For anybody scuffling with utilizing AI in Instagram advertising, now could be positively the time to be taught. Almost half of the entrepreneurs we surveyed for our 2025 State of AI Marketing report mentioned they’re already utilizing AI for social media, with 49% utilizing it for text-based social content material and 47% for video/audio-based content material.
HubSpot’s personal social media staff is leveraging AI to create extra partaking, genuine, and on-trend content material quick. I did some digging on the methods manufacturers are utilizing AI on Instagram and chatted with HubSpot’s International Head of Model Advertising to deliver you the AI examples, ideas, and instruments it’s essential succeed on Instagram.
Desk of Contents
Examples of How Manufacturers Are Utilizing AI on Instagram
1. Producing Instagram Captions
Arising with captions is usually the bane of a social media marketer’s existence. Due to generative AI, this tedious activity could be a lot sooner. I personally like to begin with a draft I’ve written after which ask ChatGPT to assist me refine it by prompting it with one thing like, “Enhance this. Make it shorter, punchier.”
I like to recommend revising the output. Actually, our State of AI Marketing analysis discovered that solely 7% of entrepreneurs don’t edit the AI outputs. Greater than half (56%) considerably revise or rewrite the outputs.
Right here’s an instance of the iterative strategy of utilizing AI to generate Instagram captions, as demonstrated by Melissa Lunt of Superhero Design. She begins with this Claude immediate.
And after some re-prompting and refining, she finally ends up with this:
2. Repurposing Weblog Content material into Instagram Posts
Each marketer is aware of the ability of repurposing content. By doing this, one piece of content material can tackle many lives, increasing its attain.
And due to AI, you are able to do this sooner than ever. Utilizing Content Remix by HubSpot, you may take a touchdown web page or weblog publish and repurpose it into a number of advertising belongings, together with an Instagram publish, in only a few clicks.
3. Hopping onto AI-generated Tendencies Like ChatGPT’s Motion Determine Development
By now, who hasn’t seen the enjoyable AI-generated action figures throughout Instagram and LinkedIn? Right here’s an instance from when HubSpot hopped on the development:
AI can actually enable you to keep on high of developments — however as this motion determine fad reveals, typically AI is the development. And that may be a enjoyable approach to make use of AI on Instagram.
4. Enjoying with AI to Lengthen Backgrounds
Gymshark used AI to increase the backgrounds of those epic pictures, garnering almost 52k likes on a single publish. And for those who’re curious, I requested ChatGPT what instrument Gymshark used to do that, and it instructed me it was Photoshop’s “Generative Fill.”
I can see how this instrument could be helpful in taking a picture you already like and fine-tuning it. For instance, if a topic received reduce off or if the picture dimensions don’t fill the body as is, you might use Photoshop to make the photograph Instagram prepared.
5. Creating AI Influencers
I admit, watching AI influencers on Instagram continues to be just a little too uncanny valley for me. However for a lot of manufacturers, it’s driving engagement and gross sales. Simply have a look at Brazilian retailer Journal Luiza (or Magalu)’s AI-powered persona, Lu.
Dubbed “essentially the most adopted digital influencer on this planet” by Virtual Humans, Lu do Magalu has 8 million followers on Instagram alone.
She’s powered by Google’s Vertex AI, which created “Lu’s Mind” to assist the model persona make personalised product options for its internet buyers.
Professional tip: Use AI influencers with warning. A 2025 Northeastern University study discovered that, when issues go fallacious, AI influencers usually tend to damage model belief than human influencers. That is as a result of customers see AI as having much less company, and subsequently, much less duty for promoting a defective product to customers — which means customers redirect the blame to the model that was managing the AI.
The takeaway? The research authors conclude: “Organisations should recognise their accountability for the actions of AI-powered VIs [virtual assistants], as these straight have an effect on model belief. Deciding on VIs ought to contain not solely their means to draw followers but additionally a cautious analysis of potential dangers to model status.”
6. Utilizing AI Analytics to Drive Social Media Technique
“Knowledge-driven social media technique” takes on a brand new life once you apply AI analytics to your Instagram marketing, permitting you to optimize posts primarily based on previous publish efficiency and your viewers’s preferences and information.
“AI helps us uncover distinctive insights about glasses wearers (even ones we’d not have skilled ourselves),” says Or Zinger, VP of Model Advertising at GlassesUSA.com.
GlassesUSA.com used Sprout Social’s AI to investigate previous profitable posts and provide you with the POV format and captions for this Reel. The video received greater than 367,000 views — 90% of which got here from non-followers.
Ideas for Utilizing AI in Your Instagram Advertising Technique
1. Continually experiment with and refine your AI workflows.
“The largest mistake I see manufacturers make is dumping their total model pointers into AI and anticipating magic,” says Amy Marino, HubSpot’s International Head of Model Advertising. “That’s like giving an intern a 200-page worker handbook and anticipating them to embody your tradition on day one.”
Identical to you wouldn’t throw a brand new rent into their position with out enough onboarding, don’t anticipate your AI workflow to work completely the primary time. It should require fixed experimentation and refinement earlier than you notice most productiveness and high quality features.
So, the place to start? Marino gives steerage: “Get AI began on the boring stuff no one needs to do anyway. That is the place AI shines, and you will get some fast wins.”
She provides, “Essentially the most highly effective half isn’t the instruments themselves, however the way you create a system or ideas for evaluating and refining outputs. Anybody can use AI to create a bunch of mediocre content material, however the aggressive benefit comes from how masterfully you push and refine what the AI provides you.”
2. Go away the humor to the people.
“Let AI do the 80% that’s predictable, and save the 20% that makes folks cease scrolling for human creativity,” says Marino.
“We have realized that AI will not be the perfect at humor or cultural references that really feel present and genuine. We use AI to generate construction, however our staff provides the cultural touchpoints and persona that make content material really feel of the second.”
For instance, take a look at this hilarious Instagram video from the official HubSpot account. Marino’s staff used AI to help with the script, however people introduced the humor.
3. Whip up some “immediate recipes” you may reuse.
Streamlining your AI Instagram workflows means creating reusable prompts that you just’ve seen constant success with. That’s what Marino’s staff does to avoid wasting time.
“As a substitute of chasing each new AI launch, we’ve invested in creating (and updating) our immediate recipes. These are particular directions that constantly ship good outcomes for various content material varieties,” Marino says.
“My private favourite route: ‘Write this for somebody who really makes use of Instagram, not for a marketer who studied it in faculty.’ That push transforms the output from corporate-speak to one thing a human may really say.”
4. You should definitely label AI-generated Instagram video/audio that’s “real looking,” in accordance with Meta’s phrases.
Should you use AI to generate video or audio that appears or sounds real looking, it’s essential label it utilizing Instagram’s “AI information” characteristic. This requires merely toggling on the “Add AI label” once you publish a video.
Right here is the precise wording from the Instagram Help Center:
“Meta requires you to label content material you share that has photorealistic video or realistic-sounding audio that has been digitally generated or altered, together with with AI. Because of this if a digital creation or AI instrument was used to create or modify this sort of content material, you need to label the content material earlier than you share it.”
It goes on to say that for those who fail to take action, “there could also be penalties,” but it surely doesn’t specify what these penalties are. This isn’t required for AI-generated pictures; it is just required for video and audio.
5. Perceive your viewers’s preferences for AI- versus human-created content material
As generative AI turns into extra mainstream, customers may not care a lot about whether or not one thing was created with AI. However what are their preferences proper now?
Nicely, in a minimum of three research, researchers discovered that the majority members most well-liked AI-generated content material — after they didn’t comprehend it was created by a machine.
- In a 2023 MIT study, when members knew how work was created, they confirmed a optimistic bias towards human-created content material, however after they weren’t instructed, they most well-liked the AI-generated content material.
- A 2024 Semrush survey of over 700 U.S. customers pitted generative AI content material in opposition to human-written content material, and 6 out of six occasions, AI gained.
- And in April 2024, Bynder revealed outcomes of its survey of two,000 UK and U.S. members, 56% of whom most well-liked the AI-generated model of an article over the human-written one after they did not know which was which.
So, simply preserve this in thoughts as you weave AI extra into your Instagram technique. Examine in along with your viewers. A extra tech-savvy shopper, for instance, could not thoughts for those who use AI and will not be within the particulars of the way you used it. However different audiences may really feel in another way.
Greatest AI Instruments for Instagram Advertising
1. Breeze Social Media Agent by HubSpot
Greatest for: Busy social media groups that need to leverage AI to make data-driven selections about their Instagram technique
Use Breeze social media agent by HubSpot to make AI-powered, data-driven posting selections. Breeze components in your previous publish efficiency, enterprise particulars, model voice, viewers, and extra to generate social media posts in a flash.
2. CapCut AI Video Editor
Greatest for: Beginner to superior video editors who need to create viral-worthy Instagram Reels
As somebody who’s used each FinalCut Professional and Camtasia (the latter for about 10 years), I used to be floored by how intuitive CapCut is as a video editor for brief social media movies. I’m by no means going again.
Every time I import a video and drag it to my timeline, CapCut can mechanically caption it utilizing AI. It’s correct for 95% of the phrases, so I solely must do some gentle corrections, considerably rushing up my content material manufacturing.
3. Captions AI Video Editor
Greatest for: Creating viral-worthy Instagram Reels in seconds utilizing AI
I downloaded the Captions cell app on a whim after I received an advert for it whereas scrolling Fb (sure, I’m a sucker for social media adverts). And what? I used to be pleasantly shocked by the end result. The output would require minor tweaks from my finish for a sophisticated video. To be clear, I nonetheless most well-liked my manually edited video, however Captions could be an excellent choice to scale video creation however nonetheless have it really feel professionally edited.
4. Canva’s Magic Studio
Greatest for: Designing eye-catching graphics to your Story or posts
I’ve been utilizing Canva since 2016, and it is extremely straightforward for me as a marketer to create visible belongings for social media. I rely closely on its one-click background remover after I’m creating weblog graphics. Marino’s staff makes use of Magic Studio for Instagram visuals.
Magic Studio can assist you resize and repurpose current belongings, generate photographs and movies, and switch a immediate into an attention grabbing graphic.
5. ChatGPT or Claude
Greatest for: Producing and refining captions and scripts
I’ve used ChatGPT and Claude to assist me refine my video scripts for 60-second social media movies. It’s nice at taking my wordy scripts and making them extra concise.
Right here’s an instance immediate I used for my most up-to-date social media video:
“You’re a viral YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels content material creator. Critique this script. How can I make it stronger and extra partaking?”
I used Claude, too, as a result of I like seeing what every AI instrument brings to the desk, after which combining what’s helpful from each outputs.
Begin utilizing AI to up your Instagram sport.
Now, the very last thing I need you to do is really feel overwhelmed by all of the AI instruments on the market and by no means get began on something. Decide only one instrument from the above listing and begin experimenting in the present day.
As Marino identified, it’s all about refining the outputs. Don’t anticipate gold from the very first thing ChatGPT generates. However when you grasp prompting and refinement, you’ll unlock the true energy of utilizing AI to your Instagram technique.
This text was written by a human, however our staff makes use of AI in our editorial course of. Try our full disclosure to be taught extra about how we use AI.
