Generate viral Instagram scripts by analyzing trending reels with Apify and GPT-4

This n8n template demonstrates how to leverage AI to analyze trending short-form video content and automatically generate original, high-engagement video scripts inspired by proven viral formats.

Use cases are many: Create consistent content calendars for beauty salons and aestheticians, maintain a steady stream of reels without creative burnout, or study viral patterns to understand what drives engagement across Instagram's trending hashtags!

Good to know

• The workflow scrapes real trending reels from Instagram based on your chosen hashtag, ensuring you're always learning from current viral patterns
• Video transcription happens automatically, extracting the core messaging and pacing strategies from successful content
• Generated scripts use proven engagement structures—hook, value delivery, and call-to-action timing—without copying original content
• All data is organized in Google Sheets for easy review, editing, and tracking of script performance
• The AI model intelligently mirrors the emotional tone and narrative structure while creating entirely new storylines

How it works

• A form trigger collects your hashtag and desired number of reels to analyze
• The Apify API scrapes trending Instagram reels matching your hashtag, filtering for high engagement (1000+ likes from the last 7 days)
• Filtered reels are added to your Google Sheet with metadata: captions, engagement metrics, video links, and music information
• Each reel is automatically transcribed using video-to-text technology, capturing the exact dialogue and timing
• The AI Agent analyzes each transcript to understand its underlying structure—pacing, tone, curiosity hooks, and CTA placement
• Using this analysis, Claude generates a completely original script that follows the same proven engagement formula but with a fresh topic or angle
• Generated scripts are saved back to your Google Sheet alongside the source materials for comparison and refinement
• A summary email is sent confirming the number of scripts created and ready for production

How to use

• Start by entering a beauty or lifestyle hashtag (e.g., #aiautomation, #beautysalon, #haircare) and specify how many trending reels to analyze
• Review the scraped content in your Google Sheet to understand what's currently resonating
• Check the generated scripts and use them as jumping-off points for your own video production
• Iterate on the process with different hashtags to discover emerging trends in your niche

Requirements

• Apify account and API key for Instagram scraping (free tier available)
• Google Sheets document set up to store reel data and generated scripts
• OpenAI API key for the AI script generation
• Gmail account for the completion notification (optional but recommended)

Customising this workflow

• Adjust the engagement filter thresholds (currently 1000+ likes, 7 days old) to capture micro-trends or evergreen content
• Modify the AI prompt in the "AI Agent" node to enforce specific brand voice, tone, or content guidelines
• Add additional Google Sheet columns to track metrics like script-to-video conversion rates or audience response
• Connect to additional distribution channels—automatically post scripts to team Slack, create video production briefs, or trigger video editing templates
• Experiment with different video categories by creating multiple instances of this workflow for different hashtags or niches