Relay doesn’t publish to TikTok on its own: it makes your posts and sends the ones you approve to your TikTok inbox, where you add the caption on videos, set TikTok’s labels and tap Post. Relay (relaystudio.ai) makes TikTok slideshows and videos for your brand, you swipe to approve them (or switch on Autopilot), and Relay spreads them across the month, sending each through TikTok’s official Content Posting API on its day. Slideshows arrive with Relay’s caption; videos arrive without one.
Key takeaways
- Nothing goes out unless you approve it, or switch on Autopilot to approve for you. Swipe right to approve, left to pass, and edit the words first if you want.
- Connect your TikTok once. Each approved post lands in your TikTok inbox on its day.
- In TikTok you add the caption on videos, add a sound if you want, choose who can see the post and set TikTok’s labels. Relay doesn’t set the AI-generated content label or the content disclosure for you.
- Relay’s self-serve product works with TikTok only. Plans send 20, 60 or 150 posts a month, from $49 a month ($25 first month) as of October 2026.
How does Relay get posts onto my TikTok?
Relay does everything up to your TikTok inbox: it makes the posts and runs the approval queue and the schedule. You finish each post in TikTok and tap Post. TikTok notifies you when a draft arrives. Posts you pass on never leave Relay.
| Step | What you do | What Relay does |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Paste your website or App Store link and answer a few one-tap questions | Learns what you sell, who it’s for and how you sound |
| Making | Nothing, there is no brief to write | Makes slideshows and videos for your brand, built on formats getting views in your niche |
| Approval | Swipe right to approve, left to pass, edit the words if you want, or switch on Autopilot | Waits for you, or with Autopilot on, approves drafts for you at your plan’s pace |
| Scheduling and sending | Connect your TikTok once | Spreads what you approve across the month and sends each post to your TikTok inbox on its day |
| Posting | Open the draft, add a caption if it is a video, add a sound if you want, set who can see it and TikTok’s labels, then tap Post | Nothing: you post it |
| Results | Compare hooks as data comes in | Shows every post’s views in one place and makes new takes of posts that do well |
Posts arrive as videos or as slideshows, which TikTok calls photo posts. For the approval side in depth, see how Relay’s TikTok approval workflow works.
How does Relay connect to TikTok?
Through TikTok’s official login: you sign in on TikTok and approve the permissions Relay requests, per TikTok’s Login Kit documentation.
Posts then travel through TikTok’s official Content Posting API. Relay uses it to place each approved post in your TikTok inbox as a draft, so nothing goes live until you add any finishing touches and tap Post.
What do you control before a post goes out?
The words in Relay, everything else in TikTok:
| Setting | What it does on TikTok | Where you set it |
|---|---|---|
| The words on the post | Any words Relay wrote for the post | In Relay, by editing before you approve |
| Caption | Slideshows arrive with Relay’s caption; videos arrive without one | In TikTok, for videos |
| The day it arrives | Which day the post lands in your TikTok inbox | Relay, spreading approved posts across the month |
| Sound | Adds a sound to the post | In TikTok, before you tap Post |
| Who can see it | Sets the post’s audience | In TikTok |
| Comments | Lets viewers comment, or not | In TikTok |
| Duet and stitch | Lets others remix the post (videos only; TikTok’s guidelines say photo posts take comments only) | In TikTok |
| Commercial content disclosure | “Your brand” shows a “Promotional content” label, “Branded content” shows “Paid partnership”, per TikTok’s guidelines | In TikTok, where it applies |
| AI-generated content label | Shows “Creator labeled as AI-generated”, per TikTok’s posting API reference | In TikTok, if the post uses realistic AI imagery |
| Going live | Publishes the post | You, by tapping Post |
Because you post from the TikTok app, you can add a sound first; brand accounts should use TikTok’s Commercial Music Library.
Who turns on TikTok’s AI-generated content label?
You do, in TikTok: Relay doesn’t set it or the content disclosure for you. When you post the draft, turn on the AI-generated content setting if the post uses realistic AI imagery, and the content disclosure toggle where it applies.
That matters because TikTok’s Help Center says it requires creators to label AI-generated content that contains realistic images, audio and video. For the rest, read TikTok’s AI-generated content rules for brands or the AI content label definition.
What doesn’t Relay do for you?
- It doesn’t tap Post or caption videos. Each approved post waits in your TikTok inbox until you post it.
- It doesn’t promise views. You see every post’s views in one place and get more of what works, but no tool can guarantee reach.
Which tools make TikToks for you, and how is that different from a scheduler?
A scheduler posts what you already made. Tools like Relay, Fastlane and ReelFarm make the posts as well, then send them to your account.
| Option | Makes the posts? | How approval works | Where it posts |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok’s own scheduler | No, you upload each finished video | You are the uploader | TikTok, from desktop web, at least 15 minutes ahead |
| Buffer | No, you upload finished posts | You are the uploader | Several platforms from one calendar |
| ReelFarm | Yes, mainly slideshows, plus AI UGC images and videos | Autopilot by default; you check formats at setup, and can turn auto-post off or send posts to TikTok drafts (API docs) | TikTok |
| Fastlane (usefastlane.ai) | Yes, slideshows and AI UGC videos from your website | Swipe to approve (“Blitz mode”) | TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and LinkedIn |
| Relay | Yes, slideshows and videos | Swipe to approve each post, or switch on Autopilot | Your TikTok inbox; add any finishing touches, tap Post (TikTok only) |
TikTok’s scheduler needs no extra tool, though TikTok’s help page says desktop scheduling needs a Business Account and mentions a 10,000-follower threshold. TikTok’s help page says up to 10 days ahead; Buffer’s May 2026 guide reports 30 days, so check your date picker. Buffer’s free plan covers 3 channels as of October 2026, and it posts to more platforms than Relay does.
ReelFarm says it “generates & publishes original content for you every day, automatically”, which suits teams who want posts to go live with no step on their side. It also gives more volume per dollar: its Growth plan is $49 a month for 100 slideshows as of October 2026 (pricing). See Relay vs ReelFarm.
Fastlane also uses swipe approval and posts to four platforms, with a free plan and paid plans from $29 a month as of October 2026 (pricing), so it is the better pick if Reels, Shorts or LinkedIn matter as much as TikTok; see Relay vs Fastlane. Our guide on scheduling TikTok posts automatically walks through each route.
Which plan fits how often you want to post?
For what a month of posts looks like, see TikTok content for brands. Here is what each plan sends to your TikTok:
| Plan | Price | Sent to your TikTok a month | Average a day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $49 a month ($25 first month) | 20 | Under 1 (about 5 a week) |
| Growth | $99 a month ($45 first month) | 60 | About 2 |
| Scale | $249 a month ($149 first month) | 150 | About 5 |
Prices are as of October 2026. Every plan makes twice as many posts as it sends (40, 120 or 300 a month), so you can pass on half and still fill the month. Yearly billing gives two months free. You pay $0 today on a 1-day trial (card required) that converts to the paid first month unless you cancel before it ends. See the pricing page.
When should you post to TikTok another way?
- A post has to go out on a set day. Relay picks the day each approved post arrives, so post that one yourself or use TikTok’s scheduler.
- You need Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts or LinkedIn too. Fastlane or Buffer fits better.
- You want posts to go live with no step on your side. Relay’s Autopilot can approve for you, but you still tap Post in TikTok. ReelFarm says it publishes automatically.
- You want someone to run your paid TikTok ads. Self-serve Relay doesn’t manage ad spend. Relay’s managed UGC ads service makes the ad creative; use a media buyer or agency to run the account.
Try it on your own account
Compare plans on the pricing page, or paste your website at relaystudio.ai and approve your first posts.