Take any viral reel
apart.
This is the exact setup I use to study what is working right now. A little skill you add to Claude called /analyze. You paste the links. Claude pulls the real transcript and the numbers itself, then hands you back the hook, the structure, and why it took off. Do it on ten reels and you can see the pattern your niche is rewarding this week.
This is the exact file you drag into Claude. No editing needed. Under 7 KB. It is a plain text file of instructions. Nothing installs on your computer.
Step 1 · install the skill
Skills work on the free plan too. You do not need Pro for this part.
- Download the file above.The analyze-skill.zip lands in your Downloads.
- Turn on code execution first.Skills need it. In Claude, open Settings, then Capabilities, and switch on Code execution and file creation.
- Open Customize, then Skills.That is where your skills live.
- Press the + button.Choose Create skill, then Upload a skill, and drag in analyze-skill.zip.
- Done.It shows up in your list, ready to use. You type /analyze to run it.
Step 2 · connect Apify
This is the part that matters. A two minute setup you do once.
Here is the honest problem. Claude cannot open an Instagram or TikTok link. Not sometimes, ever. Instagram blocks Claude by name, so a reel link gives back the same login wall whether it is real or made up. Claude also cannot watch video or hear sound.
So you have two choices. Copy every transcript out by hand, forever. Or connect one tool once and never think about it again. Connect the tool. Apify is a scraping service, and it plugs into Claude as a connector. That means Claude can go and fetch the reel itself, the numbers and the spoken words, from the links you paste.
- Make a free Apify account.Go to apify.com. No card needed. It comes with $5 of free credit a month.
- In Claude, open Settings, then Connectors.Search the directory for Apify and add it. If it is not listed, press +, choose Add custom connector, and paste this address: https://mcp.apify.com
- Click Add, then sign in to Apify in the popup.That is a normal sign in. There is no key to copy or paste anywhere.
- Check it worked.Ask Claude "what Apify tools do you have?" and it should list things like search-actors and call-actor.
Step 3 · paste your links
That is the whole workflow now. Save reels all week, then paste them in one go.
The free guides are the start. AI Creator Lab is where the training and the workflows behind them live.
Join the free community/analyze https://www.instagram.com/reel/XXXXXXXXX/ https://www.instagram.com/reel/YYYYYYYYY/ https://www.instagram.com/reel/ZZZZZZZZZ/ Pull these with Apify, include the transcripts, then run the full teardown on each and give me the pattern report. My niche is [what you post about, and who for].
You can also point it at a whole account instead of single links:
/analyze Pull @competitor's last 15 reels with Apify, include transcripts, only posts newer than 3 months. Work out their median views so we score the outliers properly, then give me the pattern report.
Two small things. Ask for 5 to 10 reels at a time, because big runs get cut off and Claude has to go back for the rest. And a long run may hand back a job it checks on rather than answering straight away. That is normal. Let it finish.
What you get back
For every reel, and then the part that actually changes what you film.
- A snapshot with an outlier score, so you know if the reel really beat its account or just rode a big following.
- The full transcript, with the hook line and the call to action marked.
- The hook pulled apart. What it says, why it makes you stay, and the exact type it is.
- The structure beat by beat, and where the payoff sits.
- A fill-in-the-blank template so you can remake it for your niche.
What it actually costs
Being straight with you. Apify bills two things. The scrape itself is basically nothing, about $2.60 for a thousand reels. The transcript is the real cost, about 5 cents a reel. So the free $5 a month covers roughly 100 transcribed reels, about 25 a week. That is more competitor research than most people will ever do. The credit does not roll over, and when it runs out the runs just stop until the month resets. No surprise bill.
Make it a weekly ritual
Save every reel that stops your scroll during the week. Then on Sunday, paste the whole batch in one message and run /analyze before you plan anything. Ten minutes of reading the pattern beats an hour of scrolling. You walk into the week knowing what to film, instead of guessing.
AI Creator Lab. Come when you are ready.
Join the free community →