Run Instagram outreach from your AI assistant
Most of my day already happens in an AI assistant. Writing, thinking, planning. So at some point I wanted my Instagram outreach in there too.
That's what Wave's MCP server does. You connect Wave to your assistant once, and then you just ask: "How did my campaigns do this week?", "Build me an audience from these posts", "Pause the campaign on my second account".
Here's how it works, how to set it up, and the prompts I actually use.
What MCP is, in plain words
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard way to plug tools into an AI assistant. Instead of copy-pasting data into a chat, the assistant can call the tool directly, read the result, and act on it.
With Wave connected, your assistant can see your campaigns, audiences, sequences and accounts, and do things with them. You stay in the conversation. Wave does the work.
What you can do with it
Wave's MCP server exposes 14 tools, grouped in five areas:
Campaigns: list them, get the details, create a new one, pause, resume or change the daily limit.
Audiences: create an audience from the followers of accounts, or from the people who liked or commented on specific posts, with filters (followers range, keywords, language...).
Sequences: write and edit your messages, with variations, follow-ups, and actions before the first DM (follow, like posts).
Accounts: see your connected Instagram accounts and run a health check on one of them.
Analytics: overall stats and a day-by-day breakdown of DMs sent, follow-ups and replies.
One thing you still do in the dashboard: connecting a new Instagram account. That stays out of the chat on purpose.
How to connect it
The server URL is https://api.usewave.co/mcp. Authentication is OAuth: your assistant opens Wave's login page, you approve, done. No API key to copy.
Claude (desktop or web): Settings, Connectors, add a custom connector with the URL above, then sign in to Wave.
Claude Code: run
claude mcp add --transport sse wave https://api.usewave.co/mcpand approve in your browser.Cursor, Windsurf, Zed: add Wave as an MCP server in the settings with the same URL.
ChatGPT: remote MCP servers can be added through Developer Mode, on paid plans, on the web. Same URL.
Gemini: custom MCP apps are rolling out progressively, so check if your account has the option.
Wave officially documents Claude, Cursor, Windsurf and Zed. Full setup steps, including an API key option for tools without OAuth, are on developers.usewave.co. You need an active Wave subscription or trial.
5 prompts I actually use
1. The Monday check
How did my campaigns do last week? Which one has the best reply rate, and is anything off?
The assistant pulls the overview and the daily numbers, compares campaigns, and tells you where replies dropped. Two minutes instead of clicking through every campaign.
2. Build an audience from posts
Create an audience from the people who commented on these 3 posts: [links]. Keep only accounts with 1k to 50k followers that mention "coach" in their bio.
Wave starts collecting the commenters and filters them in the background. If you want the reasoning behind this kind of targeting, read how to do comment-to-DM without an audience.
3. Write the sequence
Write a sequence for this audience: a short first DM with 3 variations, a follow-up after 2 days and another after 5. Like their last 2 posts before the first DM.
This is where AI assistants shine. You get variations that don't sound copy-pasted, and you can iterate in the chat before saving. My DM templates are a good starting point to feed it.
4. Launch, safely
Check that everything is ready, then launch it on my main account at 20 DMs a day, weekdays only.
Wave can validate the setup first (accounts, audience, sequence) without creating anything, then launch for real once you say go.
5. Keep an account healthy
Run a health check on my second account. If it looks risky, lower its daily limit.
You get the account status and a recommended daily limit. Useful if you're not sure how hard to push, and a good complement to safe sending limits.
When to use the chat, when to use the dashboard
The chat is great for quick checks, bulk setup and writing. The dashboard is still better when you want to scroll through leads, review a campaign visually, or connect an account.
One rule: your assistant acts on your real campaigns. Read what it's about to do before you confirm a launch.
MCP or API?
Same engine, two doors.
MCP is for people: you talk to your assistant, it uses Wave.
The API is for code: you plug Wave into your own scripts or automations. If that's you, start with what the Instagram API can and can't do, then the docs.
Both are included in Wave, see the pricing and the FAQ. And if your assistant does something unexpected, email me at antoine@usewave.co, I want to know.
