Generate Viral Instagram Scripts by Analyzing Trending Reels with Apify and GPT-4

Description

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