Connect Instagram (Business account)
The Instagram integration lets your AI agent publish posts and reels, reply to comments and DMs, and pull insights β all on top of an Instagram Business or Creator account.
Personal accounts not supported
Instagram's Graph API does not work with personal accounts. You must:
- Convert your Instagram account to Business (or Creator).
- Link it to a Facebook Page owned by a Meta Business account.
Instructions below.
Step 1 β Convert your Instagram to Businessβ
- Open the Instagram app β your profile β β° menu β Settings and privacy.
- Scroll to For professionals β Account type and tools.
- Tap Switch to professional account β pick Business (or Creator, both work).
- Pick a category that matches your store and finish the wizard.
Step 2 β Link the Instagram account to a Facebook Pageβ
- In Instagram, still under Account type and tools, tap Connected accounts β Facebook.
- Sign in with the Facebook account that owns the Page you want to link.
- Pick the Page in the list. The Instagram account is now linked.
- Verify in Meta Business Suite β the Instagram account appears under Accounts β Instagram accounts.
If you don't have a Facebook Page yet, follow the Facebook integration guide first.
Step 3 β Generate an Instagram access tokenβ
The Instagram Graph API uses the same Meta Developer App as Facebook and Meta Ads. Reuse it.
- Go to the Graph API Explorer.
- Pick your Meta app in the top-right dropdown.
- Click Generate Access Token and grant the following permissions:
instagram_basicinstagram_content_publishinstagram_manage_commentsinstagram_manage_insightspages_show_listpages_read_engagement
- After the token is issued, run a test query to confirm it works:
- In the explorer, set the URL to
me/accountsβ Submit. - You should see your Page(s). Each Page has an
instagram_business_accountfield β that ID is your Instagram Business account ID.
- In the explorer, set the URL to
- Copy the user access token.
- Exchange it for a long-lived token (60 days, or never-expiring with a System User) using the Access Token Debugger.
System User token
For production, generate a System User token in Business Settings β Users β System Users β Generate new token and assign your linked Instagram account to that System User. System User tokens never expire.
Step 4 β Connect it to Clawifyβ
- In Clawify, go to Integrations (or
/app/integrations). - Find the Instagram card and click Connect.
- Paste the access token.
- Click Continue. The card flips to Connected.
What your AI can do once connectedβ
- "Schedule a reel for tomorrow at 6 PM with this caption and these hashtags."
- "Reply to every comment from the last 24 hours that mentions a product name with our standard support template."
- "Show me the engagement rate of every post from the last 30 days, sorted descending."
Troubleshootingβ
- "User has not authorized application for action" β the token is missing one of the
instagram_*scopes. Re-issue with all five. - "Instagram account not linked to a Page" β repeat Step 2. The account must show up in Business Suite β Instagram accounts.
- "Media publishing not allowed" β your account is Creator instead of Business, or you don't have Advanced Access on
instagram_content_publish. Switch to Business or request access in your Meta App's App Review. - No comments or insights returned β make sure the account is public. Private accounts return empty data on the Graph API.