Data access
How AI agents get social media data
By Jackson Gathondu. Published 1 November 2026. Updated .
An AI agent can only work from social media data if something fetches that data for it. There are three ways to do that: the platforms' own official APIs, a scraper you run yourself, or an MCP server or social media data API that does the collection and returns structured data.
This hub compares the three, lists what each official API gives you as of November 2026, and links to a guide per Platform. It is written for marketers who want an Assistant that reads TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and the ad libraries, and for the developers who set that up.
Three ways to get the data
Official APIs are run by the platforms. They are stable and documented, but each one was built for a narrow purpose: managing your own account, showing a signed-in user's posts in your app, academic research, or ad transparency. Few of them let you read a competitor's Videos or Ads.
Scraping means writing code that loads public pages and pulls data out of them. It reaches what a logged-out visitor can see, but platforms change their pages and block traffic they see as automated, so a scraper needs proxies, retries and an engineer who fixes it when a page changes.
The third route is an MCP server or data API. A service collects the public data and returns it as structured fields, such as views, hooks, days running and Advertiser. Your Assistant calls it as a tool over MCP, or your code calls it over REST. You pay per call instead of maintaining collection code.
What the official APIs give you
Checked against each platform's developer documentation on 1 November 2026. Access rules change, so read the current docs before you build on one.
| Official API | What it returns | Who can use it, and the limits |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok Research API | Public Videos, comments and accounts, for research. | Academic and not-for-profit researchers in the US, Europe, Canada and Brazil, independent of commercial interests. Research must be non-commercial, so a brand or agency cannot use it for marketing. |
| TikTok Display API | A TikTok user's profile and recently posted public Videos. | Only for users who sign in to your app and grant access. It does not read other accounts. |
| Instagram API (Graph API) | Data for Instagram Business and Creator accounts, plus Hashtag search. | Hashtag search needs App Review for public content access and is capped at 30 unique Hashtags per account in a rolling 7 days. |
| YouTube Data API | Public Videos, channels, playlists and comments. | The most open of these APIs. Default quota is 100 search calls a day plus 10,000 units a day for other endpoints (Google's quota page, updated 15 October 2026). |
| Meta Ad Library API | Ads about social issues, elections or politics, and Ads delivered in the EU and associated territories. | Commercial Ads shown only outside the EU, such as a US-only protein powder Ad, are not in it. The public Ad Library website shows more than the API returns. |
Official API, scraper or MCP server: the trade-offs
| Question | Official API | Scraper you run | MCP server or data API |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can it read competitors? | Mostly no, except on YouTube. | Yes, whatever is public. | Yes, whatever the service covers on each Platform. |
| Setup | Developer app, review and permission scopes per platform. | Code, proxies and a server. | Add one server to your Assistant, or one API key to your code. |
| Upkeep | Low, until access rules change. | High: pages change and traffic gets blocked. | The service fixes breakages. |
| Cost | Free within quota. | Your time, proxy traffic and hosting. | Per call. |
| Works in Claude or ChatGPT | Only if someone wraps it as a tool. | Only if someone wraps it as a tool. | Yes, as a connector. |
| Analysis of the Video itself | No. You get metadata. | No, unless you build it. | Depends on the service. ShortsIntel returns hook, format, on-screen text, call to action and transcript. |
Which one to pick
Use an official API when it covers your case. If you only need your own Instagram account's numbers, or public YouTube data within quota, the platform's API is free and stable.
Build a scraper when you need one narrow piece of public data, you have an engineer to maintain it, and the volume makes per-call pricing expensive.
Use an MCP server or data API when the agent needs competitors' Videos, Creators and Ads across several Platforms, or when the people asking the questions are marketers working in Claude or ChatGPT rather than developers.
What ShortsIntel covers on each Platform
ShortsIntel is an MCP server and REST API for social media data. Everything it reads is public, and it never logs in to your social or ad accounts.
| Platform | What your agent can read | Not available |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Video search, lookup, analysis, transcripts, comments and Scores. Creators, Hashtags, Sounds, Keywords and Research. | TikTok Ads have their own row. |
| Reels search, lookup, analysis, transcripts and comments. Creators, Hashtags, Keywords and Research. | Sounds and Scores. Keyword search is best effort. | |
| YouTube | Shorts and long-form Videos: search, lookup, comments, and analysis of Videos up to 10 minutes. Channels, Keywords and Research. | Channel data covers Shorts only. No Hashtags or Sounds; Scores come back on a channel's Shorts through get_creator, and score_video is TikTok only. |
| Video and Reel lookup, analysis and top-level comments. Pages, Keywords, and Video search when you ask for it. | Hashtags, Sounds and Scores. Video and Keyword search are best effort. | |
| Meta Ad Library | Commercial Ads in any country by keyword or Advertiser, with status, media type, placement and date filters, sorted by days running or winner Score. Ad analysis and Advertiser lookups. | Only what Meta's public Ad Library shows. |
| TikTok Ad Library | Ads by keyword or Advertiser, one Ad's targeting, and Advertiser lookups. | Ads shown in the EU/EEA, the UK, Switzerland and Turkey only. No country filter, no Ad analysis. |
Data limits
Data limits to know before you ask
- YouTube Creator data covers Shorts only, not long-form uploads. Looking up or analysing a single long-form Video works, up to 10 minutes long.
- The TikTok Ad Library covers Ads shown in the EU/EEA, the UK, Switzerland and Turkey only.
- Sounds are TikTok only. Instagram Scores come back on a Creator's Reels under 30 days old through get_creator; score_video, which scores one Video on demand, is TikTok only.
- Hashtags are TikTok and Instagram only.
- Facebook Video search is opt-in and best effort. Instagram and Facebook Keyword search are best effort too.
- Refreshing a Research is TikTok only.
- Creator Trackers run on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, not YouTube.
What the data looks like
Two real calls on our own account, trimmed. The first is what an Assistant gets back over MCP when it searches the Meta Ad Library. The second is the same kind of data over the REST API: a TikTok Hashtag lookup.
Meta Ad Library, via MCP server
Find Meta Ads for protein powder in the US, sorted by winner Score. (search_ads, library meta, country US, order_by winner, limit 10)
{
"run": { "kind": "ads_search", "status": "completed", "charge_credits": 10 },
"result": {
"library": "meta",
"items": [
{
"advertiser": { "name": "ProDough Shop" },
"creative": { "title": "Best Protein For Protein Yogurt", "cta": "Shop now" },
"media_type": "video",
"first_shown": "2026-05-18",
"days_running": 167,
"is_active": true,
"variant_count": 3,
"winner_score": { "score": 50 }
},
{
"advertiser": { "name": "Shop FlavCity" },
"creative": { "title": "Flip the Label, Feel Good", "cta": "Shop now" },
"media_type": "video",
"first_shown": "2026-08-21",
"days_running": 72,
"is_active": true,
"variant_count": 3,
"winner_score": { "score": 50 }
},
{
"advertiser": { "name": "Unjury- Medical Quality Protein" },
"creative": { "title": "High Quality Protein Powder", "cta": "Shop now" },
"media_type": "video",
"first_shown": "2024-12-12",
"days_running": 689,
"is_active": true,
"variant_count": 1,
"winner_score": { "score": 50 }
}
],
"next_cursor": "..."
}
}
(10 Ads returned; 3 shown, with ids, media URLs and placements trimmed)TikTok, via REST API
GET /v1/hashtags/tiktok/skincaretips
{
"run": { "kind": "hashtag_lookup", "status": "completed", "charge_credits": 3 },
"result": {
"tag": "skincaretips",
"platform": "tiktok",
"stats": {
"sampled_videos": 24,
"views_total": 48052423,
"views_median": 681950,
"views_max": 20200000,
"likes_total": 3433374,
"comments_total": 28964,
"engagement_rate": 0.1121
},
"trend": { "since": null, "direction": null, "change_ratio": null },
"top_videos": [ ... ]
}
}
(trend is null on a first lookup: it needs an earlier snapshot to compare against)What it costs
ShortsIntel has no subscription. Each call that does work is a Run, paid from a prepaid Balance of Credits at 1,000 credits per US dollar. New accounts get 1,000 credits free, valid for 90 days. A Run that fails costs nothing, and a partial one is charged only for what finished.
Some examples: a Meta Ad search costs 1 credit per Ad delivered, a Hashtag lookup 3 credits, a Creator lookup 6 credits, a Video's analysis 23 credits, and a niche Research 1,036 credits for up to 50 analysed Videos. Every paid call can quote its price first. The full list is on the pricing page.
Connect your Assistant
The MCP server address is https://www.shortsintel.com/api/mcp, the same for every Assistant. None of them needs an API key: you sign in to ShortsIntel and choose which organization pays. Developers can call the same data over REST with a key.
Claude.ai
Web and desktop. No API key: Claude signs in to ShortsIntel for you.
- Open Claude's add connector page with ShortsIntel filled in, and choose Add. Or go to Settings, Connectors, Add custom connector, and paste the endpoint below.
https://www.shortsintel.com/api/mcp - Sign in to ShortsIntel, approve the connection and choose the organization whose Balance pays for Runs.
- In a chat, turn the ShortsIntel connector on and ask your question.
ChatGPT
Web and desktop, in Developer mode. No API key: ChatGPT signs in over OAuth.
- Open ChatGPT's connector settings and switch Developer mode on.
- Create a connector named ShortsIntel, paste the endpoint and choose OAuth.
https://www.shortsintel.com/api/mcp - Sign in to ShortsIntel and choose your organization.
- In a new chat, choose the + next to the message box, then Developer mode, and turn ShortsIntel on.
Claude Code
One command, then sign in from Claude Code.
- Add the server in your terminal.
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user shortsintel https://www.shortsintel.com/api/mcp - Run /mcp inside Claude Code, choose shortsintel and sign in.
Codex
One command; Codex signs in on first use.
- Add the server in your terminal.
codex mcp add shortsintel --url https://www.shortsintel.com/api/mcp - If no browser window opens to sign in, start it yourself.
codex mcp login shortsintel
Cursor and VS Code
One-click install links; each asks you to confirm.
- In Cursor, open the Cursor install link.
- In VS Code, open the VS Code install link.
- Sign in to ShortsIntel when the editor asks.
Go deeper
Data access guides
- Instagram API vs scrapingWhat the Instagram Graph API, a scraper and an MCP server can each get about accounts that are not yours.
- Meta Ad Library APIWhat Meta's official Ad Library API returns, what it leaves out for commercial Ad research, and another way to read those Ads.
- TikTok API vs scrapingWhat TikTok's official APIs and the Research API return, who can use them, and how scraping and an MCP server compare for marketers.
- YouTube Data API for agentsWhat the YouTube Data API gives an AI agent, where its quota and caption rules stop it, and when a data service fits better.
Questions
- How do AI agents get social media data?
- Through one of three routes: the platforms' official APIs, a scraper someone runs, or an MCP server or data API that collects public data and returns it as structured fields. Claude and ChatGPT cannot open TikTok or Instagram on their own.
- What is a social media data API?
- It is a service that returns public social media data, such as Videos, Creators, Hashtags and Ads, as structured JSON over HTTP. You call it from code with an API key and pay per call, instead of building and maintaining your own collection code.
- Can I use the TikTok Research API for marketing?
- No. As of November 2026 TikTok limits it to academic and not-for-profit researchers who are independent of commercial interests, for non-commercial research.
- Does the Meta Ad Library API return commercial Ads?
- Only Ads delivered in the EU and associated territories, plus Ads about social issues, elections or politics anywhere. A commercial Ad shown only in the US is not in the API. ShortsIntel reads the public Ad Library, so it returns commercial Ads in any country.
- Is scraping social media legal?
- It depends on the country, the data and the platform's terms, and this page is not legal advice. ShortsIntel reads only public data and never logs in to social accounts.
- What is the difference between an MCP server and a data API?
- Both return the same data. An MCP server publishes tools that an Assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT calls by itself while it answers you. A REST API is for code you write. ShortsIntel offers both, priced the same.
Try it in your Assistant
Connect ShortsIntel to the Assistant you already use and ask the question this guide answers, or try the calls in the Playground first.