Reels AI | Julia Liu

Overview

AI-powered summaries for Instagram Reels and DMs.

My friends send me a lot of reels, group chats spiral while I'm busy, and I never go back to the cooking videos I save. This concept explores how Meta AI could summarize reels, catch you up on DMs, and pull out what's useful so you don't have to rewatch or scroll through everything. Built as a fully interactive SwiftUI prototype.

Feed

Summary

DM Catch-up

Shared Reel

The Idea

You don't always have time to watch. You don't always have time to read.

What if Meta AI could summarize any reel, pull out recipes and key points, catch you up on DM threads you missed, and let you summarize shared reels without leaving the chat?

Research

How do people actually deal with content overload?

Before designing anything, I looked at how people currently manage the flood of reels and messages. I talked to friends, watched how they used Instagram, and mapped out what existing tools already do.

User Journey

Three different ways people hit content overload, and where AI steps in.

Entry Point

Pain Point

Solution

Scrolling Reels

Saving videos for later

→

Can't extract info

Forgot the recipe steps

→

Reel Summary

Tap once, get key points

Friend sends reels

3 reels drop in while busy

→

Too much to watch

No time for each one

→

Summarize in DM

Summarize on the shared card

Open group chat

80+ unread messages

→

Lost context

Scroll through everything

→

DM Catch-up

Pick up where you left off

Competitive Analysis

I looked at how video and social platforms currently handle content understanding. What AI features exist, and how deeply are they integrated into the viewing experience?

AI-Powered Manual Standalone Integrated

YouTube

Gemini summaries, chapters

Reels AI

AI native to feed + DMs

TikTok

AI search, no summarization

X / Twitter

Grok for threads, not video

👻

Snapchat

AI chatbot, not content-aware

IG (current)

Meta AI exists, no summaries

YouTube is the furthest along with AI (Gemini-powered summaries, auto-chapters), but it's a standalone platform. TikTok and Instagram have AI assistants, but they sit outside the content. No one summarizes short-form video inline or helps you catch up on conversations. That's the gap.

Reels Features

AI that lives inside the feed.

Reels Feed

Vertical paging feed with auto-play video, double-tap to like, tap to mute. The Meta AI icon sits alongside the existing action buttons.

AI Reel Summary

Tap the Meta AI icon on any reel and a sheet slides up with a TLDR, key points, and topic tags. For a cooking reel, you get the full recipe and ingredients. For a tutorial, the steps. Everything you need without rewatching.

Why This Reel

Personalization transparency. Shows the recommendation signals behind why this reel appeared in your feed. Builds trust by making the algorithm legible.

DM Features

Pick up right where you left off.

DM Messages

Inbox list with chat threads. Sent and received message bubbles, shared reel cards inline. The "Summarize with Meta AI" button sits right on shared reel cards.

DM chat with shared reel and Summarize with Meta AI button

Chat Summary

Tap the Meta AI icon in the chat toolbar and get an inline summary of the conversation. See what you missed, what was decided, and where things left off so you can jump right back in.

Summarize Shared Reels

When someone shares a reel in DMs, the card has a "Summarize with Meta AI" button. Get the gist without leaving the conversation.

Tradeoffs

AI that helps you catch up on content also has to read it, blurring the line between useful tool and ambient surveillance. The convenience is real, but so is the tradeoff.

Reflection

What I learned.

New features should blend in with what's already familiar. The best integrations don't feel like additions, they feel like they were always there.

Next Steps

If I were to keep building, I'd explore AI-suggested replies based on the reel or conversation context, so you can respond faster without typing from scratch. I'd also add a "Since you liked this reel" recommendation surface that uses your summary history to suggest similar content, turning passive watching into active discovery.

Get in touch

Wanna learn more?

Reach out to me at julia[dot]liu05[at]berkeley.edu

Integrating Meta AI into the Instagram app.