You can give contacts tappable ways to start a conversation in your Instagram DMs. Ice breakers are suggested questions shown the first time someone opens a chat with you. A persistent menu is a small menu that's always available inside the DM thread. Both can trigger an automation when tapped, so they're a clean front door into your scenarios. You set them up from your Instagram account settings, and both need a connected Instagram account.
Ice breakers
Ice breakers are suggested questions Instagram shows a contact the first time they open a DM with you. They nudge people to start talking and can kick off an automation.
Open the Manage ice breakers card and click Settings to see your current ice breakers. From there you can:
Add one by typing the question and confirming. You can have up to 4.
Delete one with a confirmation.
An ice breaker on its own is only a suggested question: something still has to answer the tap. Inrō checks this for you and says so on the card, on the Automation page, and on your dashboard when an ice breaker has nothing behind it. A tap counts as answered when a scenario triggers on it, or when your AI Agent would pick it up anyway. If one is unanswered, the card offers three ready-made ways to wire it: reply with a message, file the contact in a folder, or ask a few questions. Each creates the scenario with the trigger and first step already in place.
Persistent menu
A persistent menu is a short menu of links and actions that stays available inside the DM thread, so contacts can reach important options at any time.
Open the Manage persistent menu card and click Settings. For each item you add, set a title and choose what happens when it's clicked:
Send as DM: sends a message that can trigger an automation.
Open a link: opens a web URL.
You can have up to 5 items, and titles are trimmed to 30 characters.
⚠️ The menu also includes a protected opt-out item that lets contacts opt out of your messages. It's marked with an Opt-out badge and can't be deleted from this menu, so it's always available to contacts.
Trigger automations from a tap
When a contact taps an ice breaker, or a "Send as DM" menu item, it sends a signal Inrō can use to start a scenario. Build a scenario with the matching trigger to greet them and route the conversation. For how to set those triggers up, see Triggers: The Complete Reference.
Manage them from the API or an AI agent
Ice breakers, the persistent menu and your opt-out settings can also be managed outside the app: through the Private API, or by asking a connected AI agent. Ice breakers and the menu are read straight from Instagram each time, so what comes back is what Instagram is currently showing. See Connect Your AI Agent to Inrō with the MCP Server.
🐾 Netsuke's Tips
Phrase ice breakers as the questions your contacts actually ask: "How much does it cost?" or "Do you ship to my country?" Then point each one at a scenario that answers it.
Keep persistent-menu titles short and clear. With a 30-character limit, "Book a call" beats "Click here to book a call with our team."
Use Open a link menu items for things that live off Instagram (your store, your booking page) and Send as DM items for anything you want to automate inside Inrō.
What's next?
To build the automations these entry points fire, see What Are Scenarios? Overview & Concepts. If you haven't connected your account yet, start with How to Connect Your Instagram Account to Inrō.