Instagram debuts agentic shopping experience for direct messages
Instagram is allowing brands on its platform to offer customers in-app chat engagement, virtual try-ons and one-click checkout.
The visually oriented social network is teaming with agentic commerce solution provider VibeDM to let brands prompt customers to send them Instagram direct messages through an influencer campaign, organic post or an ad click, which starts the messaging flow.
The brand then shows its products in a carousel inside the chat. The customer picks a product and, depending on what they’re shopping for, sends a selfie, completes a face or body scan, or uploads a photo of their room. Within 15 seconds, they receive an artificial intelligence-generated image of themselves wearing the product, of the product on their skin, or of the product in their home. They can then check out in the chat and receive their shipping track-and-trace details via direct message.
“VibeDM turns the people already scrolling and engaging on Instagram directly into buyers, at a much higher conversion rate than sending them to a brand’s website,” said Michael Tesselaar, co-founder and CEO of VibeDM. “We built VibeDM on our parent company Vibeday’s proven one-on-one AI conversation engine, finally bringing virally engaging content and frictionless checkout to Instagram direct messages.”
According to VibeDM, prospective customers go from initial message to purchase in five messages, with each step consisting of a message they already know how to answer.
Now available in the U.S. and Europe, eight brands across fashion, beauty, wellness and home are launching Instagram shopping with VibeDM: Eliou, Cabau Lifestyle, Oger, Stieglitz, Eave Cosmetics, Sjumo, Malelions, and Crovez. Brands can use an integration with the Shopify e-commerce platform to use their own store’s checkout in the direct messages.
They can also use an integration via VibeDM’s partner ChannelEngine or opt for a custom CRM integration with payments supported by Adyen. Instagram is introducing this new shopping capability as data from mobile engagement platform Vibes indicates consumers are becoming more open to making purchases via messaging platforms.
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Almost eight-in-10 (78%) mobile-centric consumers surveyed in the ninth-annual Vibes Mobile Consumer Insights study said they have made a direct purchase from a brand’s SMS or MMS text message, up from 75% in 2025. Roughly two-in-three respondents said they have made this type of purchase within the past year.
“At Eliou, we are always looking for unique and personalized ways to interact with our followers,” said Eliou co-founder Christy Mantilla. “VibeDM’s engaging, agentic conversations, paired with the ability to finally accept payments without rerouting the customer, is leveling up how we do business on Instagram.”
