Personalized Instagram DMs with Apify, OpenAI & GSheets

This workflow streamlines personalized Instagram direct messaging by reading a list of Instagram accounts from Google Sheets. It uses Apify's Instagram Post Scraper to fetch the latest post data for each account, including image URLs and metadata. The latest post image is then analyzed using OpenAI Vision to understand content themes, audience, and context.

Leveraging the image analysis combined with profile bio and post details, OpenAI generates highly personalized DMs that reference specific elements like recent themes or milestones. These messages are written back to the Google Sheet, enabling easy review, sending, and tracking. Ideal for creator outreach, partnership prospecting, customer interviews, or affiliate pitches at scale while maintaining authenticity.

Benefits include massive time savings—hours per campaign—personalization without manual effort, and scalability for hundreds of profiles. Free credits from Apify and OpenAI cover initial runs. Setup requires Google Sheets permissions, Apify API key, a scraper task, and OpenAI credentials. Perfect for marketers scaling social DM strategies.