How to connect ChatGPT to Instagram: step by step and what it can do
ChatGPT can't get into your Instagram on its own: it needs a connector. How to connect it step by step, what to ask it and the other ways that exist.
If you already ask ChatGPT for your captions, reel ideas or replies for your customers, you've probably wondered the same thing as everyone else: what if, instead of giving me the text, it did it right in my Instagram? It can, and you can have it ready in five minutes.
ChatGPT doesn't get into your account by itself: it needs a tool that connects to your Instagram and gives it hands to do things. As we write this, we couldn't find any official Instagram or Meta app in ChatGPT, so every option comes from another company. And it's worth it: more than 1.2 billion people use ChatGPT every week, according to OpenAI.
The short answer: here's how to connect it
Animation in 4 steps: in ChatGPT, in Plugins, the plus button is tapped and Add custom MCP server is chosen; the name SocialMaker and the address https://socialmaker.ai/mcp are typed, OAuth is chosen and the notice is checked; the SocialMaker permissions screen opens and Allow is tapped; and in a chat someone types @SocialMaker with a request, SocialMaker creates the automation and ChatGPT asks whether to turn it on.
Open ChatGPT on your computer
Go to chatgpt.com and sign in. You add it from the web, not from the mobile app.
Go to “Plugins”
It's at chatgpt.com/plugins. If you don't see how to add your own, turn on Developer mode in settings first.
Tap “+” and choose “Add custom MCP server”
Name it SocialMaker and paste https://socialmaker.ai/mcp in Server URL.
Choose “OAuth” and create it
Read the notice, check I understand and want to continue and tap Create as a plugin. Then install it.
Sign in to SocialMaker and choose what it can do
SocialMaker's permissions screen opens: in each area you choose View and edit, View only or None, and tap Allow.
Done. In any chat, type @SocialMaker and ask for what you need. There's a guide with screenshots in Connect SocialMaker to ChatGPT.
What you can ask ChatGPT with SocialMaker connected
With the connector, ChatGPT does in your account the same things you'd do in the SocialMaker Studio, but with one sentence: it creates your Instagram and Facebook auto-replies (to comments, DMs and stories, with a button), builds your link in bio, designs your carousels with your photos and schedules or publishes them on Instagram and Facebook. It also handles your bookings and your menus.
Copy one of these prompts and paste it into the ChatGPT chat:
Prompt for ChatGPTAutomation@SocialMaker when someone comments PRICE on my latest reel, reply publicly and DM them my price list with a button- Prompt for ChatGPTLink in bio
@SocialMaker design a link in bio for my bakery, in cream and sage green, with my WhatsApp and my menu, and show it to me before applying it - Prompt for ChatGPTCarousel
@SocialMaker make a 5-slide carousel with the photos I'm attaching: 3 tips to choose your wedding cake - Prompt for ChatGPTSchedule
@SocialMaker schedule that carousel for Thursday at 7 p.m. New York time, with a short caption and a question at the end
ChatGPT asks you to confirm before every change, and new automations start turned off: it turns them on when you say yes.
What ChatGPT will be able to do
- “Create an automation for the word PRICE”It does it
- “Use it on my latest reel”It can't see it
- “Change the colors of my link in bio”It does it
- “Design a 5-slide carousel for me”It does it
- “Book an appointment on Friday at 4”It does it
- “Read my DMs and comments”Never
Tap the permissions to see what changes.
What ChatGPT doesn't do with your Instagram
- It doesn't read your DMs or comments. The connector has no tool for that: it replies through the automations you ask it to create.
- It doesn't see your password or your Instagram, Facebook or Google keys.
- It doesn't post without your yes. Before posting it shows you the text, the account and the time, and waits for you to confirm.
- It doesn't use your SocialMaker AI credits. What ChatGPT does for you isn't taken from your plan.
What about ChatGPT Dots?
Dots is ChatGPT's agent that works on its own, nonstop, between one conversation and the next. For now it uses plugins from the ChatGPT directory, and OpenAI doesn't confirm it works with custom servers like this one. Once SocialMaker is in the directory, you'll be able to ask your Dot too.
Other ways to connect ChatGPT to Instagram
SocialMaker isn't the only way. These are the ones we found, with what each one does from ChatGPT:
| What ChatGPT does with your Instagram | Starting price | |
|---|---|---|
| SocialMaker | Creates your comment, DM and story automations, schedules and publishes, and builds your link in bio, bookings and carousels. | Pro, $24 a month, with 30 days free |
| Metricool | Schedules posts and gives you stats and the best times. It doesn't handle DMs or comments. | Free plan with 20 posts a month; paid from $20 a month billed yearly |
| Zapier | Publishes a photo, a carousel or a reel with actions you set up beforehand. | Free with 100 tasks a month (each action uses 2) |
| Make | Creates posts, carousels and reels with scenarios you set up beforehand. | Free with 1,000 credits a month |
| Hootsuite | Schedules and publishes, and shows you stats. | From $99, with a 14-day trial |
| Blotato | Publishes to 9 networks. According to its page, from ChatGPT it only publishes on ChatGPT's business plans. | From $29 a month; the trial doesn't include the connector |
| Canva | Designs your posts inside the chat; to publish them, you go back to Canva. | Works with Canva Free |
Prices and features checked on October 25, 2026 on each tool's page.
- If you want it to answer comments and DMs for you: on this list, only SocialMaker creates those automations from ChatGPT.
- If you only want to schedule: Metricool and Hootsuite do it, and so does SocialMaker.
- If you like building your own recipes: Zapier and Make publish, but you set up each action beforehand.
What about ManyChat with ChatGPT?
It works the other way around: ManyChat uses ChatGPT inside its flows if you paste your own OpenAI key (you pay that usage to OpenAI separately), but ChatGPT can't run your ManyChat. As we write this, it has no connector for ChatGPT.
ChatGPT or Claude?
- SocialMaker works with both, with the same tools and the same permissions. You can connect both and use whichever one you have open.
- Claude allows custom connectors on all its plans, including the free one (one connector), and you can also add it from its desktop app: how to connect Claude to Instagram.
- ChatGPT is added from the web and, depending on your plan, it can create and change or only view. We tested it with Plus and it creates and changes.
Is it safe to connect?
- You sign in with your SocialMaker account on our own page (OAuth): ChatGPT never sees your password.
- You choose what it can do in each area, and you can change it anytime.
- In Settings → Connected apps you see what it did and when, and you disconnect it with one tap.
Already connected? Here are 30 prompts to use ChatGPT for Instagram, ready to copy.
Does Instagram have an official app in ChatGPT?
As we write this, we couldn't find one, from Instagram or from Meta. The options that exist come from other companies, like SocialMaker.
Which ChatGPT plan do I need?
We tested it with ChatGPT Plus and it creates and changes things in your account. According to OpenAI, on some plans it can still only view, and on Business, Enterprise and Edu it works fully. In SocialMaker you need the Pro or Max plan.
Does it work from my phone?
You add it from chatgpt.com on a computer. If you don't see it in the mobile app, use it from the web.
Does ChatGPT see my Instagram DMs and comments?
No. The connector has no tool for that, and we never give it your password or your Instagram, Facebook or Google keys.
Does it use my SocialMaker AI credits?
No. What ChatGPT does for you with the connector doesn't use your SocialMaker AI credits.
Can I connect ChatGPT and Claude at the same time?
Yes. Each one has its own permissions, and you see and disconnect them in Settings → Connected apps.
Does it work with ChatGPT Dots?
Not yet: Dots uses plugins from the ChatGPT directory. Once SocialMaker is in the directory, you'll be able to ask your Dot too.
If you want to see it before connecting it, AI assistants shows what it can do, and pricing has the Pro plan with 30 days free.
Written byAndros BlandonSocialMaker