How do ice breakers work?
A business sets a list of questions through Meta's Ice Breaker API. When someone opens a chat with the account, the questions appear as tappable options. Meta's limits: a maximum of four questions, and the feature is not available on desktop, so desktop users just see an empty chat.
What are good ice breaker examples?
| Business | Four ice breakers |
|---|---|
| Salon | Book an appointment / See prices / Opening hours / Gift cards |
| Online store | Track my order / Shipping and returns / Size help / Today's discount |
| Coach | How does coaching work? / Prices / Free resources / Book a call |
Why do ice breakers matter for DM automation?
Meta requires the person to start any conversation with a business. A tapped ice breaker is the person starting it, which opens the standard messaging window and gives your automation a clear question to answer. Each tap also tells you what people want most.
How does ReplyRep handle ice breakers?
ReplyRep's Conversation Starters put up to four tappable prompts in front of anyone who opens your inbox, on every plan. Pair each one with an automation so the tap gets an answer straight away. For a menu that stays inside the chat, Smart Menu adds up to four buttons with links, booking pages and key resources. See Instagram DM flows, automatic Instagram DMs and the Instagram auto reply guide.
Give every new chat a head start
Set your four Conversation Starters on any plan.
Related terms
- Keyword trigger: the other way to start an automation.
- DM funnel: where an ice breaker can be the first step.