How to build automations with Ask Vista – Vista Social

Plan

✓ Professional ✓ Advanced ✓ Scale ✓ Enterprise

You can build inbox, comment, and review automations by chatting with Ask Vista. Describe what you want to happen, answer a few quick questions, and Ask Vista sets up the triggers and actions for you, then saves the automation for you to review.

What you can build

Ask Vista starts by suggesting five common use cases. Pick one, or describe your own idea in your own words.

Send a link or freebie for a keyword: "Comment GUIDE and I'll DM you the PDF."
Run a giveaway: "Comment WIN to enter." Ask Vista collects emails, tags entries, and replies publicly to boost reach.
Capture leads: when someone asks about pricing, collect their name, email, and phone number, then send them to your inbox, Slack, or CRM.
Answer customer questions: reply with AI using your Brain knowledge, and create a task for your support team when a question shouldn't be handled automatically.
Respond to reviews: thank 4 to 5 star reviewers, and send 1 to 2 star reviews to a manager.

How to build an automation with Ask Vista

Go to Automations and click Create automation.
In the Setup new automation window, select Build with Ask Vista (it's selected by default), then click Continue.
Ask Vista opens and starts the conversation for you. You'll see Active skill: /build-automation above the chat box.
Pick one of the suggested use cases, or describe what you want. For example: "When someone comments 'coupon' on my Instagram posts, DM them our 20% discount code."
Answer Ask Vista's follow-up questions. Short answers work fine, like "AgencyVista Instagram" or "keyword coupon". When Ask Vista asks which profile to use, you can also click one of the profile buttons it shows.
Review the summary. Ask Vista shows the automation name, profile, what triggers it, each step, and any extras it recommends.
Reply to save it. Ask Vista saves the automation as a paused draft, then offers to turn it on. If you want it live right away, say so, for example "save and turn it on".
Test it. Ask Vista tells you how, for example by commenting the keyword from a second account and checking that the reply and DM arrive.

Start from any Ask Vista chat

You don't have to start from the Automations page. Open Ask Vista anywhere and ask something like "Help me build a new automation". Ask Vista turns on the build automation skill automatically. You can also type /build-automation in the chat box.

To leave the skill and go back to a normal chat, click Stop next to the active skill label.

What Ask Vista asks you

Profile: which profile the automation should run on.
Trigger: whether to react to a keyword (like "coupon") or an intent, where AI detects what the person means (like someone asking about pricing) without needing exact words.
What to send: a message, link, discount code, PDF, image, or video. If it's a file, tell Ask Vista which one and it looks for it in your media library.
Optional upgrades: Ask Vista offers extra steps you can add, such as:
- Collecting an email or phone number, and choosing where that data goes
- Creating a task for your team
- Tagging the conversation in Inbox
- Emailing a teammate
- Creating a Zendesk ticket
- Marking the conversation as complete
- Hiding or removing comments

Not sure what you need? Just say "none" to skip the upgrades, or ask Ask Vista what it recommends.

What Ask Vista handles for you

Adds the Instagram Opening DM step when your automation needs one.
Puts the actions in the right order, so you don't have to.
Suggests useful extras, like limiting the automation to once per person or rotating message wording so replies look natural.
Lets you know if a trigger or action isn't supported on the network you picked.
Saves everything as a paused draft, so nothing goes live until you say so.

Example: a discount code for a keyword

You: pick the freebie use case.
Ask Vista: asks which profile, which keyword, and what you're giving away.
You: "AgencyVista Instagram", "keyword coupon", "20% discount code ABC123".
Ask Vista: proposes an automation that replies publicly to the comment ("Check your DMs!"), then DMs the code. It also suggests running once per person so nobody can farm the code.
You: "save and turn it on".
Ask Vista: saves the automation, turns it on, explains how to test it, and suggests next steps like copying it to another profile or collecting emails from people who claim the code.

Important notes

Supported triggers and actions vary by network. See Inbox Automation Triggers & Actions by Network for the full list.
Automations built with Ask Vista appear in your Automations list like any other. You can open them in the automation builder to review or edit at any time.
You can still build automations yourself using Ready-to-Go templates or Create from scratch in the Setup new automation window.

Note

AI intent detection is available on Advanced, Scale and Enterprise plans. On Professional, use keyword triggers instead.

Best practices

Be specific up front: mention the profile, keyword, and what to send in your first message, so Ask Vista has what it needs from the start.
Ask for upgrades early: if you want to collect emails or alert your team, say it at the start so it's built in from the beginning.
Test before you promote it: comment or DM from a second account before announcing the keyword in a post.
Review the draft: open the automation in the builder to double-check keywords and messages before turning it on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need to know how automations work to use this?

A: No. Ask Vista explains your options, asks the right questions, and builds the automation for you.

Q: Will my automation go live right away?

A: No. Ask Vista saves it as a paused draft and asks before turning it on. If you want it live straight away, just tell Ask Vista.

Q: Can I edit an automation Ask Vista built?

A: Yes. Open it from your Automations list and edit it in the builder.

Q: Can I describe something that isn't one of the suggested use cases?

A: Yes. The five examples are just a starting point. Describe what you want in your own words and Ask Vista works out the right setup.

Need help?

Reach out to our support team, and we are happy to help.

Ask Vista skills

Inbox Automation Triggers & Actions by Network