Let’s Build An Instagram Scraper & Generate DMs With AI

Introduction

Hey everyone! Today, I'm going to walk you through how to scrape Instagram effectively, scalably, and with data that lets you customize DMs and outreach using AI.

I'll cover my full automation funnel, show you the software platforms I use, and give you a behind-the-scenes look at how to do this realistically within a company.

If that sounds good, let’s get into it.

Understanding Instagram Scraping

When you visit an Instagram profile, you see:

• Profile description
• Links (Threads, websites)
• Name, username, bio
• Profile images and posts

We want to extract all of this and format it as JSON. Then, we'll feed the image post data into AI to customize the first line of every DM.

Why AI-Powered Outreach Works

Cold outreach works best when it feels natural. The message format should look like:

> “Hey [name], saw your post about [topic]. Wanted to chat about [related topic].”

Instagram has changed its API, so you cannot send DMs directly via their API. However, web browser automation tools can do this. If there's interest, I can show how to automate DM sending in another video.

For now, we’ll focus on gathering data, storing it in a Google Sheet, and generating AI-based outreach messages.

Tools We’ll Use

1. PhantomBuster – Browser automation for scraping Instagram
2. Make.com – Automation platform for running workflows
3. Google Sheets – Storing and managing scraped data
4. OpenAI API – Generating custom DM messages

Step 1: Scraping Instagram Profiles

We’ll use PhantomBuster to collect profile post data.

• Open PhantomBuster
• Use the Instagram Profile Post Extractor
• Input a list of Instagram profile URLs
• Extract:
  
  • Post image
  • Caption
  • Likes, comments
  • Profile username

To scale this up, we’ll store the data in a Google Sheet and process multiple profiles in bulk.

Step 2: Automating Data Collection

We'll build an automation in Make.com that:

1. Runs PhantomBuster to scrape Instagram profiles.
2. Stores the results in Google Sheets.
3. Uses OpenAI API to generate a personalized DM.

Setting Up Make.com Flow

1. Trigger: Watch Google Sheet (new profile URLs to scrape)
2. Run PhantomBuster scraper.
3. Store results in Google Sheets.
4. Feed the image and caption into OpenAI.
5. Generate and store a custom DM.

This approach leverages AI to personalize outreach while ensuring scalability.

Step 3: Using AI to Generate Personalized DMs

OpenAI Prompt Design

We’ll ask OpenAI to analyze the post and generate a message in the format:

> “Hey [name], saw your post about [topic]. Wanted to chat about [related topic].”

Step 4: Bulk Scraping Followers

To scale outreach, we need thousands of potential leads.

1. Use the Instagram Follower Collector PhantomBuster tool.
2. Extract 100-5000 followers at a time.
3. Store them in a Google Sheet.
4. Use this list to scrape individual profiles for post data

Step 5: Automating the Full Process

How It Runs:

1. Bulk Scrape Followers → Store in Google Sheet
2. Loop Through Profiles → Scrape post data
3. Analyze Post with AI → Generate DM
4. Store in Google Sheet → Ready for outreach

Handling Instagram Session Cookies

Instagram session cookies expire every few hours. To keep automation running:

• Use browser automation to refresh session cookies.
• Store cookies in a Google Sheet and update them automatically.

Step 6: Sending DMs (Manual or Automated)

Instagram limits automated DMs, but we can:

1. Manually send DMs (VA copies & pastes from Google Sheet).
2. Use browser automation (simulate human actions).

With manual sending, a virtual assistant (VA) can send hundreds of personalized DMs per day. This is more secure and bypasses Instagram’s automation restrictions.

‍

Why This Works

• AI personalization → Higher response rates.
• Scales to 400K+ DMs/day → Using multiple accounts.
• Avoids Instagram bans → No API-based DM sending.
• Outsources sending → Saves time & money.

Conclusion

This system allows you to:
✅ Scrape Instagram at scale
✅ Use AI to automate custom DMs
✅ Generate thousands of leads per day
✅ Avoid Instagram’s automation restrictions

See you in the next one! 🚀

Request Blueprints Free of Charge

I’ve created all Make.com blueprints and Google Sheet templates so you can replicate this system. Just reach out to us from burak@papaverai.com