New to Inrō, or bumped into a term you haven't seen before? This glossary covers the key concepts in the product, listed alphabetically.

A

A/B Testing

A flow control action that splits your contacts randomly between two paths, so you can test which message, offer, or flow performs better. You set the percentage split and compare results in the scenario metrics.

Action

A single step inside a scenario or campaign. Actions are what happen after a trigger fires: sending a message, asking a question, adding someone to a folder, waiting for a reply, calling an external API, and so on. See Message Actions: Text, Media, Files & Buttons for one of the action references.

Activated Contact

A contact you've engaged with an outbound message through a scenario, campaign, or AI Agent in a given billing period. Activated contacts are how Inrō meters usage on most plans. See What Are Activated Contacts?.

Agent Handover

An action inside a scenario that hands control of a conversation to your AI Agent. Once it happens, the scenario step ends and the AI Agent takes over the replies for that contact. (This is different from handing off to a human.)

AI Agent

A virtual assistant that automatically replies to your Instagram DMs using AI, in your voice and with your knowledge. It can answer questions, qualify leads, trigger actions, collect contact details, and hand off to a human. It runs in one of four activation modes: All pending messages, Specific intents only, Automation only, and Disable all replies.

AI-Detected Condition

A flow control action that uses AI to judge a plain-language condition mid-flow and route the contact down a TRUE or FALSE branch. Unlike a standard Scenario Condition (which checks hard rules), it can read meaning and context. Example: "the contact is interested in booking a meeting."

AI-Detected Intent (Trigger)

A filter on a DM or comment trigger that uses AI to match messages by what the contact means, not only the exact words. Example: "wants to know the price" catches both "how much does this cost?" and "what's the pricing?"

B

Booking Link

A scenario action that sends a Calendly scheduling link in a DM. When the contact books, Inrō tracks the appointment and can branch the flow on it.

C

Campaign

A proactive DM broadcast you send to a chosen audience. Unlike scenarios (which fire when a contact does something), you start a campaign: you choose who receives it, build the message flow, and decide when it goes out. See What Are DM Campaigns?.

Contact

Anyone who has interacted with your Instagram account and appears in your Inrō inbox. Contacts have profiles with Instagram data, custom properties, and a full interaction history. Following you is not an interaction Instagram shares, so followers don't automatically become contacts.

Conversion Link

A trackable message with a title, description, image, and button. When a contact taps the button, Inrō records the click, and you can branch the flow on whether it was clicked or expired. Think of it as a smart link with built-in tracking and follow-up.

Custom Property

A data field you define and attach to contact profiles to store information you collect: budget range, product interest, appointment date, and so on. Properties come in several types, including text, number, date, email, phone, link, yes/no, and single- or multiple-choice.

D

Delay (Wait)

A flow control action that pauses a scenario for a set time (seconds, minutes, hours, or days) before the next step.

DM (Direct Message)

A private Instagram message between your account and a contact. Automating and managing these is Inrō's core job.

F

Flow Builder

The visual drag-and-drop editor where you build scenarios. The canvas shows your trigger at the top and actions branching downward. See The Flow Builder: Visual Editor Tips & Tricks.

Folder

A label you assign to contacts to organise them. A contact can be in several folders at once. Folders power inbox filters, campaign targeting, scenario conditions, and automations that fire when someone is added. Free plan: 10 folders. Paid plans: unlimited.

H

Handling Status

A marker in the inbox showing how a conversation is currently being managed. The statuses are Human (you're handling it), Automation (a scenario is running), Agent (the AI Agent is replying), Human Requested (the contact asked for a person), and Unreplied (waiting for a response). See Handling Status: Human, Automation, Agent & More.

HTTP Request

A scenario action that sends data to an external URL mid-flow. Use it to update a CRM record, ping a Slack channel, or trigger a Make or Zapier workflow at a specific point. See HTTP Requests: Connect Inrō to Any External API.

I

Ice Breaker

A tappable suggested question Instagram shows the first time a contact opens a DM with you. Tapping one can start a scenario. See Ice Breakers & Persistent Menu: Set Up Your DM Entry Points.

Intent (AI Agent)

A topic or goal you define for the AI Agent to watch for. When it detects a matching intent, it can take an action: send a link, add the contact to a folder, send a survey, or trigger a scenario. See Intent-Based Actions: Links, Folders & Scenario Triggers.

K

Knowledge Base

The AI Agent's reference library. You upload documents, paste text, or add website URLs, and the agent draws on them when answering questions. It uses RAG (see below) to pull the most relevant pieces into each reply.

M

MCP Server (Model Context Protocol)

A connection that lets AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT control Inrō using plain language. The MCP Server URL is https://api.inro.social/mcp. See Connect Your AI Agent to Inrō with the MCP Server.

Multi-Choice Question

A scenario action that sends a message with up to 3 tappable buttons. Each button leads to a different branch. The contact can tap a button or type the keyword.

O

Opt-in / Opt-out

Consent tracking for your messages. Inrō detects when a contact asks to stop hearing from you and marks them opted out. You can also manage consent manually and run opt-in reactivation campaigns.

P

Payment Link

A scenario action that sends a Stripe checkout link in a DM. It supports one-time and recurring payments, tracks the payment status (paid, awaiting, failed), and can branch the flow on it.

Property

Short for Custom Property. See above.

R

RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation)

The technique the AI Agent uses to search your knowledge base during a conversation. Instead of relying only on general knowledge, it looks through your uploaded content for relevant information and uses it in the reply.

Referral Link

A trackable link that opens a DM to your account and fires a scenario when someone clicks it. It carries a custom code so you can tell where the traffic came from, like your link in bio, a QR code, or an ad.

S

Scenario

An automated flow that runs when a trigger condition is met. Think of it like a recipe: the trigger sets it off, and each action is a step that follows. Scenarios run per contact, so each person gets their own run. See What Are Scenarios? Overview & Concepts.

Scenario Condition

A flow control action that checks a rule-based condition and branches to YES or NO. Conditions can check contact properties, folder membership, follower count, message content, and more.

Scenario Group

A priority mechanism for when several scenarios could run for the same contact at once. Scenarios in a group follow a set order to decide which runs first.

Segment

A filtered group of contacts built from one or more conditions. Segments are dynamic: they update automatically as contacts meet or stop meeting the criteria. Use them to target campaigns, build reports, and export lists. See Segmentation & Filters: Build Smart Audiences.

Survey

A form that opens in Instagram's in-app browser. Contacts fill it out, and the answers save to their contact properties. You can branch a scenario on whether the survey was completed.

T

Trigger

The condition that starts a scenario: someone comments on your post, sends a DM, replies to a story, clicks a referral link, taps an ice breaker, and more. One scenario can have several triggers. See Triggers: The Complete Reference.

Thread Ownership

Instagram lets only one connected app send automated messages in a conversation at a time. If another tool "owns" a thread, Inrō can't send to it until that tool releases control. See How to Fix the Thread Ownership Error.

U

Unified Inbox

The main view where all your Instagram conversations land in one place: DMs, comments, and story replies, with real-time updates, search, filters, and folders. See The Unified Inbox: Overview & Navigation.

V

Variable

A placeholder that gets replaced with real data when a message sends. For example, {{contact.name}} becomes the contact's actual name. Variables work in any text field inside a scenario or campaign. See Variables & Personalisation Guide.

W

Webhook (Inbound)

A scenario with a webhook trigger gets a unique URL. Any external system that can send an HTTP POST can fire that scenario for a specific contact. Used to start Inrō automations from tools like Make, Zapier, or your own code. See Webhook Triggers: Fire Scenarios from External Apps.

Webhook (Outbound)

Sending data from Inrō out to another system mid-flow, using the HTTP Request action. See HTTP Requests: Connect Inrō to Any External API.

🐾 Netsuke's Tips

Contacts, Folders, and Segments are three ways of thinking about the same people. Contacts are individuals, Folders are labels you assign by hand, and Segments are dynamic filters that update on their own.
People say "automation" or "bot" in conversation, but in Inrō's interface the term is always Scenario.
If you spot a term in the product that isn't here, it's either very new or very niche. Reach out to support and we'll add it.