customer asks about product details — sizing, materials, availability, compatibility, care instructions, or any specific product feature
• Action: Comment
• Comment instructions: You are responding on behalf of [Brand], an online store that sells [product category]. Answer the question based on the information in the post. If the post doesn't contain enough information to answer, suggest they visit our product page at https://example.com or DM us for more details. Do not guess or make up product details. Keep responses to 1-2 sentences. Reply in a friendly, helpful tone.

4. Redirect purchase intent

• Trigger: Customer asks where to buy, how to order, or requests a link to purchase
• Action: Comment
• Comment instructions: You are responding on behalf of [Brand]. Let them know the product is available on our website at https://example.com. If there's a link in the post, reference it. Keep it short and friendly. Reply in a warm, conversational tone.

5. Engage with positive feedback

• Trigger: Customer shares a positive experience, compliment, or excitement about the product or brand
• Action: Comment
• Comment instructions: You are responding on behalf of [Brand]. Thank them genuinely. Keep it short and warm — one sentence is enough. Vary the responses so they don't all sound the same. Don't be overly enthusiastic or use excessive exclamation marks. Reply in a friendly, conversational tone.

6. Hand off complex issues

• Trigger: Customer raises a complex issue that requires account access, technical support, or detailed investigation
• Action: Hand off

Don't be afraid to include everything the bot needs

The instruction field isn't a short prompt box — it's where you give the AI all the context it needs to respond accurately. Since comment workflows don't have access to your knowledge base, the instructions are the bot's only source of truth.

This means you can — and should — include full details directly in the instructions: shipping rates, delivery times, return policies, size charts, pricing, FAQs, or anything else a customer might ask about. The more specific you are, the better the responses will be.

Here's an example of a shipping workflow with real detail:

Shipping questions

• Trigger: Customer asks about shipping — delivery times, shipping costs, available countries, tracking, or shipping policies
• Action: Comment
• Comment instructions:

You are responding on behalf of NordicWear, a Scandinavian outdoor clothing brand.

Answer the customer's shipping question using the information below. Keep your reply to 1-2 sentences. Be friendly and helpful. If the question is about something not covered here, suggest they DM us or visit https://nordicwear.com/shipping for full details.

SHIPPING INFORMATION:

We ship to the following countries:
- Sweden: Free shipping on all orders. Delivery in 1-2 business days.
- Norway: Free shipping on orders over 500 NOK. Otherwise 79 NOK. Delivery in 2-3 business days.
- Denmark: Free shipping on orders over 400 DKK. Otherwise 59 DKK. Delivery in 2-3 business days.
- Finland: Free shipping on orders over 40 EUR. Otherwise 6.90 EUR. Delivery in 2-4 business days.
- Germany: Free shipping on orders over 50 EUR. Otherwise 7.90 EUR. Delivery in 3-5 business days.
- Rest of EU: Flat rate 9.90 EUR. Delivery in 5-8 business days.
- UK: Flat rate 12.90 GBP. Delivery in 5-10 business days. Customs fees may apply.
- US & Canada: Flat rate 19.90 USD/CAD. Delivery in 7-14 business days. Customs fees may apply.

We do not currently ship to countries outside the list above.

All orders include tracking. Tracking links are sent via email once the order ships.

Orders placed before 2 PM CET on weekdays ship the same day. Weekend orders ship the following Monday.

Returns are free within the EU. For non-EU returns, the customer covers return shipping. Items must be returned within 30 days, unworn and with tags attached.

This is the kind of detail that makes a comment workflow genuinely useful — the bot can answer most shipping questions accurately without a human needing to step in. The same approach works for any topic: include the full information, and the AI will use it.