Relay (relaystudio.ai) is an AI tool that looks at what is getting views in your TikTok niche, then writes and designs slideshows and videos for your brand inspired by the formats going viral there, in your voice. You swipe to approve, Relay sends each approved post to your TikTok inbox on its day, and every post’s views sit in one place so you can compare hooks. When one does well, Relay makes new takes of it.
Key takeaways
- Relay looks at what is getting views in your niche and makes slideshows and videos for your brand, in your voice, inspired by the formats working there.
- You approve each draft (or switch on Autopilot), and Relay sends approved posts to your TikTok inbox on their days.
- Every post’s views sit in one place, and Relay makes new takes of the ones that do well.
- The method for spotting formats by hand is in our format guide.
- Relay plans start at $49 a month ($25 first month) and work with TikTok only.
What should an AI viral format finder actually do?
Finding a viral video is the easy part. TikTok’s free Creative Center, whose site is now titled TikTok One Creative Suite, shows trending hashtags by industry (TikTok) and a library of top-performing ads (TikTok Business Help Center). The work is everything after. Judge any tool on four jobs:
- Spot what is working in your niche, not on the global feed.
- Pull out the format: hook, structure, length and look, minus the original topic.
- Make versions for your brand, in your voice, from your own product.
- Measure and remake: views per post in one place, and new takes of the winners.
Trend research tools are strongest on the first two and leave the posts to you. Relay starts from what is getting views in your niche and puts its work into the last two: it makes the versions, shows every post’s views in one place and makes new takes of winners.
Which TikTok formats keep working for brands?
The hooks below are examples, not lines to paste.
| Format | Example hook for a brand | Why it travels |
|---|---|---|
| Ranked list, best one last | “I tried 6 ways to make cold brew at home. Ranked.” (coffee brand) | People stay for the winner |
| Things I stopped doing | “Things I stopped doing with money once I started budgeting” (budgeting app) | The product is one item, not an ad |
| Mistakes slideshow | “5 skincare mistakes I made in my twenties” (skincare brand) | No face needed; the product is the fix |
| I tried it so you don’t have to | “I wore one pair of sneakers for 30 days of commuting” (footwear brand) | Curiosity plus a verdict |
Whatever the format, front-load the point. TikTok found that over 63% of the auction ad videos with the highest click-through rate highlight their key message or product within the first 3 seconds (TikTok for Business, October 2020). More openers by type: TikTok hooks that work.
How do you tell a real format from a lucky post?
Raw views mislead: a big account’s ordinary post looks like a hit. The fix is to judge each post against its own account’s usual views, and the step-by-step method is in the format guide.
Then post several takes. In Buffer’s study of 11.4 million posts, median views barely moved with posting frequency, but the 90th-percentile post rose from 3,722 views at one post a week to 14,401 at 11 or more a week (Buffer, October 2025). More takes raise the odds of a breakout worth remaking. See how to test TikTok hooks before paying for ads.
What are the rules when you adapt a viral format?
None of this is legal advice.
- Copy the structure, not the video. TikTok treats content copied completely from others, repurposed without creative edits, or carrying someone else’s watermark as unoriginal, and may remove it from the For You feed (TikTok Creator Academy). Copyright protects how an idea is expressed, not the idea itself (TikTok Intellectual Property Policy).
- Check the sound. TikTok says businesses cannot use the general music library commercially and should use the Commercial Music Library of about 1 million pre-cleared songs (TikTok Business Help Center).
- Label realistic AI. TikTok requires disclosure of AI content showing realistic-looking people or scenes, and the label cannot be removed after posting (TikTok Creator Academy). More in TikTok’s AI content rules.
- Disclose promotion. TikTok’s content disclosure setting labels brand posts Promotional content; TikTok says turning it on won’t change how they are shown in feeds (TikTok Help Center).
- No invented reviewers. The FTC’s fake reviews rule covers testimonials from people who do not exist, including AI-generated ones, or who never used the product (FTC). An “I tried it” post needs a real person who tried it.
How does Relay turn your niche’s formats into posts for your brand?
- Paste your website or App Store link. Relay learns what you sell, who it is for and how you sound, then asks a few one-tap questions.
- Relay looks at what is getting views in your niche, then makes slideshows and videos for your brand in your voice.
- You swipe to approve. Right to approve, left to pass; edit the words first if you want, or switch on Autopilot to approve for you.
- Relay spreads your approved posts across the month. Connect your TikTok once, and Relay sends each approved post to your TikTok inbox on its day.
- You post it in TikTok. Open the draft, add a caption if it is a video, add a sound if you want, choose who can see it, turn on the AI-generated content setting if the post uses realistic AI imagery and the content disclosure toggle where it applies, then tap Post.
- You compare hooks and get new takes. Every post’s views sit in one place, and Relay makes new takes of the ones that do well.
Each plan makes twice as many posts as it sends, so you have room to pass on weaker takes. On Scale, approved drafts can also go to Relay’s creator network of 50,000 creators, who post them from their own accounts, within Scale’s 150 posts a month.
Which AI tools spot viral TikTok formats, and how does Relay compare?
Prices as of October 2026, from each company’s own page.
| Option | What it does | Makes the posts? | Publishes to | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok Creative Center | Trending hashtags by industry (TikTok), top ads (TikTok) | No | Not a publisher | Free |
| Overshot | Finds TikToks beating their creator’s usual views, tagged by format (Overshot) | No | Not a publisher | Free; Pro $9 a month (Overshot pricing) |
| Virlo | Social listening for TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels (Virlo) | Drafting tools | Not listed | $49 a month (Virlo pricing) |
| Revid | Watches channels and 3M+ viral videos, remakes a working post with a new script and video, plus post stats (Revid) | Yes, video | TikTok, Instagram, YouTube | From $39 a month (Revid pricing) |
| Relay | Slideshows and videos in your voice, inspired by what is getting views in your niche | Yes, slideshows and videos | Your TikTok inbox; add any finishing touches, tap Post | $49 a month ($25 first month) |
Creative Center is best for free, official trend data. Overshot is better if you want to browse breakouts yourself, updated hourly (Overshot). Virlo is better when research is the job: three platforms, plus creator and competitor tracking (Virlo). Revid is better if you want one tool for all four jobs, plus Instagram and YouTube publishing (Revid pricing). Relay fits when you want a month of TikTok posts in your voice, an approval step and new takes of what wins.
Which Relay plan fits format testing?
| Plan | Price | Posts made / sent a month | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $49 a month ($25 first month) | 40 / 20 | One format a week, several hooks |
| Growth | $99 a month ($45 first month) | 120 / 60 | Several formats at once, up to 3 people |
| Scale | $249 a month ($149 first month) | 300 / 150 | Heavy testing or the creator network, up to 5 people |
Annual billing gives two months free, and you pay $0 today on a 1-day trial (card required) (pricing).
When is Relay the wrong tool for format testing?
- You need to post on a trending sound the day it breaks. Relay spreads approved posts across the month, so same-day trends need someone watching the feed.
- You need Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts. Relay’s self-serve product works with TikTok only today.
- You only want the research. Creative Center, Overshot or Virlo is enough.
- You want a team to make your ads. Self-serve plans do not manage paid ads. In Relay’s separate managed UGC ads service, Relay’s team makes your ad creative, reads what wins and turns it into the next round; a media buyer or agency runs the ad account.
Get started
Paste your website at relaystudio.ai to see drafts inspired by your niche’s formats, or research by hand first with the format guide.