AI Prompts & Message Generation

A prompt is your instruction to DMpro’s AI describing what kind of DM to write. When you click Generate, the AI takes your prompt, adds in context from the profile you’re on, and produces a personalized message.

A prompt tells the AI what tone to use, what to include (bio references, follower count, campaign details), what to ask for at the end (a reply, a meeting, a collab), and anything else that shapes the message. For example, a simple prompt might be:

“Write a friendly Instagram DM to {name}. Mention their bio if relevant. Keep it under 3 sentences. End with asking if they’d be open to a quick chat.”

DMpro’s AI reads that prompt, looks at the profile you’re on, and generates something like:

“Hey Sarah, love your feed on baking. Would you be open to a quick chat about a partnership we’re running?”

Prompts are reusable

Once you’ve written a good prompt, you don’t rewrite it for every DM. It sits in your Prompts library, and you pick which one is active. Every time you click Generate on a profile, that active prompt runs.

Multiple prompts for different audiences

Most users end up with 2 to 5 prompts: one for reaching out to potential customers, one for creator collabs, one for recruiting, and one for follow-ups. Switch between them in the extension’s prompt selector without editing anything.

Prompts support variables

Variables let you reference specific fields from the profile you’re messaging, like {name}, {bio}, {followers}, and {platform}, plus your own info if connected, like {my_display_name}, {my_niche}, and {campaign_title}. The AI substitutes these automatically. See “Using Variables Like {name} And {bio}” for the full list.

Where prompts live

Prompts are stored on the DMpro server, not in your browser. That means you can access them from any browser you sign in from, they’re automatically backed up so you can’t lose them, and they’re editable from the dashboard.

How many prompts can you have?

Default prompt vs selected prompt

Every user has a default prompt (marked with a star), which is the fallback if no other prompt is picked, and a selected prompt (marked with a checkmark), which is what runs on Generate. Usually default and selected are the same. See “Setting Your Default Prompt” for the distinction.

Creating a new prompt takes about 30 seconds: give it a name, write the instruction, save.

1. Open the Prompts section

Go to Dashboard → Prompts. You’ll see your existing prompts as cards on the page, plus a New Prompt button.

2. Click New Prompt

A form opens with a Title (a short name for the prompt, only shown to you in the prompt selector), Content (the actual instruction text the AI reads), and an optional Set as default checkbox. Only one prompt can be default at a time.

3. Give it a descriptive title

Good titles help you find the prompt later, for example “Cold DM to potential customers,” “Collab pitch to fashion creators,” “Recruit pitch to designers,” or “Warm follow-up after a like.” Avoid generic names like “Prompt 1” if you plan to have multiple.

4. Write the content

A good template sets the tone (“Write a friendly, casual DM…”), references context (“Reference their bio if relevant”), controls length (“Keep it under 3 sentences”), makes a clear ask (“End with asking if they’d be open to a quick chat”), and adds anything specific like brand context, your role, or your niche. For example:

“Write a friendly, personal Instagram DM to {name}. Reference their bio if it hints at what they do. Mention I’m a {my_niche} creator interested in a collab. Keep the whole message under 3 sentences and end with ‘Would you be down to chat?'”

5. Use variables where useful

Wherever you’d otherwise type “the person’s name” or “my company,” use a variable instead. See “Using Variables Like {name} And {bio}” for the full list.

6. Save the prompt

Click Save. The prompt appears in your list. If you checked “Set as default,” it becomes your default; otherwise your previous default stays.

7. Test it on a real profile

Open Instagram or TikTok, browse to a profile, and click Generate in the extension. The message you see is what your prompt produces. Iterate from there.

8. Editing after creation

Go back to Dashboard → Prompts, click the prompt card, edit the title or content, and save. Every future Generate uses the updated version.

9. Making it the selected prompt

Saving a prompt doesn’t automatically select it. To use it as your active prompt, open the extension, click the prompt selector at the top of the panel, and pick the new prompt from the dropdown. Or from the dashboard’s Prompts page, click Select on the card.

Variables let your prompt reference specific fields from the profile you’re messaging, so every DM feels personal without you rewriting the prompt for each profile. Here’s every variable DMpro supports.

Profile variables (about the person you’re messaging)

Your own info variables (about you)

Populated from your profile and connected services. If a variable isn’t set, it substitutes as an empty string.

Business-persona and campaign variables

Business-persona variables: {business_type} (your business type from onboarding), {offer} (your offer description), and {ideal_customer} (your ideal customer). Ainfluencer campaign variables (available when Ainfluencer is connected and a campaign is selected): {campaign_title}, {campaign_description}, and {campaign_url} (a short link creators can use to apply).

Time variables

{time_of_day} substitutes “morning,” “afternoon,” or “evening” based on the recipient’s local time if it can be inferred from bio or username, otherwise your own time. {day_of_week} substitutes the current day, like “Monday” or “Tuesday.”

Combining variables

“Good {time_of_day} {name}! I noticed your bio mentions {bio_reference}. I’m {my_display_name}, a {my_niche} creator with {my_handle}. Would you be interested in a collab for {campaign_title}?”

The AI is instructed to substitute variables literally, but it may also intelligently pull from bio content even when you don’t ask. If you write “Reference their bio if it hints at their work,” the AI reads the {bio} value and picks something relevant to mention, without needing an explicit variable for it.

What happens when a variable is empty

If a variable has no value (for example, you haven’t connected brandID so {my_display_name} is empty), the AI is smart enough to either skip the reference gracefully (“Hey Sarah, I run…” instead of “Hey Sarah, I’m {my_display_name}, running…”) or ask you to fill it in. Keep an eye on generated messages for stray {variable_name} text; that means the variable isn’t set. Fix it by filling in your profile or the source integration.

The default prompt is the one DMpro falls back to if nothing else is selected. Here’s how to set it and how it differs from the selected prompt.

Default vs selected

The default prompt is your fallback; only one prompt at a time can be default, marked with a star icon on the Prompts page. The selected prompt is the one currently active in the extension, what Generate uses right now. For most users, default and selected are the same, but you can pick a temporarily different selected prompt for a specific campaign or session while your default stays intact as your everyday fallback.

Setting a default from the dashboard

Go to Dashboard → Prompts, click the star icon on the prompt you want as default. The star fills in yellow and your previous default’s star empties.

Setting a default when creating a new prompt

When creating a new prompt, check the Set as default box and save. The new prompt becomes both selected and default in one step.

Setting a selected prompt in the extension

The selected prompt is set in the extension, not the dashboard. Open the DMpro extension, click the prompt name or dropdown at the top of the panel, and pick a different prompt from the list. The change applies until you switch again, or sign out.

What happens when you delete the default

If you delete your current default prompt, DMpro automatically promotes the next most recently used prompt to default. If you have zero prompts, DMpro re-creates a starter default from your persona template.

Multi-session behavior

Your selected prompt persists across sessions. If you sign out and back in, the same prompt is still selected, and it’s the same across multiple browsers: whatever you selected last is what shows up on any device signed in. Your default prompt is a fixed choice; it doesn’t change based on which browser you’re on.

Most active DMpro users have 2 to 5 prompts, each for a different audience or campaign. Here’s how to manage multiple prompts and switch between them.

When multiple prompts make sense

Create separate prompts when your audiences differ: different personas (creator outreach vs cold sales pitch, which need very different tones), different platforms (IG DMs read differently from TikTok DMs), different products (if you sell multiple things, each has its own pitch), or different campaign phases (warm intro vs follow-up vs close).

Naming convention for prompts

When you have 5 or more prompts, naming matters. A pattern that works is “[Audience] – [Purpose] – [Version],” for example “Creators – Collab Pitch – v2,” “Ecomm – Sales Pitch – Short,” or “Recruits – Designer Role – Follow-up.”

Switching between prompts on the fly

The extension has a prompt selector at the top of the panel. Click it, pick a different prompt, and the next Generate uses that one. The switch is instant.

Duplicating a prompt

If you want a variation of an existing prompt, like a shorter version, the fastest way is to duplicate it: go to Dashboard → Prompts, click the copy icon on the prompt card, edit the copy, and save. Both the original and the copy live in your list; rename the copy to distinguish it.

Archiving vs deleting

DMpro doesn’t have an archive; you either delete or keep. If a prompt is old but you might want to reference it later, rename it with a “z_” prefix so it sinks to the bottom of your alphabetical list.

Prompt usage analytics

Each prompt tracks a usage count (how many times Generate has run with that prompt selected) and a last-used timestamp. These show on the prompt card in the dashboard, so you can see which prompts are your workhorses and which are dead weight.

Bulk actions and team sharing

DMpro doesn’t currently support bulk delete or bulk edit; each prompt is managed individually. Prompts are also per-account. On the Enterprise plan, team members can view and use each other’s prompts. On other plans, sharing a prompt means copying the text and sending it to your teammate to paste into their own DMpro.

Every Generate uses whichever prompt is currently selected in the extension. If you switch prompts mid-session, the next Generate uses the new one. Here’s exactly how the flow works.

When selection matters

The selected prompt is read at the moment you click Generate, not before and not after. If you switch prompts before clicking Generate, the new one runs. If you switch prompts after generating but before sending, the generated message is unaffected; it was already made with the previous prompt. The active prompt is tied to your session, not the profile you’re on.

Selection is per account, not per browser

If you switch prompts on your desktop, then open the extension on your laptop later, the same prompt is selected. Your selection follows your account across all devices. Under the hood, DMpro stores your currently selected prompt as an isSelected: true flag on the prompt document in the database; only one prompt can be selected at a time, and picking a new one flips the flag on the new prompt and off the previous one.

What the AI does with the prompt

When you click Generate, the extension sends your selected prompt’s content plus the current profile’s data (bio, follower count, and so on) to the DMpro server, the server passes both to the AI model, the AI generates a message that follows your prompt’s instructions while substituting variables and referencing the profile, and the result appears in the extension’s message area. The whole trip usually takes 3 to 6 seconds.

Typos, credits, and failures

If the prompt has a typo or a confusing instruction, the AI does its best but may produce lower-quality messages. Test your prompt on real profiles before scaling up; bad output usually means the prompt needs work, not the AI. Switching between prompts is free, you only spend a credit when Generate actually produces a message, and if you edit your selected prompt mid-session, the next Generate in the extension uses the updated version (the extension pulls the latest at every Generate click). If Generate fails because of a server timeout or the AI being unavailable, no credit is charged; the extension shows an error like “Try again in a moment,” and retrying usually works.

You can edit any prompt in place, or delete it entirely, from the dashboard.

Editing a prompt

Go to Dashboard → Prompts, click on the prompt card you want to edit, and the edit view opens with the title and content fields. Change what you want to change and click Save. The updated prompt takes effect on your next Generate; previously generated messages aren’t retroactively changed. You can edit the title, the content, and the default status (star or unstar to change your default).

Deleting a prompt

Go to Dashboard → Prompts, click the trash icon on the prompt card, and confirm in the dialog that appears. The prompt is deleted permanently.

What happens if you delete the currently-selected prompt

The default prompt becomes selected automatically. If you don’t have a default, DMpro promotes the most recently used prompt to selected. If you have no prompts at all, DMpro auto-creates a fresh starter prompt based on your persona. You’re never left without a working prompt.

Undo isn’t available

Once a prompt is deleted, there’s no undo. If you regret deleting it, you’ll have to recreate it from memory or your notes.

Deleting multiple prompts, and editing on the extension

There’s no bulk delete; if you have 20 prompts to delete, do them one at a time from the Prompts page. Also note the extension shows your prompt in the message area but doesn’t let you edit it there. All edits happen on the dashboard; editing prompt content mid-flow risks confusion, so keeping prompt management explicit keeps you deliberate about what you’re doing.

A great prompt makes DMpro’s AI produce messages that get replies. A bad prompt makes it produce generic, low-response messages. Here’s what works.

Set the tone explicitly

State the tone you want in the first sentence: “Write a friendly, casual DM…,” “Write a professional, formal DM…,” “Write a fun, playful DM…,” or “Write a direct, no-fluff DM…” Without a tone directive, the AI defaults to something moderately professional, which may not match your voice.

Reference something specific to the profile

Prompts that say “Reference their bio if relevant” or “Mention something from their recent post” produce far more personalized messages than prompts that don’t. For example: “Reference something from their bio or recent post that hints at their niche.”

Keep the length under control

Instagram and TikTok DMs get less traction when they’re long. Add a length constraint like “Keep the message under 3 sentences,” “Keep the total length under 200 characters,” or “Two sentences maximum.” The AI will follow it.

Have a clear ask

Every good outreach DM ends with a specific ask the recipient can actually answer, like “Would you be open to a quick call?”, “Would you be down to collab?”, “Interested in learning more?”, or “Can I send over more details?” A vague, open-ended sentence (or no ask at all) is a missed opportunity.

Mention who you are, briefly

The recipient doesn’t know you. One sentence of context makes a huge difference: “I’m a {my_niche} creator with {my_handle},” “I run a small SaaS focused on {offer},” or “I’m reaching out from Ainfluencer’s campaign for {campaign_title}.” Skip it if the AI can figure it out from your connected profile.

Avoid generic corporate language

DMs on Instagram and TikTok should read like a human wrote them. Avoid “I hope this message finds you well” (universally hated), “I wanted to reach out regarding…,” and “We provide innovative solutions…” Instead try “Hey, saw your feed and had to reach out,” “Just came across your work and wanted to say hi,” or “Been following your page for a bit.”

Test on diverse profiles, then iterate

A prompt that works well on 100k-follower creator accounts may flop on smaller creators or non-creators. Test on a small account (under 5k followers), a medium account (5k to 50k), a large account (100k+), an account with a sparse bio, and an account with a rich bio, then iterate based on what looks good across all of them. Once you’ve sent 10 to 20 real DMs, watch your reply rate; if it’s under 10%, your prompt likely needs work, so test a variant and compare.

Common mistakes

Over-specifying (writing out the exact message word for word instead of describing what you want), contradictions (“Keep it professional but also fun and casual,” pick one), assuming the AI knows things it doesn’t (if you want it to reference your latest launch, tell it explicitly, since it can’t check your website), and too many instructions (prompts over 300 words get diluted; 100 to 150 words is the sweet spot).

An excellent prompt, as an example

“Write a warm, friendly Instagram DM to {name}. In one sentence reference something specific from their bio if you can spot it, or their follower count if not. In the second sentence introduce myself as {my_display_name}, a {my_niche} creator with about {my_followers} followers on {platform}. In the third sentence propose a collab for our brand campaign around {campaign_title} and end with ‘Would you be down to chat?’ Keep the whole message under 3 sentences. Use casual language, no formal ‘Dear’ or ‘Sincerely.'”

DMpro includes a Template Library of pre-written prompts you can browse and copy into your own account.

What’s in the library

The Template Library has 20+ pre-built prompts covering common use cases: brand outreach (cold, warm, and follow-up variants), creator collab pitches by niche (fashion, fitness, tech, food, lifestyle), sales pitches (SaaS, agency, consulting, e-commerce), recruiting by role (designer, engineer, marketing, other), and community messages (fan messages, engagement DMs). Each template is written by the DMpro team, tested against real profiles, and shows sample outputs.

Opening the library

Go to Dashboard → Library. You’ll see the templates as cards, filtered by category.

Reading a template before copying

Click any template card to open the preview. You’ll see the full prompt text, sample AI-generated outputs on a few sample profiles, which persona it’s designed for, and which variables it uses.

Copying a template to your prompts

Click Use This Template. DMpro creates a new prompt in your Prompts library with the template content pre-filled, and you’re taken to the edit view where you can change the title, edit any variables to match your account, change the tone or ask, and save. The template in the Library itself is not modified; your copy is independent.

Templates by persona

The Library filters by persona: Brand (templates optimized for brand-to-creator outreach), Creator (templates for creator-to-brand or creator-to-creator), and Business (B2B sales, recruiting, and community templates). Filter by your persona, or browse all, to find what fits your use case.

New templates and contributions

DMpro adds new templates monthly; check the Library occasionally for fresh options, marked with a “New” pill on the card. DMpro doesn’t currently accept user-submitted templates for the public library. If you have a killer prompt you want featured, contact the team at [email protected].

Smart Message Update is a DMpro feature that regenerates the message when the profile data updates, for example when you scroll or switch profiles.

What it does

Without Smart Update: you click Generate, the message appears, and if you then scroll or Instagram/TikTok loads more profile data (like a bio field that wasn’t visible before), the message stays the same, since it was generated with the old data. With Smart Update: you click Generate, the message appears, and if profile data changes (a new bio field loads, or the follower count updates), DMpro re-generates the message with the fresh data.

Two modes: Auto and Manual

Auto Mode regenerates automatically whenever profile data changes, best for speed. Manual Mode shows a “Refresh” button when profile data changes and you click it to regenerate, best for control (and cost, since each regeneration costs a credit). You pick the mode in Dashboard → Automation → Smart Message Update.

When to use each mode

Use Auto if you’re sending in high volume, want the freshest possible message every time, and are okay with the credit cost of occasional regenerations. Use Manual if you’re on a tight credit budget, want to see the generated message before deciding to regenerate, or are testing prompt variations and want to compare messages.

Turning Smart Update off, and how it interacts with campaigns

In Dashboard → Automation, you can set Smart Update to “Off.” When off, Generate produces one message and that message stays until you click Generate again, with no auto-refresh. Smart Update only affects one-off DMs (the popup or side panel mode); it does not apply to bulk campaigns, which use a different flow.

The most common case: a profile loads slowly

Instagram sometimes takes 1 to 2 seconds to load all profile fields. If you clicked Generate before the bio finished loading, Auto mode catches up and regenerates once the bio arrives, which is the most common reason Auto mode is helpful.