My full system for running Instagram with AI
How to take Instagram from 2300 followers to 6563 without writing code, 3x in just over 2 months. This page breaks down the flow I actually run every day.
黃志弘 Leo
Published 2026-06-11 · Updated 2026-10-07 · 1 readers
This isn't theory. It's what I actually run every day.
Once I handed the whole loop, picking topics, making images, publishing, over to AI, I could finally post every day and adjust from the data as I go. Below I lay out the system, the daily flow and the tools, all in one place.
Running this system for just over 2 months, posting steadily every day, took the account from 2300 to 6563 followers, about 3x.
The three-step system
Trend radar
Every day AI pulls public trends together and tells me what people are looking at. No guessing at topics. Starting from what people already talk about lands far more often.
Auto layout
Give it a topic and AI lays the text out into a full carousel. I only do the final tweaks. Laying out slide by slide used to take two or three hours. Now it's picking words and reordering.
Scheduled auto-posting
Set it once and it posts on time. Asleep or busy, it still clocks in. No sitting on my phone waiting for the posting slot. Content goes out when it should.
Wire up the simplest possible workflow
Don't jump to automation yet. This is the smallest version you can run today in 5 minutes. Run it once and the logic of the whole thing clicks. (Tap a prompt to copy it.)
Give AI a topic, get the whole carousel script
Open Claude or ChatGPT (the free tier is fine), paste the block below, and swap in the topic you want to post about:
I want to make an Instagram carousel post on the topic Have it write a visual for every slide
Once you have the script, paste this next. It gives each slide a visual description you can feed into an image generator:
Great. Now give each of those 6 slides a one-line Generate the images and lay them out
Drop each visual description into Jimeng (or use a ready-made Canva template) for the base images, then put the text on top. That's a complete carousel.
The key jump: let AI do the work itself
Switch to a tool that can act
For AI to actually do the work, use Claude Code (for people willing to learn a bit of setup), or just use Claude on desktop or web (nothing to install. Claude Cowork started merging into Claude in September 2026, rolling out to Pro and Max first, so the chat window itself can do this). They can open files, make images, save folders, even connect to your Instagram and post for you.
Give it a task, not a question
Chatting is asking help me think of a headline. Operating is telling it turn these 6 slides of copy into images, save them in the IG folder, name them 01 through 06. The difference is the verb. You hand over a job and it runs the whole way, with no copy-pasting in the middle.
Turn these 6 slides of copy into carousel images: use the visual description I gave for each slide as the base image, overlay the text, and save them as 01.png through 06.png in one folder. Tell me where you saved them when you're done.Give it permission to act
For it to post and read your backend data, you have to connect the tools (official connectors or MCP). Once connected it goes from talking to doing. Hook this up and the whole line finally runs itself.
What my day actually looks like
The full tool list
ClaudeFREE TIER
Trend roundups, writing knowledge posts, editing drafts. The interface is a chat, nothing to memorise. The brain of the whole system.
Claude CodePAID
Lets AI work in the background: layout, running schedules, wiring up your tools. A little setup knowledge multiplies what you get out of it.
JimengFREE QUOTA
Base images for carousels. Accurate on Chinese-language scenes and Asian faces, and the free quota is plenty to play with.
Local scheduler (launchd)FREE
The scheduler built into macOS, paired with the official posting API to publish automatically. No paid third-party scheduler needed.
The one thing that matters most
Tools are only an amplifier. They let me post every day and adjust from the data as I go. One post a week after long deliberation, versus posting steadily and fixing based on the response, is a world apart six months later. Have something to say first, then let AI help you go faster and wider.
Common questions
Can I keep up with this system if I can't code?
Yes. The core is just Claude and Jimeng, tools you talk to. The interface is a chat, nothing to memorise. The scheduled posting part is a one-time setup, you follow the steps. I set mine up the same way.
What does this cost to run?
Getting started is close to free. Claude and Jimeng both have free quotas, so run topic picking and image making on the free tiers first. When volume grows and you want scheduling, upgrade. Under US$40 a month runs it comfortably.
Does AI content come out fake, with that AI smell?
Depends how you use it. My way: AI does knowledge roundups and layout, personal stories and opinions I write myself. AI is an amplifier. Have something to say first, then let it help you go faster and wider.
Why did followers 3x? Is it the tools?
The tools only let me post every day and adjust from the data. What actually drove growth is frequency times data feedback. One post a week after long deliberation, versus posting steadily and watching which topics get a response, and it pulls up on its own.
What runs the scheduled auto-posting?
A scheduler on my own machine (launchd on macOS) plus the official posting API. Set the time and it posts the finished carousel to Instagram. No paid third-party scheduler, but it does cost you one round of setup.
Followed the steps and it still won't come together? I'll run it with you
If you tried the steps above and are still stuck, or you want the whole thing (trend radar and scheduled auto-posting included) installed on your own account instead of feeling your way through it, I do 1v1 coaching plus setup. I walk you through getting it running, and you come out able to operate it yourself, not just having watched me do it.
L1 single method from NT$10,000 ・ the first 30-minute call is free, we talk about whether it fits you before you decide
See the 1v1 coaching plans →